Physical Education

Introduction • The concepts of opportunity (are people able to use facilities?) and provision (do adequate facilities exist?) have combined effect upon access to sporting facilities. • There are economic and other considerations that often prevent those most in need from being able to take advantage of the opportunities that may exist. These include cost, local availability, transport, the range of provision and the times at which facilities may be used. Any lack of appropriate facility provision will be far more disadvantageous to those who are unemployed, disabled, very old or very young. Copyright 2005

Introduction • Why do you think that some activities cannot be provided for at the same level? • It may not be reasonable or possible to provide facilities for some activities, i.e. coastal activities, mountain activities, etc. • Some activities may not be too prohibitively expensive to provide for extensively, i.e. those requiring high levels of technology such as ice-skating or indoor skiing. Copyright 2005

Introduction • Funding and services associated with sport and recreation at local, regional and national levels are provided through three avenues of funding:- • Government • Private funding/Sponsorship • Voluntary (i.e. unpaid officials) • Remember much work done by officials is done on a voluntary basis, often in sports with highly paid top level performers, but especially at local/club level. Copyright 2005

Provision • When assessing the sort of facilities that are provided in the UK, and what effects they have on participation in sport and activity, we must look at both local and national provision. Copyright 2005

Local Authority • The local authority are the main provider of facilities for most people. This body provides and maintains • Public Parks • Public Playing Fields • Swimming Pools • Sports Facilities in Schools • Local Sports Centres • Local Youth Centres Copyright 2005

Local Authority • Many are used jointly by schools and local community groups in the daytime, evenings, weekends and school holidays. • Some local authorities also fund (sometimes with outside assistance) such facilities as athletics tracks, outdoor pursuits centres and water sports centres. Youth centres are often situated within or right next to schools so that use of the recreational facilities may be maximised. Copyright 2005

Private Enterprise • An increasing number of recreational and sporting facilities is now offered by private health and sports clubs to those who can pay for them. These can range from squash courts and gyms to luxury health spas and private swimming pools. • These enterprises operate for profit and are run as private businesses. Members normally pay a joining fee, an annual subscription fee each time they use the facilities. Copyright 2005

Private, Voluntary Clubs and Associations • There is a big difference between private facilities that are run as businesses to make a profit and those run by their members and which exist solely to provide playing and social facilities for them. • These non-profit making clubs and associations are usually run by elected committees. Many local football, rugby, cricket and tennis clubs are run in this way. Whether it’s private or voluntary, profit making or not, both have the effect of providing facilities for those who can afford to pay. Copyright 2005

Private, Voluntary Clubs and Associations • How many popular sports in your area are created for by? A: Local Authority B: Private non profit making clubs C: Private clubs operating for profit Copyright 2005

National Provision • Like local provision, the provision of national facilities comes from a mixture of public and private funding. At national level, provision needs to cover a wide range of leisure activities, from top class at one extreme, to the need to maintain public pathways, ancient buildings and sites of outstanding natural beauty at the other. • National provision is the responsibility of a large array of official, private and voluntary bodies such as:- • Countryside Agency • Environment Agency • English Heritage • National Trust Copyright 2005

National Provision • Some examples – • Twickenham - generally regarded as the home of Rugby, is one of the few major venues actually owned by the sport it stages. • Wembley Stadium – the home of English soccer, is owned by a private company to whom the Football Association used to pay rent for internationals and major cup finals to take place there. • Wimbledon – home of the world’s most famous prestigious tennis tournament, is owned by the All England Club, a private organisation that stages the championship itself. Copyright 2005

Sport England • Sport England – is a government funded body that organises and promotes the provision of facilities both nationally and locally. • Sport England – looks to encourage participation and performance in sport and recreational activity. Part of its brief is to look at the provision of facilities and make sure they are in the right place. • The current slogan on which Sport England bases it’s activities is - MORE PEOPLE, MORE PLACES, MORE MEDALS! Copyright 2005

National Centres of Excellence • Sport England is also concerned with improving performance in national sport. It administers and maintains four national sports centres that are centres of excellence. • Facilities at the centres of excellence are intended primarily for the use by national governing bodies of sport for national and elite squad training. Copyright 2005

National Centres of Excellence • The four centres in England are at:- • Crystal Palace (in London) – has specialist facilities for athletics, swimming and diving. • Bisham Abbey (in Buckinghamshire) - has specialist tennis facilities. • Lilleshall (in Shropshire) – provides specialist facilities for football and gymnastics. • Holme Pierrepont (in Nottinghamshire) – specialises in water sports. Copyright 2005

The National Administration of Sport • Britains poor performance in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta (USA) was instrumental in restructuring the way sport is organised in the UK. • The current structure in the United Kingdom is centred upon an organisation called UK SPORT. UK Sport is to administer the United Kingdom Sports Institute (UKSI), while the sports councils of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Sport England will each look after their own sports institutes. Copyright 2005

The National Administration of Sport UK Sport & UK Sports Institute – responsible for elite sports development. Sport England – responsible for country only. English Institute of Sport – responsible for sporting issues such as network centres i.e. specialist facilities at UK national or regional level. Copyright 2005

Questions • Who runs the centres for excellence in England? • Why do you think the government wants more people to participate in sport and physical activity? • List the positive and negative benefits of spending huge sums of money on top level performers when there is still a lack of facilities at grass-roots level? Copyright 2005

Physical Education