Firstly, what a fine day to be talking about sport the morning after our football team made it into the knockout stages of the Euros.
It’s been a few weeks since I last put pen to paper and I’d like to start by just thanking all those in the sport sector and beyond who have given me their time since I came into post. Despite being involved in sport all my life it’s still been a learning curve to explore the breadth of what Sport Wales and the sector as a whole are engaged in. I made a commitment when I started to be an accessible Chair, willing to listen and work with our partners. I hope I have gone some way to achieving this in my first few months with meeting lots of clubs, coaches and my Chairs' Lunch, an informal gathering once a month.
Now that the dust has settled on the Assembly elections and the formation of the new Government, we have an opportunity to once again place sport and physical recreation at the heart of the plans of government for the next five years. I would like to welcome Vaughan Gething, Rebecca Evans and Ken Skates to their new roles and look forward to working with them all to promote sport and getting the nation more physically active.
A number of people I have spoken to have commented on the spilt portfolio approach, with Ken Skates having elite sport within his Economy and Infrastructure brief and Vaughan Gething and Rebecca Evans having responsibility for community sport in their health and public health briefs. I see this as a reflection of the significant role that sport and physical activity plays, both in terms of the economy and the health benefits. We now have more advocates around the Cabinet table and that is to be welcomed. The initial meetings I’ve had have been very positive and provide a solid foundation to continue our work. I have no doubt that sport and physical activity has a fundamental role to play in addressing improved health outcomes and the inequalities gap we face as a nation.
We all know that through sporting activities, children, young people and adults learn skills such as self-confidence, teamwork, fair play, respect and self-esteem. This in turn impacts on their ability to be economically active, bringing communities together in shared activity, whilst improving mental and physical health. I’ve seen and heard the great progress we’ve made in enabling more people in Wales to feel the benefits.
The challenge will now be how we take the next step, reaching and enthusing even more people. It should come as no surprise that I won’t be satisfied until every person in Wales has the opportunity to become physically active and I will not shy away from continuing to bang the drum for more opportunities for those underrepresented in our participation figures. However we can only truly achieve greater participation and the subsequent impact on the health and well-being of the nation if we are open to working differently and becoming more responsive to the communities that we serve.
We all know that the landscape of sport and physical activity in Wales is changing – traditional models of consumption have served us well, but as people’s lives are changing, driven by technology, we need to not only respond, but raise the bar. People now want to participate in different ways with a strong community focus and we must listen, act and innovate to meet that demand. We should not be intimidated by these changes, but see these as opportunities to review and revise our approach, reaching out to new partners and seek collaboration in the delivery of the sporting landscape in Wales. Sporting opportunities must be unique, be able to offer clear value for money, drive innovation and be adaptable to change.
We should be working with a diverse range of local groups to empower communities so that they play a full and active role in decision making to ensure that local services meet local needs. Sports clubs are often the hub of the community, and we should look to harness this so that we can maximise the impact on alleviating inequality.
For too long we have probably had a ‘take it or leave it’ approach to sport and physical activity and it is refreshing to see so many partners now using what participants say to mould their offer to the way people want to become active. I am excited by the opportunities that we can now provide for the nation and what this will mean for the positioning of sport as part of the solution to some of the challenges Wales faces.
The voice of the participant. Collaboration to achieve shared goals. Reducing inequality. These lie at the heart of the work my colleagues have been undertaking with the sport sector to explore new delivery models for community sport. Personally I am energized by this project, it has been thoroughly evidenced and I see it as a proactive response to the changes facing us. Rather than waiting for change to impact on the sector, we have taken the initiative and owned our future development. I believe the work we have undertaken already provides the foundation for enhancing the delivery of a vibrant community sport environment for years to come.
This summer will be all about the goals scored on the pitches of France and medals won in the venues of Rio, but as a sector we have to be prepared to use every ounce of inspiration to engage more people in becoming active. Hopefully as the goals fly in and the medals pile up, we can remember that success on the elite level comes from constantly adapting, learning and putting into practice innovation. Never being satisfied with second place. It’s worked pretty well for Welsh sportswomen and men in the last few years, let’s now apply that to our approach to community sport and physical activity. If we embrace the change to come and own it, I believe we can produce a comprehensive, dynamic community sport environment and one of the most active nations in the world.
We all know that through sporting activities, children, young people and adults learn skills such as self-confidence, teamwork, fair play, respect and self-esteem. This in turn impacts on their ability to be economically active, bringing communities together in shared activity, whilst improving mental and physical health. I’ve seen and heard the great progress we’ve made in enabling more people in Wales to feel the benefits.
The challenge will now be how we take the next step, reaching and enthusing even more people. It should come as no surprise that I won’t be satisfied until every person in Wales has the opportunity to become physically active and I will not shy away from continuing to bang the drum for more opportunities for those underrepresented in our participation figures. However we can only truly achieve greater participation and the subsequent impact on the health and well-being of the nation if we are open to working differently and becoming more responsive to the communities that we serve.
We all know that the landscape of sport and physical activity in Wales is changing – traditional models of consumption have served us well, but as people’s lives are changing, driven by technology, we need to not only respond, but raise the bar. People now want to participate in different ways with a strong community focus and we must listen, act and innovate to meet that demand. We should not be intimidated by these changes, but see these as opportunities to review and revise our approach, reaching out to new partners and seek collaboration in the delivery of the sporting landscape in Wales. Sporting opportunities must be unique, be able to offer clear value for money, drive innovation and be adaptable to change.
We should be working with a diverse range of local groups to empower communities so that they play a full and active role in decision making to ensure that local services meet local needs. Sports clubs are often the hub of the community, and we should look to harness this so that we can maximise the impact on alleviating inequality.
For too long we have probably had a ‘take it or leave it’ approach to sport and physical activity and it is refreshing to see so many partners now using what participants say to mould their offer to the way people want to become active. I am excited by the opportunities that we can now provide for the nation and what this will mean for the positioning of sport as part of the solution to some of the challenges Wales faces.
The voice of the participant. Collaboration to achieve shared goals. Reducing inequality. These lie at the heart of the work my colleagues have been undertaking with the sport sector to explore new delivery models for community sport. Personally I am energized by this project, it has been thoroughly evidenced and I see it as a proactive response to the changes facing us. Rather than waiting for change to impact on the sector, we have taken the initiative and owned our future development. I believe the work we have undertaken already provides the foundation for enhancing the delivery of a vibrant community sport environment for years to come.
This summer will be all about the goals scored on the pitches of France and medals won in the venues of Rio, but as a sector we have to be prepared to use every ounce of inspiration to engage more people in becoming active. Hopefully as the goals fly in and the medals pile up, we can remember that success on the elite level comes from constantly adapting, learning and putting into practice innovation. Never being satisfied with second place. It’s worked pretty well for Welsh sportswomen and men in the last few years, let’s now apply that to our approach to community sport and physical activity. If we embrace the change to come and own it, I believe we can produce a comprehensive, dynamic community sport environment and one of the most active nations in the world.
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