EDITOR’S LETTER
Email: contact’s full name @
leisuremedia.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS Denise Gildea
+44 (0)1462 471930
subs@leisuremedia.com
CIRCULATION MANAGER Michael Emmerson +44 (0)1462 471932
EDITOR Liz Terry
+44 (0)1462 431385 MANAGING EDITOR Julie Cramer
+44 (0)1462 471918 CONTRIBUTORS Kate Cracknell
+44 (0)1462 471906 Kathleen Whyman +44 (0)1462 471918
MANAGING EDITOR/NEWS Tom Walker
+44 (0)1462 471934 ASSISTANT EDITOR/NEWS Pete Hayman
+44 (0)1462 471938
LEISURE-KIT.NET Martin Nash
+44 (0)1462 471927 PUBLISHER John Challinor
+44 (0)1582 607970 DISPLAY ADVERTISING Julie Badrick
+44 (0)1462 4719019 David Hunt
+44 (0)1462 471902 Astrid Ros
+44 (0)1462 471911 Jan Williams
+44 (0)1462 471909 ADVERTISING ARTWORK Ed Gallagher
+44 (0)1905 20198 DESIGN
Andy Bundy
+44 (0)1462 471924 INTERNET Dean Fox
+44 (0)1462 471900 Emma Harris
+44 (0)1462 431385 Tim Nash
+44 (0)1462 471917 Michael Paramore +44 (0)1462 471926
FINANCIAL CONTROL Sue Davis
+44 (0)1395 519398 FINANCIAL ADMIN Denise Gildea
+44 (0)1462 471930 CREDIT CONTROL Rebekah Scott
+44 (0)1462 431385 ISSUE 1 2012 © cybertrek 2011
The Leisure Media Company publishes:
CONTACT US:
The Leisure Media Company Ltd, Portmill House, Portmill Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 1DJ UK
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
subs@leisuremedia.com Tel: +44 (0)1462 471930 Fax: +44 (0)1462 433909
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 3 Leisure Management works in partnership with SPORTS PARTICIPATION T he UK govern-
ment won the 2012 Olympic bid for London off the back
of two promises – to increase sports participation and to regenerate East London. So far, regeneration work
has progressed magnifi cently, but increasing participation is proving a thornier challenge. Sport England was given the job of using increased funding to prod the nation into action
and its chosen strategy was to channel half of this through sports governing bodies. The big proviso was that they’d only get the money if they got the results, with the impact being monitored through the Active People survey, which is carried out by Ipsos MORI. The latest survey reveals ‘disappointing’
results, showing that while participation has grown in some sports and social groups, over- all, the hoped-for growth hasn’t materialised. Two groups in particular – women and teen- agers – have seen a fall in participation and many governing bodies have performed poorly, with some losing funding as a result. The fact that these two groups have also just topped the unemployment table shows that they’re under pressure in many key areas and need extra support to stay engaged. The challenge of driving funding to the grass-
roots of sport and seeing it make a measurable difference to participation is one that has haunted sports administrators for decades and we still don’t seem to have the infrastructure in place to deliver either excellent value for money or enduring change in this area. The weakening of the county sports part- nerships – one of our best bets for increasing participation – further diminishes the likeli- hood of success, while the winding down of
We can take some comfort from the fact that no Olympics has led to increased participation, but we’d really aimed to do better and it’s to be hoped the people in charge will continue to strive for a positive way forward
school sports – although not directly part of the current equation (Sport England is only responsible for community sports par- ticipation) must still have an impact on general awareness and enthusiasm for sport. Provision must be a continuum for all life stages if we are to keep people engaged. You have to ask whether channelling funding
through voluntary organisations and putting bureaucrats in charge of it is ever going to be the best way to drive money to the grassroots – especially if the bureaucrats must strive for provable outcomes and many voluntary sports bodies have no expertise in working this way. We can take some comfort from the fact that no Olympics has led to increased partici- pation, but we’d really aimed to do better and with the impetus provided by the Games, it’s to be hoped the people in charge will continue to strive for a positive way forward. The role of sport and physical activity in the health of the nation has never been more criti- cal – if there was a drug which could bring the health benefi ts associated with exercise, it would defi nitely be the top selling product ever.
Liz Terry, Editor Twitter @elizterry
Read leisure management online:
www.leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76