A week ago we were still taking in the Spending Review’s good news for sport as Exchequer funding to grassroots and elite sport was maintained or increased. Although the impact on local government and public health budgets was not so positive the news on DCMS funding was nonetheless very welcome and, dare I say, unexpected.
From the perspective of our members it was a great reward for the #GetYourKitOn campaign that many of them had supported. They and we know the value of sport and recreation but we wanted to make sure everyone - and particularly the Chancellor -knew and appreciated the depth of that support.
We had commissioned some independent polling which provided public endorsement for what we as a sector wanted to say – in the recognition that many people would expect us to have somewhat rose tinted spectacles on the benefit of sport. So it certainly helped to be able to report that:
- 79% of the population believe that the Government should do more to invest in grassroots sport
- 73% of the population think that physical education is as important as numeracy and literacy in the school curriculum
- 91% of the population believe that sport and physical activity is the best way to stay fit and healthy
In the space of three weeks the campaign generated almost 2,000 contacts with the Treasury from individuals and organisations who wanted to let the Chancellor know directly what they felt – and the #GetYourKitOn hashtag was delivered more than 17m times to nearly 8m accounts.
We garnered the support of three former sports ministers from both sides of the political spectrum, a number of influential cross-bench peers in the House of Lords, sporting ambassadors including Sir Chris Hoy, Jonathan Edwards, and Gail Emms and the England captains of our women’s teams in cricket, netball, hockey, rugby union, rugby league and football. They too all wanted the Chancellor to know that sport matters and makes a difference.
And last weekend perhaps sport itself was celebrating and giving us a quick payback for the faith invested in it through the Spending Review.
As well as the usual community activity in tens of thousands of locations across the UK, there was also the very best of elite sport on offer – from F1 to Davis Cup success and heavyweight boxing to Finn Class sailing - and we had no less than four British world champion performances to celebrate. And then if you add in qualification for Rio in trampolining, great performances by GB Hockey, British Curling, British Weightlifting and Bobsleigh and Skeleton there really was something for everyone and the potential for inspiration to be spread the length and the breadth of the country.
There has been lots of bad press about sport recently with plenty of attention focussing on FIFA and the IAAF. So it was nice to have lots of domestic cause for success and confirmation that the Government got its kit on for sport. At the Alliance we are very grateful to you if you also got your kit on in support, because you helped show that sport and recreation can come together and be a powerful voice for good in so many ways.
As 2024 concludes and as we look ahead to 2025, the Alliance has published a message to members and partners.
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Sport and Recreation Alliance responds to Active Lives Children and Young People report.
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