Young people are bombarded with a myriad of messages that compete for their attention, their money and their time, so it’s no wonder that if sport has not successfully marketed itself to them by the time they leave school they are lost to sport, sometimes for good.
Action to stem the drop-off is required much earlier than 15-16 as young people start to make up their mind about sport at a young age. And while all the money going into school sport is welcome and undoubtedly producing results, I would argue that until similar amounts of funding are invested into community sport we are not going to much change from the headline above.
From a marketing perspective schools have it (relatively) easy. Young children find physical activity in its purest form (running, jumping, throwing etc) fun. So I would argue that the basic product (sport) is valued. Schools can offer the product (in the form of PE) for free The curriculum gives schools a window of opportunity and the fact that it is compulsory means promotion is not a huge issue. However, something is going wrong despite this, as large numbers of young people, particularly girls, are being ‘turned off’ sport during their early years at secondary school.
The current emphasis on increasing competition in schools is not the answer. And neither are ideas like the Schools Olympics that came out of one of the party conferences last month. These types of initiatives might produce good stats at the time but will do nothing to arrest the drop off because they do nothing to encourage young people to participate out of school. And we know from experience that competitions tend to bring out the competitive spirit in the adults responsible for organising teams so you end up simply with the best participants being selected all the time. And where does that leave those young people who do not enjoy the competitive side of sport, or those that do, but are just not good enough to make the team? They deserve the same chances to find a sporting activity that appeals to them, which is not likely to happen with an increasing emphasis on competition. More competition in schools will just provide more opportunities for those young people who are already into their sport.
Yes, competition is important. After all it’s no fun just practising skills if there is no game at the end of it. But to attract as many young people as possible and give them a lasting love for their chosen sport, participation should allow for competition at all levels and embrace as wide a range of skills and abilities as possible. Playing the game shouldn’t just be for the elite few. So how can we cater for this approach? Well I think it needs to be about clubs as well as schools. This is, in my view, where we need to focus our efforts. In the club environment, creating friendly, actively and successful local clubs where young people are especially made to feel welcome and comfortable and given a chance to learn, participate and enjoy their sport at all levels. After all what is the point in introducing young people to a sport, getting them enthused and then not providing them with the means to carry on the activity? Unfortunately this is what is happening all too often. The latest PE and Sport Survey tells us that whilst 50% of schools offer Cycling, only 12% have links with a Cycling club. And although the proportion of schools with links to golf clubs has increased from 22% to 26% this is still quite a long way short of the proportion of schools that offer golf (42%). It would surely be quite straightforward to look at local provision as a starting point when deciding what to offer pupils.
Sport Unlimited is a welcome step in the right direction. One of the reasons for its early success is undoubtedly the choice that it has offered young people. The fact that participants have chosen to attend the sessions rather than experiencing the sessions as a ‘captive audience’ gives us cause to be optimistic about the results of the programme in the future, as well as about participation rates among these young people as they grow up. And the opportunities offered were backed up by research which as a vital part of the marketing process is another welcome step in the right direction. Two consecutive steps in the right direction – now there’s a thing! So let’s resolve not take three steps back here.
After all it’s quite simple sports development really; introduce young people to as many different sports as possible in school, in partnership with local clubs that are well prepared to cater for young people and will provide a welcoming environment, incentivise them to go to the club at an early age, and get them hooked on their chosen sport outside of the school environment so that when they leave school they have already made the transition, and will be more likely to reap the benefits of lifelong participation in sport.
What do you think? Where do you think the emphasis should be? How best do you think we can slow down the drop out rate? Join the debate below.
Click to visit the Coussins Associates website or email us.
