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Sport England has published
a radical new strategy to get more people playing and enjoying
sport and to help those with talent get to the very top.
The new approach is designed
to capitalise on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented
by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to use its
power to inspire more people to take part in and succeed in sport.
The strategy commits Sport
England to deliver on a series of demanding targets by 2012/13:
Sport England will work
closely with the National Governing Bodies of sport (NGBs) to
deliver the new strategy, and will also create strong partnerships
with local authorities. It will reduce bureaucracy by combining
its multiple funding streams into a single pot of funding for
NGBs, and will be consulting on a new, more streamlined method
of funding wider community projects.
Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport Andy Burnham said:
"This major reform of Sport England marks a new era for sport
in this country and will put us on the road to having a world
leading community sport system. We want to encourage people of
all levels and abilities to play sport for life, to reach their
full potential and to remove any barriers in the way of the talented.
"By investing heavily
in coaching and the club structure we can maximise the chances
for English sporting success and improve the quality of the sport
experience for all. National governing bodies will be key
to successful delivery and will play a crucial role in helping
us to get one million more people doing more sport by 2012.
It’ll be a tough challenge but I am confident that together we
can do it."
Jennie Price, Chief Executive
of Sport England, said:
"My aim was to produce
a clear, sharply focussed strategy for Sport England that would
win credibility with our stakeholders and set high standards for
us as an organisation. Grass roots sport deserves a world leading
system, and that is what we are setting out to deliver.
"I am confident that
the Governing Bodies of Sport, on which this strategy is
critically dependent, will rise to the challenge of delivering
on participation, talent support and increased satisfaction within
their sports.’
Richard Lewis, Executive
Chairman Rugby Football League, said: "We wholly support
Sport England's new direction for the future of sport. In particular,
we welcome the clarity of roles with which Sport England and National
Governing Bodies of sport will be working in the future.
"Entrusting NGBs
with more responsibility is a positive step towards getting the
right resources to the right people in sport. We recognise that with
responsibility comes more accountability and I, for one,
look forward to working closely with Sport England to create a
world-class sports system."
Sport England will work
with the Youth Sport Trust to deliver the Government’s 5-hour
sport offer and make sure that talented young people are identified
early and nurtured, and with UK Sport to dovetail with and support
the elite programmes they run for our most talented athletes.
Sue Campbell, Chair of
the Youth Sport Trust and UK Sport, said: "The past few years
have seen great strides in the simplification of the sporting
landscape. There is a real determination across the Youth Sport
Trust, Sport England and UK Sport to ensure our partnership delivers
effective, seamless pathways for sporting opportunity from school
to elite. Today’s announcement is a further step forward in the
process, as it shows how Sport England with its new strategy is
now more focused than ever on ensuring that
sporting journey is available to all.
"London 2012 offers us a once in a lifetime opportunity to
get it right, to create a structure that allows sportsmen and
women to maximize their potential from the moment they first encounter
a sport – whether that be in their local school, club or ultimately
on the world stage. That is our goal, and that will be the
focus of all of us in helping Sport England to deliver its new
strategy."
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