Jason’s Reflections
The men’s World Cup is on and I am loving it. Sporting events like these bring the people of Essex, and the country, together to inspire them to be more active, but is this my bias? Research shows about one third of us are really into the World Cup, one third are definitely not, and there is a floating third who are mildly interested.
Then it got me thinking…this is probably the same for all elite sporting event, from the men’s and women’s World Cups to the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Wimbledon and so on.
My reflections this month are trying to get under the skin of the impact that big sporting events and elite performers have on the public, especially their motivation to participate in sport or be more active.
Personally, I was involved in an elite sport environment in my childhood through to my mid 20’s. What inspired me to commit to athletics? Being honest, yes it was watching Linford Christie or Carl Lewis, but ultimately, and probably more powerfully, the answer lies much closer to home. It was my parents, my PE teachers, and the coaches at my local athletics club, Brentwood AC.
So, in another summer packed full of amazing sporting events, what can we understand about their impact on all of us?
Well let’s take a look at the research.
Firstly, there is no automatic uplift in participation from elite events. But where it gets interesting, is the strong effect from elite events and elite performers is indirect – such as athletes visiting schools and communities. We’ve seen this first hand in Essex with our fantastic Essex ambassadors like Ellie Challis and Lewis Richardson.
The most impact from elite sport events is when there are targeted participation programmes alongside and after the event. For example, following the Commonwealth Games in the West Midlands, attendances at leisure centres rose by 17% and NGBs encouraged over 400,000 participants to take part in games legacy programmes. I know the same approach is planned for Glasgow next month through their ‘Story of Change’ programme.
So, to answer my original question – sporting events and elite athletes motivate residents to engage in sport, but what that looks like can be different. As my Chairman, Dr William Bird continually reminds me, the prime motivator for participating in movement and sport is the social connection, closely followed by wanting to look after our health.
It is clear to me, elite events and high performing athletes have an important role to play in inspiring people, especially when they are part of targeted campaigns and programmes, and I look forward to Active Essex being more involved in this work, in the future.
