Report Highlights Olympic Legacy Challenges
A report released by Brunel University and the Coca-Cola Foundation entitled ‘Building a Participation Legacy’ has found that affordable access to sport is key to delivering a legacy of increased participation from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The report highlights that the most disadvantaged young people from impoverished urban areas such as Newport, Pendle and the Olympic Borough of Newham, are less likely to participate in sport where a cost is involved or there is a need to travel beyond their local neighbourhood.
The report follows a two-year research study of over 3000 young people across the UK in five disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It was commissioned to help Coca-Cola Great Britain’s national sports charity partner StreetGames, plan effective legacy grassroots programmes for young people in deprived areas of the UK.
The report found that young people favoured informal sports coaching styles encouraging them to take up and stay in sport, that delivering sport locally – on the communities’ ‘doorsteps’ – helps to make any cost of participation more affordable and that including young people in the planning of sport sessions is fundamental.
Dr Laura Hills, senior lecturer in youth sport and the research team lead at University of Brunel said: ‘StreetGames is successfully providing sporting opportunities for disadvantaged young people many of whom have little engagement with physical activity in other contexts. Providing free or very cheap sessions is crucial as even raising the cost of a sport session above £1 in the areas sampled would stop an individual from participating.’
Hills added: ‘Initially, young people felt that the Olympic and Paralympic Games had little relevance to them. Their views changed after taking part in StreetGames projects, with most feeling that they were inspired to do more sport and try some of the new sports they were introduced to within the sessions.’
Jon Woods, general manager Coca-Cola GB and Ireland, said: ‘We committed to using our sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic Games to deliver a genuine social and sporting legacy of encouraging more young people around the country to be more active, more often. Back in 2010, the Coca-Cola Foundation commissioned the ‘Building a Participation Legacy’ report to help examine the best way to do this.’
