The Leisure Review: Row Z

Row Z edition 78; dateline 1 August 2013

Woody waxes critical
It seems that apart from Richie Porte, Chris Froome’s mountain minder, Australia’s sportspeople have lost their route map to the top step of the sporting podium. Like the Welsh they are a nation keen to sing when they win but not so happy when the boot is on someone else’s foot and pressed down on their neck, as it were. The chaos that is their cricket team would be painful had the balm of schadenfreude not been so liberally available and had their national rugby union team not famously lost a series to a poorly coached Welsh team only this summer. To explain the decline, we spoke to (well, listened to; well, read about) former coaching god, now sporting goat, Clive Woodward. His explanation that “this is a nation blessed with wonderful athletes but they are being let down by an army of administrators who have no understanding of the coaching process, and some of the coaches seem more concerned with keeping their jobs than winning” should chill the marrow of anyone who cares about British sporting success because if you transpose his words to the UK, in some sports they already resonate all too uncomfortably.

Rugby investigates drug-taking
It seems the Rugby Football Union is keen to explore the “use of performance and image enhancing substances in male adolescent rugby union players” and has “commissioned researchers from the Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure (ISPAL)”. Now you thought they had been sold to ISRM when it changed its name to IMSPA’ didn’t you? Well apparently not and they are now “leading the exploration of these issues among the most talented and committed young players in schools rugby”. Little is known about the factors that influence players' decision-making and willingness to use these substances so this will be a key feature of the research. Curiously, and we don’t think this is stereotyping, the RFU is centering its investigation at Leeds Metropolitan University

Duffy gets ill then better
Speaking of Leeds Met the grape vine is doing a particularly poor job at the minute as it is only in recent days that news reached our ears of the illness of Professor Pat Duffy of said seat of learning. Pat came to prominence on this side of the Irish Sea when appointed to lead Sportscoach UK, which he did with aplomb, inspiring his staff team and the wider coaching world with his charm, hard work and vision. Quite why anyone would want to oust him remains shrouded in mystery but someone did and he joined Carnegie where his charm, hard work and vision have inspired his team and the wider coaching world. Apparently he was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour which was operated on and he was soon emailing colleagues telling them to get on with their work – we paraphrase but we hope his recovery continues apace.

Jamie cooks for City
That Manchester City Football Club has agreed a catering partnership with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will surprise no one familiar with either entity’s style of brash self-promotion. The deal is apparently between something called Jamie's Fabulous Feasts and the even less attractively branded Legends Hospitality, a deal that is “believed to be worth around £6m” according to our friends at Leisure Management. Presumably, given that it was printed in the Hitchin-based magazine and thus we can be sure it reflects what was in the press release, this figure is as reliable as any other piece of PR, including the “fact” that Oliver’s groundlings “will look to source the food from local producers with the celebrity chef personally designing the items on the menu”. Of the menu which is mooted to consist of pies, hot dogs and chips sprinkled with rosemary, Oliver is supposed to have said: “This is probably the most epic food job I’ve ever taken on in my life.”

Wishing you were here...
The telling of the editor’s truncated “I was there when the Green Flag Award was invented” [See the August editorial] story is often followed by the corollary addendum regarding the continuing involvement of the professional representative body for the leisure sector, then known as ILAM and since variously mutated, in the Green Flag Award. Having come up with the idea of an quality award scheme while serving his time at ILAM House as director of policy, a certain Mr Reeves retained his interest in, and commitment to, what had quickly become a very highly regarded and popular award scheme even though he left ILAM to take the helm at CIWEM. While Mr Reeves continued to sit on the Green Parks Award steering group, ILAM’s involvement lapsed, despite their role as originators of the scheme, as the organisation’s energies and ultimately its identity disappeared in endless conversations about, one presumes, backwashing and filtration preferences. On the rare occasions that the editor comes across anyone remotely involved with whatever the leisure industry’s professional body happens to be called at that particular moment he can be heard urging said body to reclaim its rightful role in the Green Flag Award. Needless to say, the victim of this conversation can soon be observed with their eyes either glazed over or desperately swivelling to summon help from someone else in the room, fully aware that a restatement of the fact that the leisure industry’s professional body is officially no longer interested in parks is not going to help them escape.

Nick Reeves RIP
So farewell then, Nick Reeves OBE.
You wore your radical principles
With a matching silk handkerchief
And always parked your tanks on lawns
With due care and attention.
Missing you already, young man.

Sideliner