HERE’S TO ANOTHER GREAT SPORTING YEAR
Are you as excited as us about the year ahead? We think it’s going to be a fantastic 2014 so here’s to another great sporting year!
To celebrate, we have put this little film together which looks back at some of our best bits while looking forward about what the year may bring. As always, let us know what you think – either here or on Twitter or Facebook.
Of course, it’s impossible to cram everything we have to say into a three minute film so, just for you, we’ve undertaken a rescue mission to the cutting room floor – so it’s over to our very own Laura McAllister:
2013 was also the year that we at Sport Wales listened to our real customers, the people of Wales, on an unprecedented scale. We are committed to using your views to help us make the decisions which affect us all as a nation.
If we want to pass the baton of success on to the next generation, then we need to know what is important to them. The School Sport Survey 2013 is a prime example of how we are giving young people a voice and a real chance to shape their own futures. The survey was the biggest ever of its kind with nearly 40% of young people in Wales having their say. The scale of the survey is breathtaking – 110,000 children, over 1000 teachers and over 900 schools responded - the biggest survey of its kind in the world.
The survey has provided us with some fantastic insights into how the young people of Wales live their sporting lives - what motivates them, their aspirations and their ability levels. 40% of young people surveyed are‘hooked on sport’, meaning they take part in physical activity three or more times a week. This is a 50% increase on the 2011 results, highlighting the positive impact of London 2012.
That’s great news. If they are hooked, we can continue to nurture their interest into adult life. It’s not going to be easy. A young person is a staggering 195% more likely to be hooked on sport if they enjoy school sport.
Gathering the data is the easy bit. Doing something about it is a lot harder. It needs more than just small step changes. 40% of young people might be hooked on sport but what about the other 60%? Regular participation in sport and physical activity provides a number of lifelong benefits for health, skills and friendship, but these benefits can’t be exclusive, just for some of the population. Sport must benefit everyone and we won’t be happy until every person in Wales, young and old, has the opportunity to be active and engaged.
It’s not about every child becoming a World, Commonwealth or Olympic champion. It’s about every child reaching their own personal podium, whatever that may be.
We have also focused on the role sport plays in the lives of women and girls across Wales. Our research tells us that for a number of many women and girls, sport is not attractive and that’s why we experience the significant drop off in participation rates. That’s where ‘What Moves You?’ comes in. Our campaign, aimed at encouraging more women in Wales to get back into sport or take up a new sport, aims to demystify sport by giving it an image overhaul - highlighting the fun and sociable side of sport and signpost women to opportunities to reignite their love of sport. And the results so far are looking good.
We will continue to invest in sports and partners whose aspirations are aligned with ours and have the potential to deliver the best returns.
We all know that the next few years are going to be hard work. I expect Sport Wales, and the sport sector as a whole, to champion sport, to challenge the way things are done and not to accept second best. Let’s do things differently and drive forward the huge aspirations of a nation, to create a better, sportier Wales.
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