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THOUGHT LEADERS INDUSTRY EXPERTS SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON THE CURRENT ISSUES AFFECTING SPORT


ARE WE READY FOR THE OLYMPIC BOOM? JOHN GOODBODY


people to embrace physical exercise be answered? When Sport England’s chief executive officer told Sporta at the House of Commons in January that the members of the sports trust association needed to be ready for the boom in in- terest after the Games, there was much self-questioning. After all, the experience from previous


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Olympics is that there is no rise in sport- ing participation in the country hosting the Games. But because legacy has al- ways been at the forefront of London getting the Olympics, more preparations have been made this time. Take Rochdale. An £11m leisure cen-


tre is being opened this summer, just as the Olympic torch goes through the Lancashire town. Craig McAteer, the


ill the clarion call of Jennie Price that the Olympics will gener- ate a unique opportunity for


managing director at Rochdale Borough- wide Cultural Trust, explains: ”A new centre was needed and had been part of the development programme. But the Olympics will hopefully provide the cata- lyst for an increase in participation.” The trust, which has a 15-year contract


to administer leisure and arts facilities in Rochdale, has been touring round schools to generate interest in the new site, which is being put up alongside the 1930s swimming pool complex, which eventually will be demolished. This will include an eight-lane 25m pool; a teaching pool with moveable floor; gym- nasiums, including one for children; and a sports hall. McAteer says: ”We are op- timistic that there will be an explosion of interest off the back of the Games.” In London, Greenwich Leisure, which


runs half the leisure facilities in the Lon- don boroughs, is equally hopeful that


there will be a boom in the numbers of people taking exer- cise. Mark Sesnan , its managing director, says: ”We’ve been struggling against the timetable to get everything ready but comprehensive web portals will be up to tell people where they can go and we are constantly looking at better pricing and convenient open- ing hours. Gone are the days when most borough facilities were run-down. Now they’re like private clubs.” The target for the annual users for the


Olympic Aquatic Centre (re-opening in 2014) and Multi-use Arena (re-opening next year) is 800,000. The Games will cer- tainly have left a tangible legacy in the capital if that figure is reached. John has covered 11 successive Olympic Games for the Sunday Times. john@jbgoodbody.co.uk


A THINK TANK FOR EFFECTIVE SPORT POLICY NICK KING


was formally launched at the end of January by myself and my fellow director, Andy Reed. The think tank is the first in the UK


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that is wholly devoted to sport and to sports policy making and it aims to fulfil a unique role – sitting in the middle of academics, practitioners, policy-makers, the media and the wider sports world and helping develop the most effective policies possible. Research and evidence are central to


all successful policy-making and sport should not regard itself as a special case. The think tank will therefore be working to ensure that the best and most up to date evidence from the UK and beyond is central to the policy solutions it recommends.


t was with great pride, enormous excitement and a modicum of trepi- dation that the Sports Think Tank


Much of that evidence will come from


sport itself, of course – which is why we are keen to hear from as many people within sport as possible. Dialogue and debate are a key part of our vision for the Sports Think Tank and we anticipate that the website will become a central hub for criticism, comment and a con- structive exchange of views. So far the comments have been


entirely positive and we have been delighted with the reception we have re- ceived from the world of sport, which has universally welcomed this new venture. Without this backing our job would


be far harder, and we are therefore delighted to have had early pledges of support from high profile figures includ- ing Lord Sebastian Coe, Sir Keith Mills and Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson as well as financial backing from a number of committed partners.


8 Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital The challenge


now is to turn sup- port and enthusiasm into action and our plans are designed to do just that. Some of our early research topics include ‘Local Authorities and Sport Provision’ and ‘The Future Funding of Sport’ and we plan to kick off our event series before long. A regular programme of research re-


ports, roundtables and other events aims to produce ground-breaking thinking, to provide opportunities for debate and to put sport centre-stage politically. Beyond that, we want you to contribute to our vision and our strategy. Ultimately we know our success will always be depen- dent on sport’s input and sport’s voice being heard which is why Andy and I are keen to hear from you. Nick King is director of the Sports Think Tank. nick.king@sportsthinktank.com


Issue 1 2012 © cybertrek 2012


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