CONFERENCE REPORT
Building partnerships for effective sport provision
Academics and sport and physical activity practitioners met to discuss sporting legacy at the recent European Sports Development Symposium at Sheffield Hallam University. Chris Cutforth reports on some of the issues discussed during the one-day event
A
s the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were drawing to a close, Sheffield Hallam University’s Academy
of Sport and Physical Activity was quick off the mark in hosting the latest Europe- an Sports Development Symposium. Entitled ‘What Next for Sport and
Physical Activity? – Building partnerships between universities and industry profes- sionals’, the event brought together more than 100 academics and sport and physi- cal activity practitioners from across the UK and Europe to address some of the op- portunities and challenges that lie ahead for the sports sector. Delegates were also encouraged to learn from existing aca- demic and practitioner collaborations and forge similar link-ups in the future. During the event, keynote speakers representing the diverse constituencies
of academia, sport development, physical activity and health provided delegates with thought-provoking presentations, which were supported by an extensive workshop programme.
WHERE WE ARE NOW Barrie Houlihan, Professor of Sports Policy at Loughborough University, be- gan the debate by outlining the social and political context affecting sport and physical activity in the medium and long term. He emphasised the key social and demographic changes taking place in the UK, notably the expanding ageing population, the increase in lone parent families, rising unemployment among the 16-24 age group, and the growing levels of income inequality. He also highlighted the fact that dis- posable income will continue to fall
among most social groups in the UK for the foreseeable future. He summarised these changes by stating that in the medium term people in the UK will be on average older, poorer and living in a more ethnically diverse society. He then turned his attention to the
possible policy implications from the UK’s outstanding success at the London 2012 Games, suggesting that it may lead to a distortion in sports policy towards ‘in- spiration’ and continued support of the elite sport system rather than a more bal- anced and holistic approach. Concerns were expressed that inspira-
tion alone is not enough. He said that it needs to be supported by a renewed commitment by government to physical education/school and community sport and a more joined up and integrated ap- proach to sports policy across the three
The Olympic legacy can be achieved by balancing focus on elite and community sport
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