The Leisure Review: news in brief

Edition number 87; dateline 12 February 2015

Active People: not so much, say latest figures
The annual Active People survey has revealed a picture of national participation that even Sport England describes as “worrying”. The results of the survey show 125,100 fewer people doing some kind of sport at least once a week for at least 30 minutes, with the overall figures incorporating a drop of 245,000 people swimming. Sport England’s chief executive, Jennie Price, said that she was “disappointed with these figures” but appeared to lay much of the responsibility on the poolside. “If swimming’s figures had been flat, we’d be looking at an overall increase in participation” she said. “I am encouraged by the fact that the current leadership at the ASA, and the wider swimming industry, now recognise there’s an issue and want to work together to fix it. It needs to get on with it. Swimming has lagged behind running and the gym in terms of offering an attractive, modern experience to people who want to play sport and exercise. That has to change and to change quickly.” There was some positive news for junior participation and team sports but figures showing 121,700 fewer disabled people playing sport regularly and a 375,700 drop in the poorest socio-economic groups make for depressing reading for anyone recalling the London Olympic bid and its vision of a nation transformed by sport.
• Find the Active People survey via the Sport England website at www.sportengland.org

Cost a barrier to activity, says survey
Cost remains one of the most significant barriers to physical activity, according to the latest Health and Fitness Omnibus Survey (HAFOS) published by Leisure-net Solutions. More than a third (37%) of UK consumers stated a low-cost membership of £10-£15 would entice them to join a gym, and lower cost was also the strongest encouragement factor at 60%. The survey suggests that reducing fees might persuade 60% of respondents to try out their local leisure centre. Mike Hill, director of Leisure-net Solutions, commented: “The opportunity for our sector is clearly there but participation levels have again failed to increase significantly; and this year the public’s perception of the importance of activity has dropped, too. The stagnation in participation could be because many do not understand the ‘new offerings’ available. Having not used our facilities for many years, or indeed at all, they aren’t convinced what we’re offering is good value.”

Tour welcomes an African presence
Having temporarily transformed Yorkshire into the 28th French région last summer, the Tour de France is continuing to push the boundaries of its tradition in 2015. The announcement of the teams that will compete in this year’s race included the MTN-Qhubeka squad, which will become the first African-registered team to ride in the Tour. Although MTN have added some established and Tour-proven names to their line-up over the winter, including Matt Goss from Australia, Edvald Boasson Hagen from Norway and the Briton Steve Cummings, the team includes 13 riders from South Africa, Eritrea, Rawanda and Algeria. Sponsorship comes from MTN, a South African telecoms company, technology giant Samsung and Qhubeka, a voluntary organisation that provides bicycles to children in rural communities. With the Tour starting on 4 July, MTN-Qhubeka will be marking Mandela Day on 18 July and wearing kit featuring the number 67, denoting the number of years Mandela served his country.

Fellowship for the arts
Arts Development UK is inviting its members to demonstrate their professional development and training experience by applying for fellowship of the organisation. The scheme is optional but enables members to qualify for one of three AD:uk fellowship classifications: associate fellow status for those awarded over 50 credits in a calendar year, fellow status (100 credits) and senior fellow (150 credits). Developed by G&M Associates and Business in the Arts NW, the scheme was launched following a year-long consultation and assessment programme. Individuals complete an online questionnaire recording their CPD achievement in each calendar year, with previous experience and qualifications recorded as part of the assessment. Credit points are awarded for a range of CPD initiatives completed, whether through services provided by AD:uk or by other organisations. Corporate members of AD:uk can register up to five individuals from their organisation to the professional fellowship programme.
• For further details visit artsdevelopmentuk.org

Culture is bigger than politics, says Javid
Culture secretary Sajid Javid has defended the loan of the one of the Parthenon marbles to a Russian museum on the grounds that cultural boycotts do not work. Speaking to the Union of Jewish Students, Javid dismissed suggestions that the loan from the British Museum to the Hermitage in St Petersburg was inappropriate given that the UK is imposing economic sanctions on Russia and the Greek government is still requesting the return of the celebrated sculptures. “Britain is currently leading the way in imposing economic sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine,” he said, “but that is not a reason to stop the British Museum loaning part of the Parthenon sculptures to a museum in St Petersburg; because culture is bigger than politics.”

Football taking tentative steps toward living wage
Luton Town, Hearts and Chelsea have added their names to the short list of professional football clubs accredited as living wage employers. Under the scheme employers commit to paying all their staff, included those contracted by external companies to supply services, the UK living wage, which is £7.85 per hour and £9.15 per hour in London. FC United became the first club to sign up to the scheme in October.

Arts Council raises the stakes on diversity
Arts Council England has presented a clear expectation of significant advances in the promotion of diversity among audiences and staff to all its funded organisations. In what equates to an clear shift of emphasis, ACE has announced that it will be expecting the venues, companies and bodies it supports to be able to show how they are working towards making their staff, audiences and repertoire more diverse. ACE chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette described the developments as more of a carrot than a stick and suggested that his announcement would be one of the most important speeches he would make in this role. He acknowledged that progress had been made, with 13% of the people employed in ACE-funded organisations from BME groups, but also said that much more needed to be done, particularly in the area of management.

Coe launches IAAF manifesto
Lord Coe launched his bid for the post of president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), world governing body for athletics that has recently awarded the 2019 world athletics championships to the city of Doha in Qatar. While obliged to field questions about the Qatar bid, which included the last-minute addition of £23.5 million sponsorship and construction commitments, Coe was also able to convey the four main principles within his manifesto. Alongside changes to the world athletics calendar, a greater voice for athletes and increased resources for an independent anti-doping system were plans for a renewed focus on youth. Coe’s youth proposals include a new IAAF department dedicated to developing athletics and a circuit of what he calls “street athletics”.

Garden bridge controversy
Planning permission for the so-called ‘garden bridge’ project has been granted by Westminster, which followed similar permission given by Lambeth on the other bank. Transport for London has agreed to underwrite maintenance costs but the Garden Bridge Trust has come under fire from some quarters, including the Waterloo Community Development Group, that suggest little thought has been given to how the area might cope with the huge numbers of visitors that might be attracted to the area. There have already been misgivings that the bridge would not be part of the public realm but subject to opening and closing hours, along with bans on protests and groups assembling.

Chipperfield decries London’s attitude to the public realm
Sir David Chipperfield, one of Britain’s most celebrated architects, has been critical of London’s approach to architecture and the public realm. Speaking to the Guardian, Chipperfield explained that deference to the value of private investment had done great damage to the city, particularly in comparison to a city like Berlin, where Chipperfield is based and where there is still an understanding of the importance of investment in culture. “[In Berlin] there is still an idea of the public realm,” he said. “We have given that up in London. We have declared the public realm dead; the question is how to get stuff out of the private sector.” Chipperfield’s reputation is built on his work on the Neues Museum in Berlin and the Marbach Museum of Modern Literature but also on work in the UK, including the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames, the Turner Contemporary in Margate and the Hepworth Wakefield.

Castles in concrete
Ken Worpole, one of the most respected and engaging cultural commentators in the UK, contributed a fascinating essay in Radio 3's series on the fall and rise of the British castle. Remembering the pill boxes that were a part of his childhood, he explains why we should not be living in a permanent cultural present and the role that architecture plays in giving us a perspective on our urban and rural environments. You can find it via the BBC iPlayer.

What we’ve been reading
The Leisure Review premium edition includes a column headed ‘What we’ve been reading’ which provides links to a range of interesting articles, documents and broadcasts that may be of interest to anyone involved in sport, leisure and culture pursuits. Ken Worpole’s essay (see above) is one example of the sort of thing on offer. This is yet another reason to sign up for a premium subscription. And did we mention the badge?

Non-breaking but nevertheless interesting news

The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy has launched a free helpline service to provide bespoke initial advice in response to queries from individuals and organisations seeking assistance, guidance or clarification specialist and technical issues. SLC has also unveiled David Rushton as an associate director. All Mytime Active sites, including 16 golf courses and four leisure centres, are now powered by a new biomass energy contract using power supplied from 100% renewable sources. Lifetime Training, founded by Heather Frankham to deliver fitness-specific training, celebrates its 20th birthday this year and now boasts nearly 600 employees, 300 trainers and delivers training annually to around 20,000 people. CIMSPA, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, has appointed Tara Dillon to the post of chief executive following her secondment from the IQL UK during 2014. ICON Training is now offering a Level 4 Leisure Management qualification that is “exclusively endorsed” by CIMSPA. ICON also won the title of large training provider of the year’ for the second year running at the Active Training Awards.