Securing a Health & Physical Activity Participation Legacy for the West Midlands post 2012: Securing a Health & Physical Activity Participation Legacy for the West Midlands post 2012 Suzanne Gardner Regional Physical Activity Co-ordinator – West Midlands


A Brief History of Britain & the Olympics: A Brief History of Britain & the Olympics 400 Years of Olympic History! 1612 Chipping Campden, held first 'Cotswold Olimpicks' an annual sporting fair honouring the ancient Games of Greece. 1850 Much Wenlock Olympic Society formed to develop the "promotion of moral, physical and intellectual improvement" through Annual Games 1890 Baron Pierre De Coubertin invited to attend Much Wenlock 'Olympian Society Annual Games' by Dr William Penny Brooks featuring a mix of athletics and traditional local sports, preceded by a parade with flag-bearers, competitors and officials. De Coubertin returned to France and wrote an article urging the revival of the Olympic Games in Greece. Modern day Olympic Games initiated in Athens 1896 BOA founded 1905 Held 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games Inspired Paralympic Games from Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948


Slide3: British teams have been present at every Olympic Games since 1896 Five International Olympic Sessions have been held in Britain; There have been 19 British members of the IOC Britain has entered over 7,000 athletes into Olympic Games; British athletes have won 704 medals, 200+ of them gold Britain has bid four times for the Games in the last 20 years “if the Olympic Games exist today, the praise should go not to a Greek, but to Dr Brookes of Wenlock." Baron De Coubertin in his Obituary to Dr William Penny Brooks


Do you remember this?: Do you remember this? Courtesy of BBC via DCMS website


2012 Aim: 2012 Aim “To host an inspirational, safe and inclusive Olympic and Paralympic Games and leave a sustainable legacy for London and the UK” What does it mean to you?


What does this mean?: What does this mean? More elite sporting events held in Britain Creation of international sporting venues Enhanced sport performance (more medals) More funding for grass routes sport Improved economy – business opportunities Education Tourism opportunities and profile raising Training and Preparation camps Mass volunteer recruitment Improved infrastructure Improved event management capabilities Improved community development programmes History and memories legacy Increase in sustainable physical activity initiatives leading to increased participation and better health


Medals to Mass Participation: Medals to Mass Participation Getty Images/Clive Brunskill


Slide8: A Chance to Create a REAL Participation Legacy OR The Greatest Festival of Armchair Sport in the World? “Sports are the reason I am out of shape. I watch them all on TV”.         Thomas Sowell


Previous Participation Legacy experiences: Previous Participation Legacy experiences Barcelona 1992 Sports Participation (1 time per week) 1983 36% 1989 47% (women 35%) (11% rise) 1992 Olympic & Paralympic Games 1995 51% (women 45%) (4% rise) Taken from A.J Veal & K Toohey (2005) Paper “Sport for All and the Legacy of the Sydney Olympic Games” presented to the Third International Event Management Conference, July 2005


Previous Participation Legacy experiences cont.: Previous Participation Legacy experiences cont. Sydney 2000 % of People participating in sport at least once a year


Previous Participation Legacy experiences cont: Previous Participation Legacy experiences cont A comparison of Olympic and non olympic sports participation pre and post Sydney 2000 showed that; Greater increases seen in participation in non Olympic activities (tentative comparisons) especially recreational walking Participation in some Olympic sports decreased or remained static.


Conclusions from research todate: Conclusions from research todate A participation legacy is possible Consistent approach for measuring trends needed if legacy is to be valid. There will be difficulty in measuring trends across Olympiads as each survey has asked a different question Do not assume that only Olympic sports will benefit from increased participation To achieve a participation legacy will take a co-ordinated innovative approach – Planning now!! Public Health Outcomes research not been available!


Need some inspiration!: Need some inspiration! “A country can truly call itself sporting when the majority of its people feel a personal need for sport.” Baron Pierre De Coubertin "The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure" Sven Goran Erikson "Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire in a way that little else does, it speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was despair. It laughs in the face of discrimination." Nelson Mandela “A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs.” - Joan Welsh “In no way can sport be considered a luxury object “ Baron Pierre De Coubertin


A legacy for the West Midlands!: A legacy for the West Midlands! How do we harness the Olympics and Paralympics to affect a cultural change in activity participation in our region? How will we know if we have achieved it? How do we stop the Games being an armchair festival of sport? If we don’t succeed what have we done wrong? How do we negate negative aspects of the Games? How can we bring back the ideals of the Much Wenlock Olympics back the West Mids?


BE INSPIRED BY THE GAMES: BE INSPIRED BY THE GAMES “Bringing Home the Dream” Courtesy of Energize Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin