sport kholis

We were recently asked by Wales' leading think tank - the Institute of Welsh Affairs - to contribute to clickonwales



We decided to use the opportunity to speak out about sport and its role in health. For too long, sport has sat on the sidelines of the national public health debate. Here's a little peek of what our CEO Sarah Powell had to say but click on over to http://www.clickonwales.org/ for the full article.

Sarah Powell, Sport Wales CEO

I spoke recently at the Welsh NHS Confederation conference where I argued that sport for too long had sat on the side lines of the national public health debate. Maybe it has something to do with the perception of sport. Some tell me that sport is only for the sporty. If you want to work with other sectors, such as health, you must not use the term, sport. You must talk about being active or physical activity. When did sport become a dirty word?

Not only is this nonsensical but it is damaging. Damaging to the groups of people we want to engage with and to the relationships that we want to forge to build a healthier Wales.

Let’s be clear, when we’re talking about sport, we are talking about what some would call the more traditional sports such as hockey, netball and five a side football. But we’re also talking about activities such as going out for a bike ride, jogging, and working out in the gym.

The sports sector, and Sport Wales, must evolve. We are reviewing our own direction and organisational structure alongside a new, five-year strategic plan for 2015-20. We want to do things differently and we want to get things done. And we genuinely want to work in collaboration.

We simply cannot remain on the fringes of a debate that is not going away. There is an urgent need to be building solid partnerships with education and health and that is something that I am committing to in my role as Chief Executive.