Using pertinent academic literature, critically discuss the following question: “Should sports development focus on the development of elite sport or the development of a wider social agenda? ” The main purpose of sports development is to focus on increasing participation and physical activity for children, younger adults and older people creating stronger and healthier communities. “Development encourages more people to take part in sport generally’ (Sports Development Officer, n. ). Sports development is also vital in order to develop clubs, to manage and develop as well as sustain and improve facilities and o create links with governments and businesses to ensure healthy relationships are maintained. Sports development seeks to provide and promote sport in local communities, it also try to develop the participation in sport and the opportunities available to people.
Sports development is mainly seen to increase participation for non elite athletes and in communities where sport sin”t really well participated. This means that it is need to act as a ћback bone” so there is a wide spread of coaches, facilities and clubs available to these communities and sports development helps this growth. Grass roots development is vital in ensuring that future talents can have the opportunities to develop and have the chance to be the new generation of elite athletes.
If we do not have the development in place to allow the grass roots athletes to evolve then we will no longer have Olympic standard athletes coming through. “Sport has a huge part to play in enriching the lives of people of all generations across the fields of health, education and social exclusion. However, if sport is to play this role, its grassroots need to be strong. Furthermore a strong and active grassroots cone means a bigger pool of talent available for elite programmed”. (Grass Roots Sport, 2010).
Grass Roots development doses”t Just give potential Olympic standard children to have the opportunity to come through the ranks, but it also helps to contribute to other key factors such as the increasing problem of obesity in this country and because there is not much being done to improve this issue, obesity rates are likely to sore and continue to increase. Meet, despite this, grassroots sport is in crisis and, unsurprisingly, obesity rates, particularly among the young, are paralleling.
Up and down the country, local authority sports facilities are closing and amateur sports clubs are reporting a desperate lack of cash and a vast increase in the regulatory and cost burden involved in operating. ” (Grass Roots Sports 2010). With the facilities closing and funding being scrapped from the clubs, more children are likely going to be less active and have decreased chances to play sport. It is suggested Tanat teen cause AT tans Is Decease CNN Renee are less active Ana spend a lot AT their time watching television rather than being physical (Turner 2003) . ћ”They are living in a ID world rather than a ID world. Children are therefore losing their spatial awareness which is resulting in a lack of co-ordination and a reduced ability to process auditory and visual information correctly The funding has been severely cut for grass root sports especially this year because of the new focus on the upcoming 2012 Olympics which London is hosting. I personally feel this will impact on the health and fitness of the youngsters and will have a severely impact on every aspect of grass roots sport, from participation to future rising stars.
This is devastating news for the future health and wellbeing of our young people and the army of dedicated, passionate and committed people throughout the country who, through sport, have delivered such change for young people in recent years. ” (Challenging Times, n. D. ). In some people opinion, all the focus is going on the Olympics and money is being spend on making it spectacular rather than focusing on ћhome truths” issues such other “two million children being obese in the I-J. (Medical news Today, 2010). “The Conservatives have accused the Government of witching resources to the Olympic Games at the expense of the sporting activity in the rest of the country. ” (This is London, n. D). This is England (2010) have revealed that Sport England, which is the main source that provides grass roots with the funding to develop sport in communities, had IEEE million cut from their budget and this money went to fund the London Olympics.
This has lead to a peer cent decrease in the grass roots funding Just 3 years before the Olympics takes place. With all this focus and attention currently focusing on the Olympics and participation f grass roots sport being demolished, the Olympic chiefs are now in the firing line. “Olympics chiefs came under attack for allegedly failing to devise a cosseted plan for improving participation in grassroots sport on the back of an increasingly “elitist” 2012 project. ” (Funding for grass roots sport, 2010).
On the other hand, there is a big argument stating that the Olympics will benefit grass root sport in other ways, it night be taking away some of its funding, but the Olympics can help to inspire easily influential youngsters that might idols to be like the athletes that they are watching n T. V and seeing all over the papers. Mr. CEO who is a double Olympic champion and also the chairman of 2012 organizing committee said: “l will fight the nostrum that this is Just about elite sport.
The challenge is not whether we finish fourth or 20th in the medals table but what we do to convert big British moments into 10,000 more kids picking up sport. ” (CEO, 2010) He conceded London had a “Third World” sports infrastructure but said the Olympics would remedy this. If this is the case with the new interest and already built facilities the Olympics is solving and ћcanceling out” his issue of facilities having to close through lack of interest and participation and also helping to solve these spiraling obesity statistics in the long run.
For example even though Grass roots sport is struggling now and having funding cut, surely it is Just going to be a bleak outlook up until the Olympics as lots of money is going into improving facilities and although money is currently being thrown at elite athletes, the elite athletes will only really benefit from this up until the Olympics and then the grass roots will then benefit from the elite athletes performance. Mr. Self 2010), on teen toner nana argues Tanat nee”s always slightly surprises Day teen Idea Tanat kids who are ordinary at sport are going to be galvanism to participate by elite performances.
Its understandable Sub CEO wouldn’t understand because he is an elite sports performer. Those of us who are Just K at sport actually are intimidated. ” There are also many reasons why sports development should be focusing on elite sport. Up until the last 30 years, the Olympics were meant to be for amateur sports people who played sport as a hobby rather that a Job they get paid to do, (much like the situation now of grass roots sport). Important sporting countries like the USA still don”t give their athletes government money, and most countries cannot afford to spend millions of dollars on Just a few sports stars.
Their top sportspeople have to make a living by playing for a professional sports club, winning prize money when they compete successfully, or by sponsorship and endorsements from companies(latent, 2010). Now in the current climate, athletes that compete in the Olympics or as professionals get paid millions for doing something they are passionate about, I feel that this makes a mockery of poorer countries which Just eave to rely on talent rather than athletes from a young age training and using the most up to date technology. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a hobby’ (Professional Athletes, n. D). Some people argue that is not our Job to fund elite level athletes through taxes Just to see our country win medals and instead should be put to better use developing ћour” children rather than communities and parents going to work and earning money as a living rather than having to pay tax to purport athletes who get paid to compete as their Job.
Although elite athletes are good role models, unless the money is funded into local facilities, clubs & projects, these children will never get the chance to follow in the footsteps of their role models. Funding that is being flooded into sport at the moment is mainly coming from National Lottery grants, they are very good at supporting grass roots sport, especially a programmer that Sports England is pushing called the ћSmall Grants Programmer. This is where a club or a programmer can apply for a small amount of none from any sum from IEEE to EIA,OHO but the total cost of the project is not allowed to exceed EYE,OHO. ћ” The Sport England Small Grants Programmer has been set up to support local community sport projects which seek to increase participation, sustain participation or develop opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport. ” (Sport England, n. ) this programmer is very good in my opinion as it helps community sport in – bringing together a wide range of partners from local and national government, the commercial sector, higher and further education and the third sector to make the most of their investment in sport. Conclusion Taking all this into account, I feel that at this stage in the climate, spending a lot of money on the Olympics will at this stage will mainly benefit our elite athletes, but I feel by putting all this money into the Olympics now it will have a positive impact on grass roots sport.
A lot of people disagree with this though and feel that we are putting a lot of money into the Olympics because we want to ћlook good” or even gain the respect of other countries by doing well and hosting an amazing Olympics. Mr. Map salsa “I’m proud AT our gold me alleles o out In tense months we’ll have forgotten the names of 80 per cent of the winners. Are we investing in sport simply because we want to beat the French or do we want to see a tangible benefit for our children? ” (Telegraph, 2011) I feel if this is the case then the government should look at their priorities a bit better.
There is a high importance to increase the number of participation in grass roots sport as well because even if we have these brand new facilities, that the Olympics is giving us, if we din”t have the numbers or the interest in young potential athletes, the facilities will get shut down ND grass roots will most definitely suffer then. “Lack of interest from potential future users means the IEEE million Olympic stadium may be demolished within months of the 2012 Games and the site put up for sale possibly to a football club” (Telegraph, 2011).
