Key Concepts of Sport Development - Coursework Example

Running Head: Sport Development Sport Development Sport Development The focus on encouraging participation s back to the early 1970s when one of the then Sports Councils policies was to raise standards of performance in sport and recreation through focusing on the notion of "encouraging participation and improving provision for everyone" Coghlan and Webb (1990, p.67). Today Sport England has adapted this idea to lead the development of sport by serving the public, private and voluntary sectors under the banner of More People, More Places, More Medals. Hylton, Jackson, Bramham and Nesti (2001) identified that many sports development programmes in the past have pointed out lack of funding as an obstacle to providing opportunities, but with the increased funding that the National Lottery provides it will be able to reach one of the targets that Sport England set out; more people. The Government paper A Sporting Future for All (Department of Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS), 2000) realised that the success of the development of sport was closely connected to the effective use of National Lottery money, which is why Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund (the name for the National Lottery Good Causes Fund) are aiming to give over 150 communities a sporting chance by producing the Active England programme which they say will "drive forward community participation and physical activity" Sport England (2004). The Active England programme gives people the opportunity to be active by providing new or improved sporting facilities across England which in retrospect increases the level of participation and encourages community sports projects by promoting and enabling healthy exercise. The Active England Programme comprises of three parts that aim to provide a comprehensive sports development system throughout England. Active Sport, Active Schools and Active Communities. Sport England is working with 45 partners such as local authorities, National Governing Bodys (NGB) of sport, schools and equity organisations that cover the whole of the country and help coordinate Active Sport working through sports centres, coaches and clubs. The Sport England lottery fund provides the funding where the partners apply to receive money which helps improve the provision of sport for young people in their area. Ten sports representing the most popular activities undertaken by young people have been selected to deliver the Active programme; athletics, basketball, cricket, girls football, hockey, netball, rugby union, rugby league, swimming and tennis with the NGB for each sport supporting the level of activity necessary for the programme. Each partnership will be in charge of the delivery of Active Sports in their area and they will agree with Sport England which of the sports it wants to offer locally. An example of this is the Football Association the NGB of football who in partnership with Sport England are ensuring there are introductory courses for girls to participate in playing football. The partnership is also ensuring that girls develop a lifelong participation in the game by providing school and club links. Active Sport is the crucial link between Active Communities and Active Schools because it compliments and reinforces elements of their strategies. Active Schools provides schools and teachers with training and resources they need to enable that children have the best possible physical education and sports provision and Collins and Kay (2003) identified that school PE should be the foundation for lifelong health and sporting excellence that is why Sport England invests resources in supporting schools in the hope it will inspire more children to take part in sport. Active Schools is working with one of Sport Englands partners the Youth Sports Trust (YST) who support the education and development of all young people through PE and sport. In England there is an initiative from the YST and in some cases in partnership with Sport England called the TOP programme that form a sporting pathway where all young people can progress and develop, it is for young people aged between 18 months and 18 years. The TOP Play and TOP sport programmes were jointly developed by the YST, Sport England and the NGB of sport, and the programmes are designed to support teachers, leaders, coaches and other adults in introducing young people to physical activity and sport through a series of fun games and activities. An initiative from Sport England and the YST to try and improve participation in schools are Sports Colleges. Sports Colleges will raise standards of achievement in PE for their students therefore raising the level of participation in pre and post school leavers and also develop the potential of excellent performers which Sport England is keen to support. Working in the Sports Colleges will be School Sports Coordinators (SSC) who through Sport England and the YST will deliver to a family of schools, opportunities for young people to compete regularly for their school and take part in a wide range of sports. The SSC will form partnerships with local education authorities to develop links with local sports development agencies and wider community groups. Active Schools is a good way for children to overcome the barriers to participation and also it is a good way for them to overcome the negative images they may have of sport and PE. The programmes were delivered to support the Active Schools and Active Communities programme. Active Communities brings together the fist two aims of Sport England; to provide opportunities for more people to take part in sport and to provide more places for people to play their sport. Active Communities is the vital starting point for involvement in sport at all levels and its aim reflects this; to increase and sustain lifelong participation in sport and recreation, and to promote continuous improvement in the delivery of sporting opportunities......for all the community" Sport England, Active Communities An Introduction (2000). Sport England provides the funding in association with local authorities to assist in organisations to create their own Active Communities. An Active Community has a variety of sport available and opportunities for regular participation, it has high levels of awareness of the opportunities available, an Active Community also includes community involvement and it is inclusive so that the opportunities provided will respect diversity and promote sports equity. Equity High on the political agenda is the concept of social inclusion and equity in sport. Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities, and taking steps to address them (Sport England). Sport can and does play a major role in promoting the inclusion of all groups in society, but like society in general, inequalities have existed within sport, particularly related to gender, race and disability. Sport England according to Hylton et al (2001) intends to introduce sports equity targets that will promote and develop sports equity. As well as this Sport England focuses exchequer and lottery funding on helping provide opportunities for deprived communities. Sport England and the former Sports Council have supported the principle of equity for more than ten years by working with a variety of governing bodies to help introduce policies and programmes. A majority of governing bodies now have adopted equity policies or statements due to this work. As times have changed Sport England has reviewed its policy to try and tackle social exclusion, maintain cultural diversity and promote community development. Hylton et al (2001) identifies that Sport England has strategies that support the concept of sports development as well as having equity trainers involved in working with national governing organisations and local authorities to deliver these strategies. Community participation is the main body of the Active Communities programme which aims to enable a greater number of people of all backgrounds and abilities to benefit from the long-term effects of sport on their health and well being which Sport England hopes will form an integral part of making England "the most successful and sporting nation in the world", Sport England. The policy that Sport England has produced working with key partners is aiming to break down social barriers and promote participation in sport. The partners are the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), the Womens Sports Foundation and Sporting Equals who support and endorse Sport Englands Equity Policy; No Limits (2002). No Limits is a significant step towards making sports provision in England fair, just and equal, No Limits (2002). The EFDS are the national body responsible for developing sport for disabled people in England and they work closely with National Disability Sports Organisations recognised by Sport England. The EFDS is working nationally and regionally to ensure equal opportunities in all areas. The Womens Sports Foundation is dedicated to improving and promoting opportunities for women and girls in sport and their aim is to work with key decision makers in order to change sports policy, practice and culture for the benefit of women and girls. Sporting equals is an initiative working to promote racial equality in sport in a partnership with Sport England and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). A Racial Equality Charter for Sport has been drawn up by Sporting Equals, a project established by Sport England and the CRE. The No Limits policy addresses the issues of fairness in sport and how sport and leisure provision is allocated regarding different groups and communities, as well as acknowledging diversity. In conjunction with the No Limits policy every governing body requiring funding from Sport England must have an equity policy in place which address that they are aiming to try and get rid of inequalities in their sport as well as adopting practices of equal opportunities. This is due to the fact that Sport England has a funding agreement with the DCMS which provides challenging statements regarding the level of performance that Sport England is expected to deliver in return for the funding from the DCMS. Sport England has a recognition scheme in place that is used by NGB of sport as part of their accreditation process and equity policy. The Clubmark scheme can be awarded through a NGB to a sports club who are shown to have good club management, child protection schemes, good coaching and sports equity and ethics policies in place. Sport England working through NGB can provide clubs with Clubmark support and help through sport development professionals, the Clubmark may also help the club obtain funding. Supporting Excellence As mentioned earlier Active Sports is the vital link between all three of Sport Englands active initiatives; sports, schools and communities but is also a crucial link to their World Class programme which is in place to support excellence throughout England which in turn helping to gain more medals. Sporting excellence represents the higher stages of the sports development continuum and the development of sporting excellence is paramount to the portrayal of English sport on a national scale and support is vital in order to ensure that talented individuals fulfil their potential. It is important that Sport England has structures in place to enable talented individuals to develop and reach their potential in sport and as mentioned by Collins and Kay (2003) Britain seeks to support excellence in a wide range of sports. It would be difficult for Sport England to achieve the aim of more medals without a strong base and a good structure for excellence. Sport England with lottery funding has in place a World Class Programme (WCP) that is all about structured talent identification and nurture using professional coaches, sports scientists and physiotherapists. The WCP has been established to help NGB develop a comprehensive system through which talented athletes can be identified and supported in order to achieve success. The WCP is in three stages; the Performance Programme, the Potential Programme (WCP) and the Start Programme (WCS). The Performance Programme is funded by UK Sport and not Sport England who fund the Potential and Start Programmes which underpin the top end of the elite programme, Performance. The Start Programme aims "to identify and nurture a specific number of athletes who have the necessary characteristics to liaise to achieve future World Class success" WCS Mission statement (2000). The Potential Programmes aim is "to assist the development of talented performers with the potential to win medals" WCP Mission statement (2000). Sport Englands own WCP provides exchequer funding for NGB who partner Sport England to support the programmes. Exchequer funding complements Lottery funds by supporting staffing and management structures. Sport England emphasised that resources must be attained to achieve the aim of more medals won at major competitions and NGB in the past have identified a lack of funding as one of the reasons England has never been a successful sporting nation because they cannot support elite level performers, which Hylton et al (2001) agrees with stating that lack of funding from the then Sports Council undermined success on the international stage. In 1994 the National Lottery was introduced and more money came about to help achieve Sport Englands aim of more medals. Sport England hope this would be achieved through establishing high performance sports centres for talented performers and Sport England has five national sports centres where elite level performers can train and be coached. The English Institute of Sport (EIS) a partner of Sport England which operates at sports centres around England receives funding from the Lottery so the centres can provide high level coaching and services supported by the World Class Performance Programme. The EIS has relationships with NGB to ensure the quality delivery of the programmes. For example the EIS is working closely with UK Athletics the NGB that administers athletics to ensure that Englands elite performers have access to the highest level of support available. Conclusion Sport England putting the Active programmes in place to increase participation in sport is a good way of bringing the health of the nation up to a higher standard due to the fact that low level participation in physical activity has a negative effect on health, this coincides with a mission of Sport England which is; "to foster a healthier, more successful nation through investment in sport and active recreation", No Limits (2002). Sport England is not just putting the emphasis on participation on young children, it is also aiming participation at deprived communities, ethnic minorities, disabled people and women and girls. The No Limits equity policy is in place to ensure fairness and equality in sport and leisure provision by bringing together through sport their target groups. Following on from Sport Englands vision of making England active is they also want England to be a successful sporting nation. Through the World Class Programmes that are in place England has every chance of becoming more successful. Having success on a national level and participation are intertwined; if Sport England can provide more opportunities there is more chance for success due to higher participation rates and on the flip side when an England team or player is competing internationally then there is a feel good factor which inspires people to participate in that particular sport, for example Henmania when Wimbledon is on. Overall Sport England plays a vital role in promoting participation and supporting excellence with its programmes in place to support these objectives. Sport Englands equity programme also aims to make sport in England inclusive to all, to help people start, stay and succeed in sport. References Coghlan, J, and Webb, I, (1990), Sport and British Politics Since 1960, Falmer Press, London Collins, M, and Kay, T, (2003), Sport and Social Exclusion, Routledge, London Department of Culture, Media and Sport, (2000), A Sporting Future For All, Government, London Hylton, K, Bramham, P, Jackson, D, and Nesti, M, (2001), Sports Development: Policy, Process and Practice, Routledge, London Sport England, (2000), Active Communities, An Introduction, Sport England Sport England, (2002), No Limits: Sport Englands Equity Policy, Sport England Websites Sports Development, (2004), What is Sports Development?, (online), Sports Development, last access on 12 December 2004 at URL: http://www.sportsdevelopment.org.uk/introduction Sport England, (2004), The Sport England Mission, (online), Sport England, last accessed on 5 December 2004 at URL: http://www.sportengland.org/index/about_sport_england/about_who/about_mission Read More