Back issues
Features from previous issues of The Leisure Review
September 2017: issue 84
So much more than a run in the park
Chris Cutforth charts the development of parkrun since its establishment in 2004 to the global social and physical activity movement that it is today.
Coaching or teaching: considering learning situations
Steve Kemp discusses the difference between coaching and teaching, and asks whether a focus on learning might be the best approach.
How tech will shape our industry
David Minton reports from IHRSA and finds that technology is continuing to shape the future of the leisure industry if only we will let it.
Commissioning: 10 tips for a leisure project
Building a new sports or leisure centre is a long and complex journey. David McHendry offers a 10-point list of things to remember at the outset and a few additional points to keep in mind once the project has begun.
March 2017: issue 83
Active Lives: a never-ending story
Martyn Allison considers the lessons from the Active Lives survey and charts the history of participation data. His assessment offers some fundamental challenges to sport and leisure professionals, their employers and their communities.
Could it ever be as simple as looking at the evidence?
After decades of urging practitioners to adopt an evidence-based approach, Carl Bennett is still finding sizeable pockets of resistance. How long, he wonders, before the lessons of behaviour change are learned?
The rise of the box
The concept of the empty-box gym is making gains in the fitness market. Natalie Stein casts a professional eye over the property-related legal issues presented by this dynamic corner of the fitness industry.
The Radical Eye: birth of a new art
The first loan exhibition in Tate Modern’s new Switch House put one of the world’s most acclaimed collection of modernist photography on public display for the first time. Jonathan Ives reports.
Digital learning for leisure
Rob May of YMCA Awards explains how digital-enhanced learning is enabling greater access to courses and why distance learning might offer opportunities for the leisure industry.
Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-1869 by Edward Whymper
The Leisure Manager's Library
An account of the journeys and exploits of a young artist and engraver who arrived in the Alps aged 20 to fulfil a commission to illustrate the great vistas of the mountains and left five years later recognised as one of the world leaders of a brand new sport.
September 2016: issue 82
Could the sentiment of Rio derail an active nation?
Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games was a cause for celebration but there is a risk that the weight of gold could have a damaging effect on community sport and the pursuit of a more active nation. Martyn Allison, Chris Cutforth and Steve Wood explain why so much is at stake.
Upping our game: facilities for sport and physical activity
When it comes to the state of our sport and leisure facilities, Tim Dent sees much to applaud but fears that the scale of the challenge has been underestimated. Here he explains why future success is at risk and what should be done about it.
How to train a police horse
A long face in a match-day crowd led Richard Cheetham to explore a new source of inspiration for sports coaching and consider the real impact of purposeful practice.
A new Tate Modern for a new age
Having been a regular visitor to Bankside long before it became a gallery, Jonathan Ives visits the new Tate Modern and wonders whether Serota’s palace of glittering delights can live up to the promise of the press release.
Cultural capital: a mayor’s vision for London
Speaking at the opening of a new era for Tate Modern, Sadiq Khan explained why he will be putting culture at the centre of his term as London’s mayor and what it will mean for the city.
Building a city: the Leisure Review study tour
Jonathan Ives reports on the Leisure Review’s recent architectural event which brought together a group of experts, enthusiasts and innocents to discuss current trends affecting the public realm.
Roles and responsibilities: what direction for county sports partnerships?
The launch of an independent appraisal of county sports partnerships prompted many to reassess the structures that make up the UK’s sporting landscape. Wayne Allsopp explains why CSPs should remain central to the future for sport.
May 2016: issue 81
Carrots and sticks: a new understanding of sport
The new government strategy for sport presents some significant challenges along with real opportunities. Carl Bennett assesses the size of the carrot being offered but fears that for some organisations only a really big stick will do the trick.
The why, what and how of workplace resilience
The Leading Learning Programme is offering a masterclass series of workshops exploring the issues of workplace resilience. The Leisure Review spoke to Steve Wood about resilience and what it means in current working environments.
IHRSA 2016: are you square fit?
When the Leisure Review found out that David Minton was on his way to Orlando to take part in the IHRSA 2016 event we asked whether he would mind putting in a shift as our roving reporter. He was happy to oblige.
Strange and Familiar: a nation revealed
A new exhibition at the Barbican collects images of Britain created from an overseas perspective. Jonathan Ives wandered the walls to see what is revealed of Britain by those who came to visit.
The impact of legionella infections
Robbie Phillips and Richard Lamburn offer a reminder of the risks posed by legionella and the management procedures required to combat them
February 2016: issue 80
Back to the future: a new strategy for sport
Martyn Allison was pleasantly surprised by the contents of the government’s new sports strategy but here he explains why we must not achieve financial sustainability to the detriment of access for all.
Where we ride: the essentials of growing a sport
Continuing its conversation with John Mills, the Leisure Review discussed the thinking behind British Cycling’s facilities strategy and why it’s about a bit more than just the bike.
Leisure’s hall of fame: who’s next?
Julian Leybourne remembers the inspirational figures who shaped the nascent sport, leisure and culture sector and wonders how the next generation of leaders will emerge.
Engaging with commissioning: further learning material
Further to his article on sport and physical activity, Martyn Allison offers some learning opportunities that have emerged from recent work on commissioning undertaken by CLOA and Sport England.
The mysterious case of funding for sport
Having had time to get used to the contradictions and assumptions of current government spending policies, Jonathan Ives still cannot understand the maths when it comes to elite sport.
October 2015 : issue 79
Dear Minister… we need to talk about sport
In response to data showing falling participation the minister for sport announced that she would “develop a new strategy for sport as a matter of urgency”. Having spent most of his career thinking about what an effective policy for sport should look like, Martyn Allison thought it was time to offer Tracey Crouch a little advice.
Growing sport: achievers, activators and a new role for coaches
The Leisure Review went to Manchester to talk to John Mills, British Cycling’s director of coaching, education and development, to see what’s next on the agenda for one of the UK’s most successful governing bodies. Jonathan Ives reports..
Making a difference in Tanzania
Earlier this year Chris Cutforth spent 10 days in Tanzania as part of the UK Sport International Inspiration IDEALS programme. Here he shares his experiences of delivering a training programme for local sports teachers, the impact of the training, and the personal and professional development benefits of being involved.
Dropping the baton: a decade of Olympic debate
After working with Sport England to create the Use Our School web resource, Wayne Allsopp looks at the latest participation statistics and offers his views on how schools could be playing a bigger part in increasing participation in sport.
The best of times, the worst of time: Manchester Central Library revisited
Manchester Central Library has collected awards and plaudits from all quarters since it reopened after a complete renovation. The Leisure Review dropped in to see what a library inspired by the Pantheon looks like when reinvented for a modern age.
May 2015 : issue 78
King in a car park: the power of culture examined
The discovery of the remains of Richard III focused international attention on Leicester.
Martyn Allison explains some of the challenges that the city council faced and explores some of the lessons that have been learned.
Around town: coping with growth and other challenges
Professor Danny Dorling does not claim to be an expert on traffic or cycling so how did he come to be talking about both subjects in a city he hasn’t lived in for 20 years? The Leisure Review reports on a vision of how our cities might cope with continued growth.
An inconvenient truth for transport
A new book about the history of cycling reveals compelling evidence of the extent to which the modern road system, and indeed modern motoring itself, owe their existence to the pioneers of two-wheeled transport. The Leisure Review heard Carlton Reid explain why..
Sky-high: a modern vision of open space
When is a park not a park? And how public does a space have to be before it qualifies as public open space? The Leisure Review visits London’s most elevated bit of greenery.
Clashing cultures: lessons from an erratic Marxist
The economic crisis gripping Greece has thrown new characters onto the international stage. Jonathan Ives reflects on what Yanis Varoufakis has to say about the role of culture in modern society.
New doors and old-school attractions
The Leisure Review’s local library has a new exhibition space with a traditional approach to display, causing us to reflect on whether there is still some life in old-school attitudes in our museums.
February 2015 : issue 77
A question for sport: is it good for our communities and our society?
Taking up issues raised by Martyn Allison in the last issue of the Leisure Review, Christopher Cutforth offers a critique of current sports policy and some alternative policy ideas, posing some questions for reflection and debate along the way.
Aiming high: how, where and why should UK Sport invest?
UK Sport has undertaken a consultation on whether its focus on investing in performance needs to be reconsidered. Wayne Allsopp was happy to respond but his take on the future of sport asks some searching questions regarding the balance between elite performance and participation.
Blinding success: is winning worth
the cost?
In recent years British sport has amassed medals, trophies and titles at an unprecedented rate but with reports of falling participation rates, Jonathan Ives has begun to wonder whether winning is all it’s cracked up to be.
Constructing Worlds: a vision of the modern city
The Constructing Worlds exhibition has a subtitle of Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age. While the images on show tell us a great deal about both these art forms, the Leisure Review also found some insight regarding how we live today.
The last bookshop
One of the bastions of the book trade has a new home so the Leisure Review took its barely controlled book habit to the Charing Cross Road to see whether the new Foyles might be the saviour of the printed word.
November 2014 : volume eight issue eight
Sport and/or health: the future of local authority sport and leisure services
With no sign of an end to the mantra of austerity, Martyn Allison considers the future of leisure in the public sector and offers some radical challenges for those looking to maintain a role for sport, leisure and culture in the UK.
Horticulture on high: the implications of
chartered status
After a small celebration to mark a new era in horticulture, Andrew Gill, president-elect of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, spoke to the Leisure Review about what such elevated status might mean for the organisation, its members and the wider horticultural sector.
Leading the way: the first five years of the Leading Learning Programme
Sue Isherwood and Melita Armitage explain the origins and the future of sport, leisure and culture’s own leadership programme, and why it continues to transform careers, challenge perceptions and shape the sector.
Under the microscope: pool management practice found wanting
A unique study of pool management practices has provided hard evidence of critical shortcomings. Robbie Phillips reports on the findings of the report and argues that it should be read as a major wake-up call for the industry.
More sport for all: vision or dream?
Wayne Allsopp responds to the Labour party’s policy review of the state of UK sport and offers thoughts on school and community sport, along with some suggestions on improving the structure of specialist sports coaching.
October 2014: volume eight issue seven
Putting the legacy upfront
With the Rugby World Cup 2015 less than a year away, the Leisure Review spoke exclusively to Steve Grainger about what the tournament will leave behind and why the RFU decided to get their legacy in early.
Leadership in sport: a local authority perspective
The Leisure Review on leadership
Mark Allman, head of sport and active lifestyles at Leeds City Council, explains why strong and intelligent leadership is a prerequisite for driving change and meeting the challenges of delivering excellence.
Yesterday: the deadline for management change
The Healthy Comment column
The Commissioner argues that traditional concepts of leisure management have become redundant and that the time has come to embrace change to transform our sector and its chances of survival.
Parks funding: the next generation
Sid Sullivan considers the potential of the Heritage Lottery Fund report and explains why it signals a need to change attitudes to parks funding and leadership within the parks sector.
The pool parasite we all want to control
Cryptosporidium represents a significant threat to pool users and pool operators alike. Robbie Phillips explains why this organism is so dangerous and how it can be managed to protect your swimmers and your business.
Safe play means maintenance
Michael Hoenigmann of the Association of Play Industries explains why regular maintenance and repairs are an essential aspect of safe play.
Summer 2014: volume eight issue six
Play matters: responding to this century’s biggest societal challenge
There has never been a greater need for active play and Michael Hoenigmann explains how the Association of Play Industries (API) is working to make sure this message is being heard.
Le Tour: signposting a better way
With the Tour de France returning to the roads of Britain, Peter Treadgold considers the lessons that the professional peloton might offer to those working to make cycling a greater part of the national transport system.
Active transport: the case for action
The Active Transport for Healthy Living Coalition looks at the implications of creating an environment conducive to active transport and explains why the time is right to make the most of the opportunities.
Making the familiar strange: one action that can transform your coaching
Having ventured into unfamiliar territory, Richard Bailey is convinced that an understanding of the impact of the new should an essential part of the coach’s approach to the learning process.
Rothko revisited
With one of the Rothko Seagram murals now back on display after a long restoration, Jonathan Ives returned to Tate Modern to revisit a modern masterpiece that inspired a lifelong fascination with art and galleries.
June 2014: volume eight issue five
Leading the line for the national game
Pete Ackerley, senior development manager for the national game at the FA, talks to the Leisure Review about the developments that are driving change within the most venerable of governing bodies.
Looking for leadership in good times
and bad
The Leisure Review on leadership
Andy Reed, chair of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, offers his view of what leadership means and explains why the combination of vision and confidence is essential to the process.
Arts Development UK: making it work for their membership
The Leisure Review spoke to Pete Bryan of Arts Development UK about how the organisation has evolved to meet the needs of its members and serve the wider interests of the arts.
Big bang theory
The Healthy Comment column
Frustrated by a recent outpouring of the obvious, the Commissioner explains why we in the sport, leisure and culture sector need to get smarter, offering a seven-point plan to improve physical activity.
England expects: style, flair and passion at the
World Cup
Menswear industry insider Nick Bell assesses England’s chances of making an impact on the World Cup and wonders whether we might have missed an opportunity for sartorial success.
Our man in Legazpi: leisure among the 1000 islands
Currently working with a range of development projects in south-east Asia, Andrew Whittaker offers an insight into what a life of leisure looks like in the Philippines.
May 2014: volume eight issue four
Leadership in Leisure: a challenge for the sector
The Leisure Review on leadership
Continuing the Leisure Review’s exploration of leadership in an age of austerity, Christine Parsloe considers the challenges of allocating resources and anticipating the requirements of the future.
At the heart of sport: a new future for the Sport and Recreation Alliance
The SRA is developing a new approach and a new focus to its work on behalf of its members. Jonathan Ives spoke to Sallie Barker about the process of deciding what to change, what to change to and how to make change happen.
Visible Women: raising profiles, changing attitudes
Amie Samba reports on the work of Visible Women, a support network for women working in male-dominated industries, and argues that we can raise the profile of women in sport when the audience and leaders become visible.
Managing spas: design and operation
Having spent a great deal of time inspecting the pipework of commercial spas from the inside, Robbie Phillips explains that the pictures can reveal potentially life-threatening flaws in design and operation.
Legacy in lanes: the London Aquatics Centre
When the London 2012 Olympic pool finally opened to the public it was time for the Leisure Review’s poorly disguised mystery customer to dust off the clipboard and head for the nation’s most expensive and most prestigious swimming baths. Jonathan Ives reports.
April 2014: volume eight issue three
Reimagining the future: leadership in times of austerity
The Leisure Review on leadership
Continuing the Leisure Review’s series on leadership, Ian Fytche considers the challenges of leadership for organisations facing these most interesting of times.
The Lee Valley velopark: a two-wheeled legacy opens to the public
Eighteen months after London 2012 came to a close the Olympic cycling facilities have opened their doors to the public. The Leisure Review went along to see what the velopark looks like in legacy mode.
The Lee Valley velopark: now that’s what I call a bike hub
Peter Treadgold revisits the site of the old Eastway cycle circuit and find out whether facilities have been improved since he was last on site. It seems that they have.
Is coaching defined by system-designers or by coaches?
With the development of coaching and coaches the subject of so much attention, Steve Kemp wonders whether reflecting on your own personal journey as a coach might help make sense of the coaching structures.
Take a moment
The Healthy Comment column
With the sector facing unprecedented challenges, the Commissioner argues that it is time for story-telling, evidence-based decision-making and some very loud shouting.
The coached experience: stories and recollections beyond winning and losing
A recent PADSIS conference suggested that positive early experiences were far more important than winning in generating enthusiasm for sport and participation. Richard Cheetham considers why “well done” might be the most powerful words in sport.
March 2014: volume eight issue two
Where next for parks? A response
A recent Leisure Review round table considered the future for parks, a debate that prompted a response from Sid Sullivan on behalf of
the Parks Alliance, the group campaigning on behalf of parks and open spaces across the UK.
Will we miss football when it’s gone?
With the World Cup only months away, the Leisure Review wonders whether anyone in charge of football has considered the implications of the Save Grassroots Football campaign.
Splash zones: a manager’s guide
A splash zone is an exciting water feature that can add life to outdoor and indoor environments but, as Robbie Phillips explains, like any other water feature it requires knowledge and vigilance to be managed safely.
Coming soon: the state of UK parks revealed
Invited to attend a recent meeting of the APSE advisory group, the Leisure Review was offered a brief glimpse into the background of the imminent HLF State of UK Parks report. Jonathan Ives reports.
Beyond a Boundary
The Leisure Manager's Library
Widely regarded as the greatest book ever written about cricket , CLR James's rememberance and exploration of a life lived in the context of the game that shaped West Indian culture.
February 2014: volume eight issue one
Where next for parks? The Leisure Review round table
The Leisure Review convened a round table of experts to consider the future for parks and the value of the ongoing campaign to draw attention to the importance of our open spaces. This is what they said.
Leadership in an age of austerity
Martyn Allison wonders what good leadership looks like in an age of austerity and offers
some suggestions on the skills we might look for in a new generation of management professionals.
Home of the blues: behind the scenes at Oxford University Sport
The Leisure Review’s winter conference visited Iffley Road, the celebrated home of Oxford University Sport, to meet John Roycroft, the university’s director of sport, and discover the role that sport plays in Oxford life.
Leave the clinical to the clinicians
The Healthy Comment column
The Commissioner considers the origins of the promotion of physical activity and wonders whether exercise professionals have the right to decide who will and will not take part.
The end of economics: why numbers are killing culture
Inspired by the culture secretary’s recent speech at the British Library,
Jonathan Ives argues that the time has come for the government’s department of culture to ask the Treasury that most difficult of questions: why?
December 2013: volume seven issue ten
Managing pool water: The Leisure Review round table
With research programme into the standards of management and control of cryptosporidium in Wales ongoing, The Leisure Review gathered a number of experts to explore the implications for the management of swimming facilities.
Christine Parsloe: Guardian public servant of the year
Christine Parsloe, leisure and culture development manager at the London borough of Merton, spoke to The Leisure Review about her career, awards and what this recognition might mean for leisure and for her personally.
From King’s Cross to Soho: a new understanding of urban open space
After an architectural adventure Jonathan Ives considers how the understanding of traffic and transport is changing perceptions of urban open space and perhaps even economic conventions.
Approaches for coaches: individuals and teams
Nottingham Trent University hosted the latest in the ongoing series of Coaching Insight events and encouraged those assembled to consider the special requirements of teams, individuals and teams of individuals. The Leisure Review reports.
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
The Leisure Manager's Library
A handbook for visitors to the 14th century. A fascinating and engaging introduction to medieval history with
cultural insight and a relevance to anyone with an interest in leisure.
Mad about the Boy
On a bright, cold day in mid-November a great many people headed to St Paul’s for a memorial service to celebrate the life of Nick Reeves. The Leisure Review joined them.
November 2013: volume seven issue nine
High and low expectations
With extensive experience of disability sports provision in East London, Amie Samba explores the high expectations of volunteers and low expectations of its beneficiaries.
The ultimate question for your customers
Mike Hill explains the concept of the Net Promoter Score and why it might help the UK sport, leisure and culture sector improve both customer service and the bottom line.
Why nudge the public when it’s the sector that needs a shove?
How to persuade people to change their behaviour? The Leisure Review’s health correspondent wonders whether the gentle approach now needs to be revised in favour of rather more pointed measures.
Never mind the quality, feel the width
Martyn Allison offers some personal reflections of New York and New Jersey, wondering all the while what lessons the UK sport, leisure and culture sector might learn from the American experience.
Greg Dyke versus the two-pint player
With the national team off to Rio and the national governing body gazing at its navel, Mick Owen takes a look at the national game and offers Greg Dyke some advice.
October 2013: volume seven issue nine
Crab football, climbing trees and coiffure: an Insight in Manchester
Coaching young adults can present a challenge to coaches. Our latest Coaching Insight seminar explored the minds of the coming generation.
Managing decline: looking out for parks professionals
With new initiatives and campaigns to support parks, Jonathan Ives wonders where the loss of institutions and organisations leaves parks managers.
Leading Learning: a new century of achievement
Having reached a century of successful participants, the Leading Learning Programme is now recruiting for 2014. Sue Isherwood explains how the programme has helped to expand horizons, change attitudes and transform careers.
Girls (not) aloud
Adding value has become a common concept in the health and fitness market but a misunderstanding of value is leading many fitness facilities in the wrong direction. Michael Cassop Thompson explains.
Charles Dickens, A Life
The Leisure Manager's Library
An exploration of the life of one of literature's greatest and most driven figures, revealing some unpalatable truths about a literary icon.
September 2013: volume seven issue eight
Mark Sesnan: a new vision for leisure management
Twenty years after the foundation of Greenwich Leisure Limited, The Leisure Review spoke to GLL managing director Mark Sesnan about the origins, the development and the future of one of leisure’s success stories.
Coaching in business and in sport: a round table discussion
With the likes of David Brailsford taking lessons learned at the cutting edge of sport into commercial settings, The Leisure Review brought three coaches of varying backgrounds to compare the contexts in which they work.
Building for the future in Worcester
While many people in sport sat on their hands and asked what the London Games would do for them, the University of Worcester set out to create their own legacy. Mick Owen went to see it.
Making savings: the future of public libraries
With the public library service continuing to face unprecedented challenges Janene Cox, Yinnon Ezra and Graeme McDonald, library experts all, have collaborated to offer advice on making savings in public libraries.
The demise and demise of PE and school sport
Earlier this year Wayne Allsop had the ear of parliament. Today he tells the readers of
The Leisure Review what’s wrong with school sport.
Joggers: a not-so-swift irritation
A Swiftian modest proprosal
Tipping his hat to the lacerating 18th-century satirist Jonathan Swift, the managing editor modestly proposes solutions to a couple of problems that perhaps only he can perceive.
August/July 2013: volume seven issue seven
Vote for women: a discussion over breakfast
On the morning that the Us Girls project announced it was a finalist in the National Lottery Awards The Leisure Review convened a round table to discuss women in sport.
Heard it on the grapevine
Gwenda Ward issues a challenge to those in charge of athletics to address a number of the rumours that continue to undermine the governing body’s image of a bright and trouble-free future.
Rocky ground: the tale of two cities, three stadiums and billions of pounds
When Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball tour reached London Jonathan Ives joined the faithful at Wembley Stadium and was moved to consider the fate of big buildings constructed on a grand scale.
Play up, play up and learn the game
Play is an integral part of the learning process. Why then, asks Richard Cheetham, do coaches not embrace play when supporting the learning of others?
Service non compris: a tale of two cities
As British Cycling’s best road cyclists hunted down a second consecutive maillot jaune, Mick Owen joined the throng of Brits going abroad and drew some startling conclusions.
T’Tour: a grand depart
The Tour de France is coming to Yorkshire next year with organisers confident of a warm welcome. The Leisure Review nevertheless wonders whether the rest of the UK realises quite how big it could be.
Healthy comment: it’s only work
The Leisure Review’s new health correspondent wonders about the nature of partnership and what it takes to create one that works. After all, making things happen doesn’t just happen.
June 2013: volume seven issue six
Inside if wet: a very British event
When high winds and intermittent rain forced the Allam British Open squash tournament to switch venues Mick Owen was on hand to witness the fallout.
Keeping it clean: pool water under scrutiny
It seems that pool water engineers may not be quite the influential force they once were. The Leisure Review spoke to a pool water expert to hear his concerns about current attitudes.
Arts and culture: the economic case made once more
The latest research to demonstrate the huge contribution of the arts and culture to the UK economy provides yet more evidence of the value of investment. Jonathan Ives looks at the numbers.
It’s not rocket science: a disability conference in Sheffield
Intrigued that a Danish marketing man with a passion for community enterprise should be running a conference on disability in sport, Katy Young went to the EIS in Sheffield to investigate.
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
Following another warning from the ASA about primary school swimming, Andrea Andrews wonders whether encouraging fear of the water is the best approach to learning.
Show of indifference
When the word came through that The Leisure Review was required to attend a folk festival Mick Owen girded his loins and sharpened his pencil.
Shine a light: coach education under scrutiny
With two reports on the state of coaching in athletics emerging blinking into the light this month, Joe Coach felt constrained to take a look at a coach education system apparently in meltdown.
Framing the future: a consultation in Manchester
Invited to go and tell a politician what to think, Mick Owen was more than happy to give half a day to the future of sport on our readers’ behalf.
May 2013: volume seven issue five
Getting Britain cycling: a golden age of active transport
Jonathan Ives wonders whether the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group’s Get Britain Cycling will prove to be a tipping point or too big an opportunity for politicians to comprehend.
Legacy is not just about the Olympics
The aim of the North West Physical Activity Forum’s (NWPAF) conference this year was to take the bones out of the Olympic legacy from a health perspective. Chair Rob Woollen tells us what he learned.
Making stately progress in Staffs
What with an early Easter and a late spring, the keepers of countryside attractions will have welcomed recent breaks in the weather. Mick Owen went for a nice day out in the country and drew some surprising inferences.
Builded here: a paean to the church hall
Bathed in ignorance and blinded to the obvious, Jonathan Ives has only recently discovered the joys of the UK’s greatest indoor leisure resource. Let’s hear it for the church hall.
Looking for a new Eady: a text book review
In 1993 John Eady wrote the book that defined sports development. Twenty years on
Mick Owen reviews a new text, Strategic Sports Development, to see if the old curmudgeon can finally step aside.
Transcending incidentals: key issues for corporate social media
Michael Cassop Thompson offers an introduction to a corporate understanding of social media, pointing out some flawed assumptions and a few suggestions along the way.
April 2013: volume seven issue four
Schools of thought: the sector’s response to Gove 2013
Michael Gove’s much-anticipated announcement about school sport brought out the worst in the sport system. Mick Owen reviews the responses, shaking head as he does so.
Why competition is not a 'C' word
Much to Mr Gove's probable chagrin, coachings long-established and highly effective
C-system does not include 'competition'. David Haskins explains why it is not on the list.
Are you inspired yet?
With every sporting agency attaching the word ‘inspiration’ to events, activity programmes and marketing campaigns The Leisure Review convened a Coaching Insight to see what the word means to coaches in the post-Olympic landscape.
Time to drop the sat nav
With the unprecedented reorganisation of the NHS now taking place,
Carl Bennett challenges the sport, leisure and culture sector to accept the realities of the new health environment and start making plans to find their way through a new funding landscape.
It was not about the bike
David Walsh spent more than a decade exposing Lance Armstrong as a liar, a bully and a cheat.
The Leisure Review went to hear him talk about the book that tells the story, Seven Deadly Sins.
Four minutes to fitness
The four-minute intensive exercise regime is back in the news but Jonathan Ives wonders whether it serves to highlight the failure of leisure to address one of the most important societal issues of our age.
March 2013: volume seven issue three
Another Gormley, another perspective
When Mick Owen was given the chance to visit the Iron Men on Crosby beach he cut some sandwiches, packed his waterproofs and set out for Merseyside.
Afraid to ask and afraid to reply: is it time for a reticence amnesty?
Andrea Andrews wonders whether it is time for swimming teachers to ask the right questions of the right people and find out what young people want to learn.
Nomad: the Cowboy Junkies on tour
On a cold evening in a classical venue The Leisure Review came face to face with the modern music industry and wondered whether the Cowboy Junkies represent the past, present or future of rock and roll.
Creating value via collaboration
Michael Cassop Thompson explores the role of user-generated content and, using the CIMSPA Linkedin page as a case in point, wonders whether some of the value is in danger of being lost.
A north Glasgow riposte
Andy McLaren and Paul Fletcher take issue with The Leisure Review’s understanding of the sporting opportunities available in north Glasgow and offer their own interpretation of how sport is delivered.
February 2013: volume seven issue two
Physical activity: The Leisure Review round table
With physical activity so prominent in so many discussions, The Leisure Review brought together a number of senior practitioners representative of both sides of the health-leisure fence to debate the common ground between the sectors.
Local wellbeing for local people
When the editor of The Leisure Review was pondering an exploration of the wider physical activity landscape for the February issue Mick Owen opted to stay close to home and close to his heart by investigating ‘doorstep PA’.
Getting the UK active
David Stalker sheds some light on why the Fitness Industry Association has become ‘ukactive’ and why a new new logo and new colour palette means a new vibrancy for the organisation.
Exeunt omnes: time to walk away
Having studied government policies for the arts in some depth and even considered those relating to sport, James Bryce thinks he may well have found the answer to the apparent policy problem.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 17. As an experienced senior sports administrator, MacSideliner leaves no stone unturned in the search for hubris and high-minded daftness in Scottish sport. Doesn't take long.
January 2013: volume seven issue one
Ready! Steady! Don’t go…
Enthused by a new year full of possibilities, including the move of public health back into the local authority realm, Carl Bennett asks whether sport and leisure will get out of the blocks.
It took you how long?
For many people the hard work in a training session is preceded by a far greater challenge. Richard Cheetham offers an appreciation of the ‘training journey’ as a consideration in choosing coaching behaviour.
A rock and a hard place: what next for CIMSPA?
CIMSPA and SkillsActive have announced plans for a closer working relationship. The Leisure Review reports on some of the questions that remain regarding the recently chartered institute’s future.
December 2012: volume six issue ten
Cann do: getting Glasgow’s legacy in early
Challenged to find a positive story about the prospect of local legacy from mega-games in the UK in the 21st century, Mick Owen headed for Glasgow to talk to ng2’s Greg Cann.
Sporting perspectives: a British pinnacle
Jonathan Ives takes offers a personal assessment of the Hoy Hypothesis, which suggests Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France victory represents the pinnacle of British sporting achievements.
Dissecting the power dynamic: a Coaching Insight in Nottingham
The coach/performer relationship is key to coaching success but hard to get right. Mick Owen went to Nothingham in search of insight into this building block of coaching.
The myth of the arts
James Bryce wonders why the arts are important to some but not to others, particularly when the others in question happen to be those in government.
Against the tide: tales of a local swimming club
Adam Higgins goes poolside in Glossop to talk to Alan Fennell about how his club is facing the future in the wake of the legacy promises of London 2012.
Challenges on a bigger scale: India’s steps towards a national sport system
Ben Gittus reports from TURF 2012, an improbably titled convention looking at all aspects of sport in India, and explains the contribution of UK-based personnel to the debate.
November 2012: volume six issue nine
Marcel Duchamp: his part in my downfall
London’s Barbican has announced that it will host a four-month celebration of the work of Marcel Duchamp in 2013. Nick Reeves explains why it will confirm Duchamp as the greatest cultural figure of the modern era.
Learning through games, with games and from the Games
The latest Coaching Insight took The Leisure Review to the Hertfordshire Sports Village for the sixth annual Hertfordshire coaching conference.
Cycling in the House
Lord Berkeley, secretary to the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, made the journey to Oxford to talk about parliamentarians’ attitudes to cycling. Jonathan Ives reports.
What’s in your toolbox?
Carl Bennett offers a new handbook for leisure managers looking to engage the health sector. Welcome to the first edition of Bennett's Crucial Guide to Health Terms.
Windmill tilting in the valley of the Holme
At The Leisure Review we admire people prepared to put a dream before the mundane pursuit of Mammon. In the Yorkshire Pennines Mick Owen found a right pair.
The next Olympics: what now for snow sport?
Steve Golby considers the post-London 2012 landscape from the perspective of the summer Olympics’ winter cousin and what it means for the UK's snow-based representatives.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 15. It's a tough life following Scottish sport, according to our own North Briton correspondent, but the light at the end of the tunnel has been walking down the high street to tumultous applause. Can this be the sign of things to come?
October 2012: volume six issue eight
Imogen Williams: inside university sport
What happens in the groves of academe can be a mystery to the person on the Clapham Omnibus so The Leisure Review spoke to Imogen Williams and invited her to lift the veil on university sport.
Another campaign for public parks
Jonathan Ives reports on the launch of another campaign to protect public open spaces and wonders whether any lessons have been learned in the years since the last one.
RAPS: a new style for swimming
Mick Owen reports on RAPS, a new initiative for swim teaching that has brought together some of the leading players in the learn to swim market.
A fresh perspective
The Leisure Review asked Adam Higgins, a genuine young person, what he and his peers have made of London 2012. This is what he wrote.
Goggles: to wear or not to wear. Why is there such a question?
Zoe Cheale wonders why some education authorities prevent the use of swimming goggles during swimming lessons when their use can be the key to success for nervous swimmers.
Leading Learning: what we’ve achieved and why there is still work to do
Sue Isherwood and Martyn Allison offer a brief history of the Leading Learning Programme and explain why, after three and half years of success, it is still needed by the sport, leisure and culture sector.
The Paralympic effect in the pool
Andrea Andrews has been delighted by the impact of our Olympic summer on students who are learning to swim, particularly the Paralympic performers.
Three and out: it’s LIW time again
The exhibition we have learned to call Leisure Industry Week comes round early each autumn whether The Leisure Review wants it to or not. This year we sent a correspondent.
September 2012: volume six issue seven
Joined in and joined up: legacy in action in Notts
While national agencies and government work hard on their legacy narrative, Simon Starr of Sport Nottinghamshire offers some hard evidence that London 2012 is still working.
Creating a legacy in an information age
Carl Bennett wonders whether the most effective legacy of London 2012 could have been the data it collected rather than the feelings it inspired.
Inspiration: can we finish the course?
Following our April Coaching Insight seminar which looked at inspirational coaching,
Richard Cheetham focuses on coaches as a source of inspiration and why they are crucial to a post-Olympic legacy.
The Tanks: taking the Tate underground
Tate Modern has opened a series of new galleries for performance and installation art. Resolutely unafraid of the dark, The Leisure Review’s art critic headed for the Thames and made the crossing.
‘Lympic Fever? I’ve had it
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins provides an in-depth insider's account of life as a Games maker at London 2012 and offers some rather worrying conclusions on the impact of the Games for the legacy of volunteering.
What did the Olympics do for us?
Despite a dearth of real evidence, Joe Coach decides to draw hard and fast lessons from the Olympic experience and looks to volleyball’s Audrey Cooper for some inspiration.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 14. MacSideliner considers the impact of London's Olympics and the prospects for Glasgow 2014, wondering all the while if there are any lessons to be learned by Scottish voters.
July/ August 2012: volume six issue six
A new vision for canals and waterways:
The Leisure Review round table
With the management of canals and rivers now officially moved from a quango to a charity, The Leisure Review convened a round table to discuss the implications of the change.
Back on the skyline: Cutty Sark reopens
With Cutty Sark now open to the public for the first time since 2006, The Leisure Review visited one of London’s most revered visitor attractions.
Coaching’s glass ceiling: a debate with transparent aims
With some high-profile former pros appointed to coaching roles in national squads, The Leisure Review convened a round table to discuss elite coach development pathways, or the lack of them.
Submission to the All Party Group on Sport: the state of UK sports coaching
At the end of last year The Leisure Review was invited to draft a report to the parliamentary All Party Group on Sport on the state of coaching in the UK. Following our consultation, this is the result.
1936: a story that has to be told
Tom McNab, coach, writer and raconteur, has written a play about the 1936 Olympic Games. The Leisure Review spoke to him about the play, its inspiration and the current production at Sadler's Wells.
Johnson versus Lewis: a black hat/white hat kind of thing?
Does a new book about an historic race offer insights into the present state of the Olympic family? We read The Dirtiest Race in History to find out.
1 in 3: taking the fear out of swimming
Andrea Andrews responds to the article in the June issue of The Leisure Review on the ASA manifesto for swimming and suggests that there is still some way to go if the non-swimmer is to become a rarity.
Politics and sport: a non-fan goes to the football
James Bryce reacquaints himself with the niceties of the national game and finds memories, questions and a few answers being kicked around.
June 2012: volume six issue five
I can't hear you...
Carl Bennett wonders why, with so much to offer health, the sport, leisure and culture sector fails to be heard by potential colleagues. He thinks he may have an answer.
Under a crooked spire
In Chesterfield a ray of hope is being nurtured by the local football club and some of its oldest supporters. Mick Owen took the office notepad to report on what he found.
1 in 3: a stark warning for school swimming
The Leisure Review takes a look behind the headline figures of the ASA manifesto for school swimming to see what it might mean for the sport, leisure and culture sector.
It takes a village
Mildly piqued by a reference to the Hertfordshire Sports Village in the last issue of The Leisure Review, Nick Brooking explains what the facility has to offer and why it has been a forward-looking enterprise from the outset.
Chariots of Fire: the play
When we heard that someone was making a play out of the Olympics we recognised a classic TLR moment and sent John Webb to Hampstead to see what they were about.
A sporting chance for arts-based legacy
James Bryce, Scottish arts correspondent for
The Leisure Review, considers the penetration of 2012-related joie de vivre beyond the M25.
I coulda bin a Nancy: taking the learning from the stalls
When John Owen Jones was booked to give his Phantom in Manchester The Leisure Review broke the mould and sent Joe Coach to see what could be learned.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 13. This issue sees MacSideliner taking a long, hard look at the Scottish sporting scene, taking on the mantle of the North Country rhymer.
May 2012: volume six issue four
COMPASS points for school sport and physical activity
Martin Gallagher talks to The Leisure Review about the aims of COMPASS, its place within the sporting environment and what London 2012 may mean for physical activity in schools.
The building blocks of coaching inspiration
The Leisure Review’s latest Coaching Insight asked whether it is the coach's job to inspire. An elevating and inspirational discussion ensued, offering delegates a challenging vision of a sporting future.
Thriving on chaos: an Antipodean approach to coaching
When rugby league coach Martyn Rothwell used a Winston Churchill Fellowship to look at coaching in New Zealand and Australia he found chaos reigned; and liked it.
Link me in, Scotty
One of the legacies of the Olympics has been a proliferation of schemes and initiatives with very little rationale beyond garnering headlines and getting ticks in the boxes marked ‘participation’. Mick Owen joined a LinkedIn discussion group to find out where the Community Games fitted into the bigger picture.
The Genesis of an event
Steve Hackett was playing at the Queen's Hall. James Bryce went along to see how he was getting on these days and to wonder at the merits of converting churches to leisure venues.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 12. This month MacSideliner takes colour as the theme and is also able to report on an unlikely success in the area of health campaigning.
April 2012: volume six issue three
What is the future of sport?
Andy Smith and Simon Kumar of York St John University offer four predictions for the future of sport and suggest how those involved with sport might be able to create the future they want.
Low-cost gyms: The Leisure Review round table
The Leisure Review round table took the low-cost gym market as its subject and gathered some of the most senior figures in the fitness industry to discuss the issues.
Cleanse the oil from sport – and the arts
BP’s sponsorship of the London Olympics breaches the International Olympic Committee’s code of ethics and is a stain on the name of sport, argues Nick Reeves.
Sustainable clubs in a changing climate
Wendy Sheldrick reports on a conference exploring sustainability for community clubs in East Lothian and finds food - and drink - for thought.
Another Brick in the Wall: the building blocks of coaching excellence
Kay Adkins presented and facilitated at the first of The Leisure Review’s spring series of Coaching Insightsand still had the energy to write a report.
Steamed up over ale: museum innovation on an industrial scale
When The Leisure Review heard of a beer festival with steam trains managing editor Mick Owen pulled rank and spent a happy afternoon at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry.
A new cultural force: a Boss view of music
The keynote address at the South By Southwest festival was delivered by Bruce Springsteen, who revealed some surprising affinities with British culture. Jonathan Ives reports.
March 2012: volume six issue two
Parks, play and practicalities
The Leisure Review talks to Ian Brooke, head of leisure at Oxford City Council, about play and the future of parks as a political touchstone.
An unfinished world
Nick Reeves went to Oxford to see an An Unfinished World, an exhibition of the work of
Graham Sutherland, arguably one of Britain's most under-celebrated artists.
Olympic visions in flying colours
The Leisure Review visited the London velodrome and may well have found the first star of the 2012 Olympic Games under a hyperbolic paraboloid.
School sport: chasing inspiration
Baroness Sue Campbell, chair of the Youth Sport Trust, looks at what lies ahead for school sport in 2012.
Telling it straight: one future for sport in schools
Spurred on by Michael Gove’s attempts to eviscerate sport in schools, The Leisure Review went to Yorkshire to meet two beacons of hope in the post-apocalypse landscape.
Why isn’t health listening?
Carl Bennett continues the debate on the relationship between the health and leisure sectors, warning that you might not like what he has to say.
Don’t leave me this way: why apprenticeships work
With staff turnover in the leisure industry running at over 80% over four years, Colin Huffen makes the case for apprenticeships as a way of countering ‘churn’.
Doing the business in Bury
John Eady is officially “the man who wrote the book on sports development”. Mick Owen went all the way to Lancashire to listen to him.
The Games Maker journey
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins offers an insight to the process of volunteering for London 2012 and how the Games Maker experience is leaving a lot to be desired.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 11. MacSideliner offers an introductory course on tax efficiency techniques north of the border, sporranomics and advanced coaching techniques in the face of continuing defeat.
February 2012: volume six issue one
What future for physical activity?
The Leisure Review talks to Dr Charlie Foster about the current profile of physical activity within public health policy and what could be done to move physical activity up the policy agenda.
The chameleon coach: exploring the pressures on modern coaches
At The Leisure Review’s recent Coaching Insight in York a room full of developed and developing coaches explored the modern coaches' challenge, that of having to be all things to all people.
Ashmolean redux: the Egyptian collection
Jonathan Ives visits the Ashmolean to see six new galleries housing the museum’s collections of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.
Design and democracy; a parliamentary exhibition
The Scottish parliament is hosting an exhibition in which art students explore the relationship between art and democracy. James Bryce went along to the grand opening to report for The Leisure Review.
Master meets apprentice: training coaches the old-fashioned way
Given the massive turnover in coaches, Joe Coach comes over all medieval in the search for a way to increase retention levels.
Valediction: an industry expert’s view of his demise
To mark his retirement from the post of CLOA policy officer and factotum, David Albutt offers his own unique perspective on leisure's successes and failures, hits and misses.
Are you working harder not smarter?
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins ponders the latest participation statistics and wonders if we need to refocus on what works and do it on our own doorsteps.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 10. MacSideliner offers a cheery new year with some thoughts on a post-independence sporting landscape, along with pre-CWG thoughts on the London Olympics and some misty eyes.
December/January 2011/12: volume five issue eleven
Safeguarding soccer from the Etihad to Urmston
The Leisure Review talks to Nic Scott, the man charged with delivering the four Cs of safeguarding on behalf of Manchester City.
Measuring culture
Jonathan Ives looks at a couple of recently published documents as part of the continuing search for the definitive case for leisure.
Creative, child-centred, commercially attuned and compassionate: is this the modern coach?
An eclectic mix of presenters and a lively audience made for a Coaching Insight in Winchester which crackled with ideas and debate.
Opportunity knocks: the legacy of London
With London’s Olympics almost upon us, Jonathan Ives wonders whether the 2012 Games could yet deliver a legacy that would serve the interests of sport around the world.
Transportation and storage of chemicals for swimming pools
In the latest article in the SPATA series of technical briefings for swimming pool managers Howard Gosling considers the regulations and guidance relating to all aspects of pool-related chemicals.
Lessons in good will from a very different perspective
Tales from a Tub
A recent trip to Rwanda presented Kay Adkins with a very different view of what constitutes difficult sporting conditions but also served to emphasise the value of sport to all communities.
A review of books
With Christmas posing the usual challenge of finding something for everyone, our book reviewers have cast their collective eye over some printed matter so that you don’t have to.
November 2011: volume five issue ten
Why world-class performance needs collaboration and skills development
Steve Franks looks at issues of training and skills development within the leisure industry, making the case for partnership and courage.
Commercial contracting and the building of swimming pools
Jim Gordon explains how to manage use of specialist contractors in the development of wet facilities to ensure the best outcomes are achieved.
Making strides: Nordic walkers convene in London
With colleagues from around the world descending on Hyde Park to talk about and try new developments in Nordic walking, Catherine Hughes packed her poles and joined them.
Developing talent: in search of the Philosopher’s Stone of elite coaching
The Leisure Review Coaching Insight programme brought coaches and performers together to consider the question of the pinnacle of performance. Jonathan Ives reports.
Sitting at the feet of giants
Mick Owen reports from the second Coaching Insight session of the autumn schedule, which saw three of Nottinghamshire’s very best coaches on stage.
Mental health: an issue for coaches
To mark the occasion of World Mental Health Day, and to find out why governing bodies of sport would be exercised by such an issue, Joe Coach read a book and went to a workshop.
Trusting to the future and the past
Tales from a Tub
From her perspective as a trustee, Kay Adkins considers the pro and cons of leisure trusts, and urges a realistic approach to what they can do.
The High Ground
An alternative view of the Scottish landscape
Edition 9. MacSideliner does some post-RWC chin stroking and wonders at the implications for sport in Scotland.
October 2011: volume five issue nine
Different strokes: David Sparkes on swimming
The chief executive of British Swimming and the ASA, the national governing body for aquatic sports, talks to The Leisure Review about the past, the future and life in the water.
Which way now: one way forward
Andy King adds to the debate posed by the recent Which Way Now articles, offering a different vision of sustainable and effective facility management.
In retreat: the legacy of London
With fewer than ten months left in the diary before the Olympic flame is ignited in London Jonathan Ives casts an eye over recent pronouncements on the efficacy of legacy planning.
All systems go: a positive approach to Scottish coaching
Beth Macleod takes a look at how Positive Coaching Scotland is using sport to effect transformational change in children’s learning.
Out to grass: a new approach to pitches
Kit Campbell offers an alternative approach to sports pitch management that could be financially and socially sustainable for local authorities and sports clubs.
Hydrotherapy pools and specialist treatment rooms
SPATA’s Jim Gordon explains the whys and wherefores of an important facet of the pool marketplace.
From Ireland to Egypt: an afternoon in Belfast
Helen Rose reports from one of Belfast’s most celebrated attractions, the Ulster Museum.
September 2011: volume five issue eight
Which way now: the response
Following his article in the August issue of The Leisure Review, Duncan Wood-Allum sifts through the responses to his challenge to the sector.
Six and out: the end of the UK School Games
Amid a summer glut of sporting events The Leisure Review travelled to Sheffield and took its place at the UK School Sport Games.
Fields in Trust: protecting the ‘where’
The Leisure Review talks to Fields in Trust chief executive Alison Moore-Gwyn on the campaign to protect our playing fields and open spaces.
Pool hall switches: environmental control in pool halls and wet areas
Continuing the series of articles authored on behalf of SPATA, Richard Carrington and John Scott consider the main requirements for environmental control in swimming pools.
Making your mindset up: a coaching conference
in Leeds
Mick Owen reports from Pat Duffy’s recent coaching conference in Leeds.
Breakfast for champions, or at least their coaches
On hearing that someone was running a CPD workshop for coaches, Joe Coach went under cover to compare like with like.
Poles apart: Nordic walking for beginners
Physical activity has never been higher on the public agenda and so Mick Owen tried out a new approach to an age-old experience.
Drawing a good crowd: the Edinburgh Fringe from every angle
Having spent this August in Edinburgh Fringe veteran James Bryce reviews a show, plugs his own and gives the would-be Fringe performer some sound advice.
Memories are made of this: an evening with the middle classes
Mick Owen heads for Chatsworth, Derbyshire’s premier stately home, to explore the leisure habits of middle England.
August 2011: volume five issue seven
Swimming: a fresh perspective
Spencer Moore offers an insight into swimming from the perspective of the sport’s governing body and considers a coordinated management approach.
Change has come – but which way now?
In the first of a series of articles for The Leisure Review Duncan Wood-Allum suggests the need for a radical change of direction in where the remaining public money is spent on council sport, leisure and cultural services.
Re-thinking sports and physical activity participation strategies
Inspired by the Sport Under Pressure conference, Joe Coach argues the case for changes to the status quo of accepted coaching practice.
Finishes for pool tanks and other wet areas
Jim Gordon explores and explains why pool finishes are an essential aspect of pool design and management.
Lost in France: encore et encore et encore
It's summer so The Leisure Review sent les envois speciales to France to sample the sport, leisure and cultural highlights of our nearest neighbours.
Just as you are
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown remembers Amy Winehouse and wonders whether we should take a new approach to the lives of performers.
July 2011: volume five issue six
A view from the bridge
From his unique perspective of the sport, leisure and culture sector, Martyn Allison identifies some of the challenges to come if the sector is to survive.
The healthy option: a route to funding
At the recent Sport and Recreation Alliance conference Dr William Bird explained how to package physical activity for physicians, outlining a huge opportunity for the sport, leisure and culture sector. The Leisure Review reports.
Postscript from the Edge
Eddie Edge is now seeking new challenges outside the system he spent 37 years helping to build. The Leisure Review went to talk to him.
Coaching: profession, vocation or business opportunity?
The latest in the series of The Leisure Review coaching Insight sessions explored the issues of professionalism within sports coaching.
Planning your plant room
The SPATA technical committee explains why having a properly finished pool is vital for the safety and efficiency of swimming facilities.
Challenges for sport infrastructure in the Netherlands
Remco Hoekman explores the implications of population development and the location of facilities on the sporting future of the Netherlands.
Mud, sweat and beers: the things they don’t tell you about Glastonbury
Our highly experienced festival-goer, Tom Charles, reports from Glastonbury on what you might expect as a first-timer and what might attract you as on old-timer.
June 2011: volume five issue five
The Turner Contemporary: a catalyst for changing fortune
Can the Turner Contemporary serve as the catalyst for change that Margate so desperately needs? Local boy Rob Wallis went to see for himself..
Pitching a new funding stream: Places People Play
A new grant aimed at protecting playing fields was launched in May at a series of seminars around England. The Leisure Review reports.
What future for sport under the coalition?
The Sport and Recreation Alliance’s conference set out to address one of the most basic questions for sports administrators looking to government for assistance. The Leisure Review took its place.
Embracing chaos: innovative approaches to coaching
Jonathan Ives reports from the latest TLR Coaching Insight seminar on creating, managing and living with change and a changing coaching environment.
Challenging the sports movement
Asked to offer a perspective on the state of the UK sport system under pressure, The Leisure Review packed an overnight bag and headed for Denmark.
Clear thinking: water treatment for pools
The use of chlorine gas was phased out in swimming pools some thirty years ago. Bob Judd considers post-chlorine developments in water treatment technology.
Change management: fad or future-proofing?
With sport, leisure and culture changing at a bewildering pace Matt Fisher makes the case for project management as a way to create order out of the chaos.
David Rose: women, whistles and rugby union
The Leisure Review spoke to David Rose, head of development at the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW), about the state of play in his sport for women and men.
May 2011: volume five issue four
Rights and wrongs: sport and television
The Leisure Review spoke to Sunset and Vine chairman Jeff Foulser about the impact of television and why ratings rule the world of sport.
Leading in Leeds: melting pot or crucible for coach developers?
When Professor Pat Duffy extended an invitation to the nation’s coach developers Mick Owen went along to hear about a new vision for coaching.
Right on museum of the Left
Drawn to the People’s History Museum by an exhibition around women’s football, Mick Owen was taken aback by Manchester’s only designated national museum.
Route master: London by bike
Jonathan Ives reviews London’s bike hire scheme, its impact on the environment and its contribution to the language of the city.
The day we volunteered
The Manchester International Festival has recruited 400 volunteers to be the public face of its many events. The Leisure Review reports on the process of volunteer recruitment and management.
Cover stories: a practical guide to getting the right pool cover
Pool covers are the most cost-effective way of saving heat energy used to run a swimming pool. Will Dando advises on getting it right.
The English Institute of Sport: a view from the top
Jonathan Ives talks to EIS national director Nigel Walker about sporting relationships, core values and the effects of funding.
Sport under pressure: some lessons learned
Joe Coach spent a day at Birmingham University where the academic elite were discussing the fundamental issues for sport in these times of economic pressure.
A vision for coaching: Frank Dick's perspective
Frank Dick, UK director of coaching from 1979 to 1994, speaks to Gwenda Ward about athletics, coaching and beyond.
April 2011: volume five issue three
Holding the ring: The Leisure Review symposium
The Leisure Review hosted a 24-hour symposium for senior practitioners and thought-leaders within the sport, leisure and culture sector. This is what happened.
Culture shock: The Leisure Review lecture
Sam Jones delivered The Leisure Review lecture and fulfilled his brief, to challenge his audience to embrace a new way of thinking, with aplomb.
The Leisure Review symposium communiqué
After 24 hours of discussion members of the symposium were keen to draw some conclusions and offer some solutions. This is the result.
A view from the bridge
Martyn Allison offers his informed perspective on the chances of the survival of the sport, leisure and culture sector.
Some reflections on the future of local public libraries
Yinnon Ezra considers the importance of local libraries and what local government must do to keep them relevant and keep them safe.
The tape that binds: sport’s regulatory burden
Mick Owen reviews the the Sport and Recreation Alliance's hard-hitting report, Red Card to Red Tape.
Trust and transformation
Ian Kendall explains the history of Oldham Community Leisure Limited (OCLL) and shares his top tips for employee-owned organisations.
A premier approach to sport
The Leisure Review talks to David Batch of Premier Sport about coaching, sustainability and exciting business models.
Swimming pools: in the tank
In the first of a regular series, the Swimming Pool and Allied Trades Association (SPATA) considers that most basic of prerequisites for a successful swimming pool – the tank that contains the water.
Ensuring employability by degrees
Mike Collins and Stephen Robson explain how a new degree endorsement scheme will make sports and leisure degrees work harder for graduates and employers alike.
Big events or hot air?
Andrew Whittaker provides an update on Melbourne’s second thoughts on the benefits of Formula One and other major events.
March 2011: volume five issue two
Pooling what we know: The Leisure Review swimming summit
The Leisure Review invited some of the leading lights of the swimming sector to consider the key issues affecting swimming as a recreation, as a sport and as a valuable life skill. This is the debate.
Coaching the hard to coach
The latest in The Leisure Review’s Coaching Insights series of seminars offered challenges, solutions, suggestions and data-based ways forward for sports coaches.
Parkours? Parce que!
Responding to a recent article in The Leisure Review, Eugene Minogue offers some clarification of parkour and the role of Parkour UK.
Johnno must go or English rugby will suffer
With England's rugby union team apparently in the ascendant, Joe Coach argues that their manager should not be in the job.
Arts funding: a parliamentary debate
The Leisure Review presents a few highlights of an erudite argument in favour of investment in the nation’s cultural life.
Getting women into governance
Robyn Cockburn reports on a New Zealand project that is doing something to redress global inequalities.
Is there anybody there?
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown wonders what might be achieved if we all listened carefully and then spoke with one voice.
February 2011: volume five issue one
Culture Shock: a starting point for change
The Leisure Review symposium preview
Having examined the evidence relating to participation in culture and sport, Sam Jones issues a number of provocative challenges to the culture sector in this extract from a paper written for Demos.
What now for school sport and PE: an update
Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, provides The Leisure Review with an exclusive update on government policy for school sport.
A night in the tiles
Sarah Beckett and John Webber have taken their theatrical and facilities experience to review a play being staged in a swimming pool.
Chris Baillieu: coaching in the spotlight
The chair of Sportscoach UK talks to The Leisure Review about the future of sports coaching in the UK and the role of his agency in the post-CSR sports system
Coaching as it should be done
Asked to name a ‘great coach’ many might trot out a stellar name like Wenger, Flower, Mallinder or Poyet. In contrast, John Eady has unearthed a diamond much closer to home.
Parkour? Pourquoi pas?
The Leisure Review takes a run at parkour, a street activity with its eyes on the mainstream thanks to growing interest among young people.
Franchising in the UK sports and leisure industry: a beginner's guide
Steve Franks explains how and why franchising works for so many businesses.
An enchanted palace: new plans and a different approach to funding
Rod Giddins explains why the current development project at Kensington Palace illustrates the benefits of operating free from government funding.
Coaching matters: so what is the future for our profession?
With 2012 a key date for sport, not least for coaching, Joe
Coach looks backwards and forwards while reflecting on the nature of
professionalisation.
December/January 2010/11: volume four issue eleven
SSPs: good, bad or ugly?
John Eady explores the multiple faces of school sports partnerships and asks whether there might be a better way of delivering the same impact for less outlay.
Leisure facilities: don’t waste this crisis
Adrian Hill suggests that this is the time to think differently about leisure facilities and act in pursuit of tangible outcomes.
In search of the Higgs Bosun
With leisure facing long-term spending cuts that will profoundly affect how the sector is able to function in the future, Jim Lynch wonders at the lack of leadership the situation reveals.
From SSP to CSE: a case for change
Svend Elkjaer proposes a way forward for SSPs and beleaguered partnership development managers.
The volunteer debate
Ken Langford responds to the discussion of volunteering in the Nov edition of The Leisure Review
Swimming in a new pool
The Leisure Review went to Walsall to speak to Alan Siddons, the STA business development director, to find out about new initiatives on the horizon.
Play fair: is sport equality a myth?
Is the concept of equality in sport a real commitment or empty rhetoric? Aj Sharma and Anna Gray consider the reality from their perspective as equality trainers and consultants.
Grey Sky thinking: the BISL conference
The recent BISL conference looked to the future of the sport and leisure industry from a business perspective. Jonathan Ives took his seat.
Coaching: art or science?
Is coaching an art or a science? Our universal coaching correspondent, Joe Coach, offers a personal view.
Commercial pools: a look at the law
Jim Gordon, a member of the SPATA technical committee, takes a whistle-stop tour of the more relevant laws relating to commercial pools.
Town hall tippling
Determined to explore the out-of-home leisure industry, The Leisure Review went on trend at a cultural experience in central Manchester.
The International Exchange Group
Duncan Wood-Allum explains how international leisure knowledge and experience are now just a couple of clicks away.
The quest for improvement
Quest’s new directors, Caroline Constantine and Joe Ryan, explain their vision for the future.
November 2010: volume four issue ten
After the spending review: what do we do now?
Having absorbed some of the detail of the public spending cuts, Martyn Allison assesses the sector’s future and wonders whether we have the leadership we need to steer us through the challenges.
Volunteering: The Leisure Review round table
The Leisure Review invited three experts on volunteering to consider the implications of the Big Society concept for the nation's volunteers and voluntary organisations.
What now for school sport and PE?
Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, writes exclusively for The Leisure Review
Dear Sue...
Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, wrote to Sue Campbell to drop something of a bombshell. This is the letter and correspondence thus provoked.
Post-apocalyptic team building
The issue of team-building has risen to the top of many a surviving manager's agenda. Mick Owen looks at two very different approaches to giving your team a head start.
Letting the Gen Y out of the bottle
As a new generation moves into the workplace will the old guard be able to cope? Liz Jones explores the culture clash we can expect as Generation Y meets the Baby Boomers.
Flying High in Donny
The Leisure Review met partnership development manager Lindsy Gray and her right-hand person, Andy Lockwood, to discover what constitutes excellence in school sports partnerships.
Taking sailing around the world
The Leisure Review reports on a new strategy for the World Match Racing Tour and considers the future for the world championship of sailing.
Greening the pool hall
Mick Owen looks at some of the issues involved in taking an environmental approach into the pool hall.
In Cameron’s fantastical world it’s “Off with their head” or Arkham Asylum
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown wonders whether the insanity is hers or if it is spreading from Westminster.
October 2010: volume four issue nine
Professional bodies: The Leisure Review round table
The Leisure Review invited representatives of a number of professional bodies, including the ISRM and ISPAL, to discuss the role and future of professional representation within leisure. This is what they said.
Imagine there’s no money, it’s easy
if you try
While waiting for the details of the comprehensive spending review, Adrian Bradley reflects upon the state of local authority sport and leisure, and its readiness to meet future challenges.
Marshall Street: a brand-new vintage
London has recently acquired a new swimming pool or, more accurately, has had an old one returned. The Leisure Review visits Marshall Street Baths.
Kick-starting work teams
Trevor Laurence explains how to achieve team ignition and establish effective team performance for the duration of a team’s life cycle.
Greening the plant room
As part of our review of the environmental issues facing today’s leisure managers Mick Owen has been down in the swimming pool plant room.
Taekwondo on the way up
The Leisure Review took an alternative route to the taekwondo 3rd British Open in Manchester to see what all that shouting is about.
Does creativity exist outside art?
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown argues that organisations in every field need that spark of originality if they want to succeed.
Is it going to kill you?
Tales from a Tub
Kay Adkins suggests that looking beyond the immediate concerns and towards a better future for the sport, leisure and culture sector -- and yourself -- might be a good idea.
It’s not about the eggs
Apparently the latest leisure activity enjoying a boom isn’t about physical fitness; it’s about poultry. Mick Owen reports from the coop.
September 2010: volume four issue eight
Coaching in and out of context
The Leisure Review Insight session gave coaches, coach managers and coach educators the chance to reflect and debate some of the key issues within the coaching system. Jonathan Ives reports.
Does the Big Society debate include sport?
Could the UK sport system benefit from a touch of Big Society thinking? Someone who works within that system thinks it could and here explains why and how it could be done.
Good for the planet; good for the bottom line
Graham Keene explains how his global company’s commitment to sustainable events led to an international conference in a field in Yorkshire.
Mister Lowry, meet Monsieur Hugo
Under the guise of a visit to see the penultimate performance of the Les Miserables national tour Mick Owen went to see how the Lowry, now into its tenth year, is developing as a venue.
Why did the art lover cross the border?
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown explores Scotland's thrilling summer of art and explains why the answer to the question may well be 'to get to the other side'.
Green light for night games?
The Leisure Review reports on the technical and environmental challenges facing the developent and application of floodlight technology.
August 2010: volume four issue seven
The Big Society comes to Castleton Baths
While the prime minister was explaining the Big Society on Merseyside, Mick Owen was on a poolside hearing how one swimming club is already well on its way to taking its destiny in-house.
Bully for Nottingham
As the inexorable pull of the 2012 Olympics begins to be felt beyond the M25 The Leisure Review went to Nottingham to see how hockey has set about getting its legacy in first.
Community sports development services: a new vision for delivery
With the development and delivery of sport scheduled to be under the spotlight over the next three years Stephen De-Wint wonders whether we have a sports system that will bear scrutiny.
Are you free for coaching?
Sam Abrey reports on Partners in Sport, a programme that puts the John Lewis Partnership at the forefront of corporate contributions to sports development.
Smartmoves: the public realm by foot and pedal
Jonathan Ives reports from the Smartmoves conference and how the capital's public realm is benefitting from a new understanding of how people move around the city.
The impact of stadiums great and small
Tales from a Tub
With her beloved Spirites installed in their new home, Kay Adkins considers the impact of stadiums large and small on their immediate and wider environments.
Dancing around the May, June and July pole
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown explains how team work, empathy, patience and understanding were brought within touching distance of MPs.
July 2010: volume four issue six
An open mind on open space
The Leisure Review talks to Paul Bramhill, chief executive of Green Space, about the state of parks and what the future might hold for green space managers.
Recharging the Battery: a New York view of leisure
Duncan Wood-Allum reports from New York where he spoke to the leading figures in the city's parks and recreation department
about the key challenges facing the city’s facilities and services.
Ring of muddy water
Inspired by Paul Gogarty's odyssey around England’s canals on the eve of the new millennium, Mick Owen recently followed in his wake to see what a nation facing mountainous debt, social disintegration and an unholy hybrid of a government looks like from the Cut.
Cumbrian coach trip to participation
From the top left hand corner of England Rachel Walker explains how the Get Qualified scheme is managing to ensure that the London 2012 promise of a legacy beyond London was not just empty bombast.
Space invaders
Nick Reeves argues that greater intellectual and artistic rigour in the commissioning of public art will create better environments.
The bottom line: coping with carbon reduction
Jeremy Dodge explains why facility managers looking for energy efficiency are becoming familiar with terms such as CRC and VOP.
What to keep from the big bag of leisure?
Tales from a Tub
With spending cuts in the offing Kay Adkins wonders which bits of the sport, leisure and culture sector she would be prepared to ditch in order to save sport and finds it is not as easy as she thought it would be.
Would you like Mexican ice on your cuts?
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Gail Brown reports from the first in a series of salon discussions at the Tate and wonders whether the debate did anything to advance the cause of the arts in times of public spending cuts. A flag for culture, anyone?
June 2010: volume four issue five
Wasim Khan: going in to bat for cricket
Having established his credentials in first-class cricket, Wasim Khan created the Chance to Shine programme to bring cricket into schools. Mick Owen went to Birmingham to find out more.
The London Cultural Improvement Programme
With phase two of the London Cultural Improvement Programme underway, The Leisure Review went to talk to the leading lights of the London Cultural Improvement Group about the status of culture in the capital and the thirst for improvement.
The CCPR conference: fact and fantasy
The CCPR welcomed John Amaechi to its national conference and he offered a selection of challenges, home truths and stark realities for the British sporting establishment. Jonathan Ives reports.
Culture under a coalition
With a new government in office for a few short weeks, The Leisure Review looks at the coalition’s culture team and looks at what we have learned.
Finding the best route to high-quality coaching
Tales from a Tub
When it comes to coach development Kay Adkins is convinced we are sacrificing quality in favour of quantity. Here the Tubmaster explains why the mass production process currently in place fails to support sports coaches and therefore sells them, and the performers they work with, short.
The hunt for 260 elephants and a Picasso
A voice from the gods: the arts and culture column
Continuing the theme of a new political outlook,
Gail Brown wonders at the impact of elephants, Cluedo and some rather old fashioned burglary on the political process.
May 2010: volume four issue four
Playing politics with Cultural Capital
Jonathan Ives considers the impact of Cultural Capital, the document that seeks to make the political case for art and culture.
On court with Adrian Christy
The Leisure Review spoke to Adrian Christy, the chief executive of Badminton England about running a national governing body, community networks and why he is sick of competing with dogs for court time.
What BISL did next
Keen to prove that reports of BISL’s death have been much exaggerated, Andy Sutch offers a quick run through of BISL’s activities in the lobbies of sport and leisure.
Fair play: right or wrong?
A new report, a forthcoming conference, some campaigns and a lot of column inches are being directed at the challenge of playing sport fairly. Mick Owen joins in with a review of the latest statistics.
1,000 days of The Leisure Review
The Leisure Review will be celebrating 1,000 days in existence in May. Mick Owen, TLR’s managing editor, considers how the intervening two and a bit years has gone.
The Milne Bay missive: developing tourism in PNG
Andrew Whittaker, The Leisure Review’s southern hemisphere correspondent, reports on his experience of helping to develop local tourism skills.
April 2010: volume four issue three
Pete Ackerley: developing the national game
Pete Ackerley talks to The Leisure Review about his new role as the Football Association’s senior development manager for the national game.
Culture, champions and politics
With a general election imminent, Gail Brown sifts through the promises made from a variety of platforms to review the evidence for political commitment to the arts.
Street life: but not as we know it
StreetGames recently held its third birthday party, prompting The Leisure Review to find out just what the people who brought the world ‘doorstep sport’ are all about.
Standing a round with Brigid Simmons
With the British pub under threat, The Leisure Review met Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, to ponder the future of one of the great British community assets.
World-class development: Manchester’s events strategy
In recent years elite athletes have beaten a path to Manchester where the city council has determined that legacy can be achieved following major games. The Leisure Review followed in their footsteps.
Books for business: utility, functionality and form
Mick Owen compares and contrasts David Haskins Coaching the Whole Child: positive development through sport and John Seddon’s Delivering Public Services That Work
March 2010: volume four issue two
Reflective practice: The Leisure Review round table
The Leisure Review brought together three coaching experts to discuss reflective practice from the differing perspectives of sport and business. This is how the conversation went.
Project management: a vital skill
Nicky McCrudden explains why well-managed projects can go a long way to increase the reputation of both the project manager and the organisation.
Stones in the house
Mick Owen has recently developed an in-depth appreciation of the sedate but satisfying sport of curling. He explains why.
The Hoerengracht: art in action
Jonathan Ives considers the implications of a Dutch street scene in a London institution.
A question of perspective
Lured by the promise of a cutting-edge viewing experience and a glass of something fizzy, The Leisure Review took its seat for the unveiling of international rugby on 3D television.
February 2010: volume four issue one
The Leisure Review Futures Summit
The second in a series of summits hosted by The Leisure Review looked to the issue of leadership and from where the next generation of leaders might emerge. This full report of the discussion reveals the depth of feeling and the variety of opinions.
Digesting Telfer: the nation’s response
The Hamish Telfer interview in the December issue of The Leisure Review provoked numerous members of the coaching community to respond. Our coaching editor picks through the post to weigh the opinions proffered.
Ashmolean revisited
When a museum spends over £60 million on a major building project you might expect to be able to see it from the street but, as Jonathan Ives explains, they tend to do things a little differently in Oxford.
John Mills: the world on his wheel
In April 2008 The Leisure Review spoke to John Mills of British Cycling about his goal to “produce a world-leading coach education programme”. News that he is to head the world governing body’s drive to take the British model around the world suggests he has achieved it. Mick Owen spoke to the man himself.
Great expectations and finite resources
With the Australian summer in full swing, Andrew Whittaker reports on why high-performance sport is under funding pressure, why local government is pleased by a new focus on participation and why Melbourne’s new multi-use stadium is solving problems and setting challenges.
Sports coaching qualifications in the UK: an evolving landscape
The new Qualifications and Credit Framework will revolutionise coaching qualifications. Andy Grant explains the hows and whys.
Football: a modest proposal
In a week when Alex Ferguson claimed that the behaviour of his players “has always been perfect” we publish the modest proposal that our national game should be encouraged to take its place at the heart of our cultural and community life.
December 2009: volume three issue eleven
Telfer on coaching: an expert’s view
Dr Hamish Telfer offers Mick Owen a challenging perspective of the sports system, the coaching framework and sport’s attitude to safeguarding.
Gaining ground with Leading Learning
With the Leading Learning programme heading into its third year, The Leisure Review was invited to see this cultural leadership scheme at close quarters.
Nigel Lynn: in the chair
Jonathan Ives talks to Nigel Lynn about CLOA’s role and his ambitions for his term of office as CLOA chair.
Leading or lagging behind?
Following The Leisure Review Summit in June, the IDeA hosted a debate on its own website regarding the nature of leadership in the sector. The response was unprecedented and illuminating.
The NZRA conference: spot the difference
In the midst of a peripatetic sabbatical, Duncan Wood-Allum reports from the New Zealand Recreation Association’s annual conference.
The 5Cs for coaching: coaching the whole child
David Haskins explains why the ‘5Cs for Coaching’ offers a different approach for coaches in this country.
The leisure manager's library: Headlong
The Leisure Review guide to leisure-related literature. This month Michael Frayn's well-informed exploration of greed, ethics and some of Belgium's finest artists.
Mobile communications: a modest proposal
Managing editor Mick Owen sets his sights on mobile manners.
November 2009: volume three issue ten
Paul Cluett: not just luck
The Leisure Review talks to Paul Cluett, Alliance Leisure’s commercial director, about his career, his company and the industry in which he has made his name.
One day for Everyday Swimming
The Amateur Swimming Association hosted a one-day seminar in Manchester to explore the impact of its Everyday Swimming initiative. Mick Owen dropped in to hear the results.
A vision of the future
The National Culture Forum hosted a national conference to explore the future of culture, tourism and sport. Jonathan Ives went to hear the auguries.
New York’s secret garden
In June 2009 New York City lost a wilderness and gained one of the world’s most remarkable public parks. Jonathan Ives reports on the opening of the High Line.
Living off the land
The UK’s waterways offer a valuable recreational resource but, as Mick Owen discovered, the nation’s rivers and canals also provide a home to a large number of boat-dwellers.
Putting the fun in FUNdamental
Phil Collins argues that more attention should be given to fundamental movement skills and explains how the UK’s coaching agency is providing support to coaches to help them do it.
The leisure manager's library: Saturday
Build your library with The Leisure Review guide to leisure-related literature. This month Ian McEwan's tale of neurosurgery, anti-war protest and squash.
Heston Blumenthal: a modest proposal
Mick Owen suggests that British coaching needs some alchemy and that superchef Heston Blumenthal is just the man to deliver the medallions.
October 2009: volume three issue nine
Anne Tiivas: safe in her hands
The Leisure Review talks to the director of Child Protection in Sport Unit about the development and application of a new approach to safeguarding and child protection.
Asking for the keys
Ash Charlwood explains the issues of access to inland waters in Wales and wonders what it will take for this important leisure resource to be made available to the public.
A second look at the third sector
One third of all people who volunteer do so in sport. Mick Owen went back to an old stamping ground to investigate the profile of sport within the third sector.
Researching youth sport
The talent and ability in young people in sport came under the academic spotlight at the recent Researching Youth Sport conference. Jonathan Ives joined the campus crowd at Brunel University.
The library lady
Helen Rose reports on life from the other side of the library counter, the side with the stamps on it.
Finals, figures and fighting junk
Amid concerns over rising drowning statistics, Andrew Whittaker explores the end-of-season angst Down Under.
The leisure manager's library: Framed
Build your library with The Leisure Review guide to leisure-related literature. On the shelf in this issue is Framed by Tonino Benacquista.
Saltex: open space, open air, open mind
With an eye on the weather, The Leisure Review visited IOG Saltex to see what an exhibition for the leisure sector looks like in the open air.
September 2009: volume three issue eight
Ever heard of the Special Olympics?
Having played a part in Leicester's latest sporting success, Martyn Allison offers a very personal reflection on what sport equity is really all about.
Watching the clock
When Seb Coe's desk calendar turned over to read 'three years to go' London 2012 invited VIPs, guests and The Leisure Review to board the Javelin and fly to the east. Jonathan Ives packed his passport.
Promote, protect and provide
The Leisure Review talks to Andrew Hanson, the CCPR’s head of policy, about sport, politics and the prospects for progress.
Getting coaching back on track
Philip Kimberley has recently stepped into the chief executive-shaped breach at Sportscoach UK. The Leisure Review took the opportunity to ask a few pertinent questions about the future of the UK's coaching organisation.
Rail, ale and halcyon days
Invited to join a short tour of the north country by train, Mick Owen found that an afternoon’s distraction contained more cultural reference points than he had expected.
Hyperbole Unlimited
In July Sport England published their review of the Sport Unlimited programme which implied it was an unparalleled success. Not sure that this matched up with real people’s experiences on the ground, The Leisure Review took a closer look.
The leisure manager's library: Netherland
The first in an occasional series offering a guide to leisure-related literature. This month we look at Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, a recently acclaimed addition to the ranks of the modern American novel.
Why all employers must actively support the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure
The view from the National Skills Academy
Mark Sesnan, managing director at GLL, is the NSA’s guest columnist this month.
August 2009: volume three issue seven
Trust me, I'm your doctor's boss
CLOA welcomed Andy Burnham to its recent meeting and found that the health secretary's former role as culture secretary seems to have left its mark. The Leisure Review reports from Wigan.
The business end of the coaching revolution
Phil Collier has recently taken up the role of director of business development at Coachwise. Mick Owen went to Leeds to ask him about the task in hand.
Beacons of legacy for 2012
The IDeA’s Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy conference brought the five beacon authorities to Wembley. The Leisure Review was on hand to report
Games without frontiers
The Leisure Review visited the recent Merseyside Youth Games and spoke to Jean Stephens, one of the leading lights in the CSP movement.
The NSA one year on
The view from the National Skills Academy
Florence Orban looks at the achievements of the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure in its first year and the successes of working in partnership to develop the skills of the leisure sector.
Can games be green?
With the CIWEM sport and the environment network scheduled for launch later this year, Water and Environment Magazine asked Jonathan Ives to offer a few thoughts on the links between sport and the green agenda.
July 2009: volume three issue six
The Leisure Review Summit
The Leisure Review invited senior figures from across the leisure industry to take part in a facilitated debate on the future of the leisure sector. With lunch and unguarded opinion the TLR summit was born.
Incoming and outgoings
When UK Sport cut 2012 budgets at the start of the year, volleyball had its spending curtailed. Mick Owen spent an afternoon in Sheffield finding out how GB VB is coping with the cuts.
Hartlepool: placing culture and sport at the heart of the LAA
In the latest in its Learning By Stories series, the IDeA explores how Hartlepool has put the national indicators for sport and culture at the heart of its drive for service improvement.
Employee motivation – central to positive performance
The view from the National Skills Academy
Following her exploration of leadership in the last issue, Florence Orban looks at motivation and why it is central to success.
Schools, community and plain speaking
The Leisure Review talks to Jacqueline Lynn, head of SportScotland’s new school and community section.
Competition, compromises and
self-sufficiency
Andrew Whittaker reports from Melbourne where the major sports are learning to share facilities and leisure facility designers are learning to save every drop of water.
June 2009: volume three issue five
Debating the future: the Scottish Sports Development Conference 2009
Serving once again as the 'official media partner' of the SSDC, The Leisure Review was in Aviemore to report on proceedings.
Meeting Margo
The Leisure Review talks to Margo MacDonald MSP, chair of the cross-party group on sport in the Holyrood parliament.
Behind closed doors
The annual UK Coaching Framework summit moved to Glasgow to engage the coaching community beyond England but Mick Owen wonders what went on.
Managing a team – the key to success
The view from the National Skills Academy
Managing a team well requires many skills, not least that of leadership. Florence Orban explores what is often thought to be one of the most challenging aspects of management.
Creating a culture of world-class places
The DCMS and DCLG have published a strategy for improving the quality of the public realm. The Leisure Review went along to see what it might mean for sport, leisure and culture.
Rising in the east
One year after construction began, London’s Olympic stadium is taking shape and being discussed in polite company. The Leisure Review reports on progress to date.
May 2009: volume three issue four
Applying the heritage test
For one edition only The Leisure Review has sent Mick Owen on the heritage trail. Buoyed by a week in Cornwall, he has a brand new perspective on sport, boats and Daphne du Maurier.
Dressed to kill
Henry VIII is centre stage in the new exhibition at the Tower of London. The Leisure Review went behind the scenes to learn about the demands of exhibition planning, the intricacies of curatorial care and how it compares with working in theatres.
Picasso: a challenging perspective
Nick Reeves visited the new Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery and wonders whether it was worth the bother.
Why professionalism pays
The view from the National Skills Academy
NSA chief executive Florence Orban wonders why training is so often under fire when it delivers so much for everyone concerned.
April 2009: volume three issue three
Coaching's pause for thought
The Leisure Review looks at why a coaching initiative's successful pilot in the North West has not been followed up.
A decade for leisure: the TLR round table
The Leisure Review put three highly experienced leisure professionals working in three different management environments around one table. The result was a discussion full of insight, opinion and challenges for the sector.
Out of the darkness
The view from the National Skills Academy
NSA chief executive Florence Orban looks at why the health and fitness has some reason for quiet confidence in troubled economic times.
Melbourne: the main event
With the bushfires now out and Melbourne moving into autumn, Andrew Whittaker brings us up to date with events in Australia.
Take your partners for the Panathlon
Merseyside Sport’s Katie Crozier looks at the national disability charity Panathlon and talks to people influenced by its work.
March 2009: volume three issue two
No bombing please
The Leisure Review talks to Tara Dillon about her organisation, the IQL, and what it is doing for the future of lifeguarding in the UK.
Job-ready on completion
The view from the National Skills Academy
Apprenticeships are providing employers with a valuable opportunity. Florence Orban explains how and why..
Community spirit in a vase
The FA Vase may not be the pinnacle of the round-ball game but it had a strange effect on the streets of Glossop. Helen Rose provides an outsider’s perspective of sporting endeavour and community spirit.
Challenging the past, trusting the future
The National Gallery’s first exhibition dedicated to Picasso promises a new understanding of the greatest artist of the twentieth century. The Leisure Review reports
February 2009: volume three issue one
Thinking again
The view from the National Skills Academy
Florence Orban explains why a long-term view of business and staff development is likely to pay dividends.
Economic downturn: opportunity or threat?
With the credit crunch in full swing, Martyn Allison considers the implications of the new economic realities for the sport, leisure and culture sector.
A happy new year for culture and sport?
Duncan Wood-Allum looks ahead to a new year and suggests that there might be something to give grounds for hope.
Commissioning and procurement
A regional event recently considered issues of commissioning and procurement of cultural services David Albutt reports on behalf of CLOA.
The opposite view
Andrew Whittaker offers an update on Melbourne’s cultural calendar.
Watch this space
The Leisure Review talks to LIW director, Jonny Sullens, and asks what success will look like for LIW in 2009.
Top coaches, top conference
Anne Pankhurst gives us her personal perspective of the International Coaching Conference held at Twickenham.
December 2008: volume two issue eleven
The NSA: ready to go
News from the National Skills Academy
With the National Skills Academy officially launched, Florence Orban explains how the academy will work on behalf of the sport and active leisure sector.
The CLOA agenda
John Bell offers an insight to the workings of CLOA, the professional association for leaders in culture and leisure.
The magic numbers
The Leisure Review talks to David Minton of the Leisure Database Company about how information has changed our approach leisure management.
Open water: battled at source
Mick Owen explores the canoeing controversy that has blown up around access to the rivers of Wales and the implications for the pursuit of other sports.
The more the merrier
Parasport is an organisation created to direct people with disabilities towards sport
who may not have thought that sport was for them. The Leisure Review found out how they work.
Writing the book on volunteering
In Nicky McCrudden, Mick Owen would like to think he has found a kindred spirit. Here he explains why the work of a one-woman whirlwind has left him and many others breathless.
Vaness Bone: an appreciation
Jonathan Ives remembers a leading light of the cultural sector.
November 2008: volume two issue ten
In full flow
With the river and the British Open in full flow, Mick Owen went to see what impact the stars of UK’s top canoeing competition would have on their hosts.
Part of the team
Ian Jackson reports from the 2008 Youth Sport Trust School and Sport Partnership Conference in Telford.
Paralympic lessons for London
Kim Wright travelled from Hackney to Beijing to see what London 2012 can learn from the Paralympic experience.
Walking out one morning: Barcelona revisited
Is the power of the Olympics to regenerate cities and transform communities a realistic proposition? The Leisure Review went to Barcelona to find out.
The coaching road to success
After his visit to the British Open in October 2007
Mick Owen returned to Manchester to see what had changed for the sport of squash.
Saddling up for the big show
Cycle 2008 came to London to showcase everything the cycling market has to offer. The Leisure Review sent its travel correspondent to Earls Court to see what he could find.
October 2008: volume two issue nine
Ready to go: the National Skills Academy
As the National Skills Academy prepares for its official launch, Jonathan Ives speaks to Florence Orban about how the academy will work and the impact it will have on the sport and active leisure sector.
Elevation and innovation in the name of fitness
The Leisure Review talks to the president of Life Fitness and the head of Life Fitness UK to discuss the impact of innovation and how the right thing can be good for business.
All under one roof
Mick Owen headed for Birmingham and Leisure Industry Week to see what he would find.
New break for Bournemouth
There are four artificial surf reefs in the world and one of them is in Bournemouth. Jonathan Ives considers how one makes a wave and what it might mean for tourism.
September 2008: volume two issue eight
Row Z at the Olympics
The glory of the Olympic Games has raised Sideliner to unprecedented heights of ire. On the agenda: the British sporting establishment, Joe Strummer, Shanaze Reade's stolen bike and the sofa approach to world-class performance.
From Bedford to Beijing: inside the Bird's Nest
Lloyd Conaway was among an intrepid group of visitors to Beijing looking for lessons for London. Here he offers his view from the Bird's Nest.
From Beijing to London: it's the politics, stupid
Having enjoyed the Olympic show, Nick Reeves offers some inconvenient truths for the Olympic movement and some advice for the organisers of London 2012.
From Beijing to London: the home front
With the medals counted and the flag handed over, The Leisure Review took a straw poll of the impact of the Olympic Games on the home front. Here we offer a selection of views from various perspectives on the leisure continuum.
Moving up: sport, culture and the improvement agenda
With details of local area agreements now published, The Leisure Review talks to Martyn Allison about the leisure sector’s progress in pursuit of continuous improvement.
Competition managers: unravelling the myths
While the existence of the competition manager confuses some and irritates others, Ian Jackson reckons the role is pure sports development.
Making the cut, part two
As part of his investigation into the people and politics of the UK waterways system Mick Owen spent a day at the Inland Waterways Association’s national get-together at Autherley Junction.
Travelling with George
The George Torkildsen Memorial Trust was established in memory of leisure’s great mentor. Don Earley explains how the Trust’s travel bursary is continuing George’s work of spreading the word.
Cutting the Fringe
With a full complement of tickets and hope, Helen Owen headed for the Edinburgh Fringe to see just how far performers can go before the audience walks out.
Reaching for the heights: the NCF Leading Learning Programme
Sue Isherwood explains how the National Culture Forum Leading Learning Programme plans to transform the nature of cultural leadership across the UK.
August 2008: volume two issue seven
Discovering Greenwich
The Greenwich Foundation has embarked upon a £6m development project to enhance the visitor experience at the Old Royal Naval College. Jonathan Ives finds out where one puts a brewery in a world heritage site.
An incredible journey by coach
There are people in the know who think that Coaching North West is going to revolutionise the coaching landscape in the UK. Mick Owen went to meet Rob Burchell to find out why.
Mentoring in sport – no more quick fixes
Jenny Buckham and Mark Scarth make the case for a more robust system for the development of mentors in sport and explain how the launch of the new qualification could mark the beginning of a new era for sports coaching.
Making the cut
In the first of three articles, Mick Owen investigates the issues surrounding life on ‘the cut’, its politics and its people.
Should we be marketing disability sport?
After the recent Sports Marketing Network event Svend Elkjaer realises that there should be little difference in marketing sport participation, regardless of people’s mental or physical ability.
The road to improvement
When the Towards an Excellent Service (TAES) improvement tool was launched,Halton Borough Council's culture and leisure department adopted it to help evaluate, develop and improve its cultural services. Here some of the people involved tell The Leisure Review about the process and the impact it had on services.
July 2008: volume two issue six
Tessa Jowell, minister for London 2012
With plans for the legacy of London’s Olympic Games now published, The Leisure Review asked the minister with responsibility for London 2012 about some of the key aspects of the Games, the legacy and what it means for UK leisure.
A new vision for sport?
The new Sport England strategy promises a new approach to the pursuit of a world-leading community sport structure. Jonathan Ives found out what it means for the government’s sports agency and for those involved in the sport sector.
Child safety versus volunteering
The Manifesto for Change from the Commission on the Future of Volunteering suggested that volunteers were being put off by CRB checks. Mick Owen looks at two new reports.
Why it’s still OK to love the Tour
With only days to go until the grand départ, Jonathan Ives offers a personal perspective of the Tour de France, the world’s greatest sporting event.
A click and point approach to shaping up
Mick Owen found himself dragged into a competition to get a county he does not live in more active more often. Happy to oblige and with a point to prove, he ran down off to talk to the head of the county sports partnership behind it.
June 2008: volume two issue five
The business of swimming
A new edition of PAS 81: 2005, the publicly accessible standard for the operation and management of swimming schools, will be published later this month. Steve Franks discusses the implications for the swim school sector
Taking it in stages
All round the country r egional theatre venues are bringing audiences face to face with a great diversity of performance. Mick Owen reports from the Buxton Opera House on Shakespeare, The Stranglers and everything in between.
A people business: the first Runningsports conference
Runningsports, the skills and support network for sports volunteers, held its first full-scale gathering in May. The Leisure Review was near the front.
On the starting line
Paddy Corcoran explains how Tees Valley Leisure, a leisure trust, came to organise the Redcar half marathon, why it seemed like a good idea at the time and what lessons were learned for next year
May 2008: volume two issue four
The National Skills Academy launches
Jonathan Ives talks to SkillsActive chief executive Stephen Studd about how the new academy will affect the sport and active leisure sector
Building a system for UK coaching
Mick Owen visits the third UK Coaching Summit to report on the views from the platform and the views from the floor
Passion for Excellence: inspiring and challenging
CLOA chair Ann Gosse offers her view of the implications of the new improvement strategy for culture and sport
Challenging yourself to challenge others
Dr Mark Nesti confronts the post-modern perspective and explains why sports development is about individuals, passion and the Socratic spirit
Are we really listening to people’s lives?
Svend Elkjaer argues that now is the time for sports development professionals and leisure managers to become more responsive to people’s needs
April 2008: volume two issue three
Rising in the east
Kim Wright, Hackney's corporate director for community services, talks to Jonathan Ives about what the future of culture holds for the Olympic borough.
Gold at the end of the rainbow
The Leisure Review went to Manchester to talk to John Mills, British Cycling's director of coaching, education and development, about the coaching, clubs and development behind the medals
Do we care about volunteers?
A major report on volunteering has provoked very little comment from within the leisure, culture and sport sector, despite this sector’s reliance on and investment in the good will of unpaid supporters. Mick Owen wonders why.
A passion for excellence
A Passion for Excellence provides the culture and sport sector with its first agreed improvement strategy. The Leisure Review offers a summary of a document that charts a future for better cultural services
Phantom: the artist in residence
Alison Watt has marked the end of her time as the National Gallery’s associate artist with an exhibition of the work the National Gallery collection has inspired. Jonathan Ives reports
March 2008: volume two issue two
New York's best investment
Adrian Benepe, New York City's commissioner
for parks and recreation, talks exclusively to The Leisure Review about 150 years of parks and their role in changing the way a city thinks of its future
Delivering Sport: the TLR round table
Three seasoned professionals involved in the delivery of sport discuss the state of the sporting nation and the challenges, successes and hopes that are shaping the future of sport in the UK
Fit for work in Trafford and beyond
Models of effective good practice in sports development are not so common that one falls over them. Mick Owen unearths a gem of project in south Manchester
Where next for leisure and cultural services?
Members of Sporta and their fellow management professionals gathered in West Yorkshire this week . TLR’s Man in the North dropped in to gauge the impact of current plans for the sector and news of another brave new world
February 2008:: volume two issue one
Pat Duffy: the UK's head coach
The Leisure Review talks to Dr Pat Duffy, group chief executive of Sports Coach UK, about the future of coaching and the impact of coach development on the delivery of community and elite sport.
The A to Z of management efficiency
With new instructions for service delivery, Ken McAnespie wonders if new letters will mean a better understanding of quality.
75 years with lives on the line
The Leisure Review went to Walsall to discover what has changed for water safety during the three quarters of a century in which the Swimming Teachers' Association has been at work. Jonathan Ives reports.
Art and the environment
Why would a professional body working with scientists and engineers make art one of the central themes of its work? The Leisure Review went to see the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) to find out.
Doing the Strand
Mick Owen heads for the West End and wonders whether modern musical theatre is selling audiences short.
December 2007: volume one issue four
Challenging the culture
The Scottish Sports Development Conference came to Crieff and gathered the sports development sector in a highly polished package. Our man in the front row, Mick Owen, found plenty of straight talking, much food for thought and a regular supply of surprises.
Two halves with a single purpose
Football’s billionaire owners and millionaire players would do well to remember that the sport grew out of a need to improve the health of the disadvantaged, foster community cohesion and to alleviate poverty. Nick Reeves offers a guide to the social roots of the modern professional game.
A sporting chance for education
Building Schools for the Future is a multi-billion pound project that is aimed at transforming the education environment. The Leisure Review spoke to Liz Delany about why the world of sport should be sitting up, taking notice and getting ready to get involved
Improving culture, changing times
Like all the best stories, Towards an Excellent Service (TAES), the performance management tool for the sport and leisure sector, began with a round table and a small group of determined individuals committed to a better future. Jonathan Ives spoke to Martyn Allison about how it started, the impact it has had and his hopes for the future of leisure
Under one roof
Is it us or did this year’s LIW seem to have a bit more of a buzz about it? The Leisure Review spoke to Michael Westcott about how leisure’s leading exhibition has changed over the years and what they have planned for the future.
The Turner Prize: a retrospective
The nation’s, if not the world’s, most celebrated prize for contemporary art has taken the opportunity of a hole in its annual exhibition schedule to host a retrospective. The Leisure Review paid its respects
November 2007: volume one issue three
High court judgements
After a visit to one of the calendar’s most prestigious squash competitions, Mick Owen finds poetry on the court and wonders how minority sports will make headway in the face of the all-powerful Olympic roster
A Scottish perspective of leisure Down Under
Two staff from Edinburgh Leisure visited Australia and New Zealand in August this year to discover what is happening in sport and leisure in the southern hemisphere. They spoke to The Leisure Review about what they found
A landscape for imagination
Art and culture can imbue a sense of place and inspire ambition but such achievements have to be delivered and defended. Jude Kelly, artistic director at the Southbank Centre, argues that local authorities should have confidence in their ability to offer leadership as well as management.
October 2007: volume one issue two
Five hours for one in a million
Bold new government plans for five hours of sport for school pupils sent Mick Owen into the field to find out about the proverbial state of play. After extensive research, he wonders whether too much school sport could be more than enough
Making the case for culture
After many years working in a leisure environment, Derrick Anderson explains why he is keeping the faith with culture and why in recent years so many others have joined the cause.
Mad about museums
Is the Natural History Museum losing its way? As this famous landmark of scientific endeavour works to fill the funding gap, Nick Reeves argues it has become a lavish amusement park and a backdrop for celebrity entertainment
Underage and proud of it
An report from inside the fence of the summer’s most innovative musical experience, the Underage festival in London
August/September 2007: volume one issue one
Referees and coaches
Referees and coaches are in the same game but have fundamentally different approaches to what happens on the pitch. Mick Owen suggests that deciding which you would rather be could say a lot about your management style
The National Sports Development Seminar
The National Sports Development Seminar brought its unique mixture of intense workshops and boundless enthusiasm to the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham again this summer. Jonathan Ives took a seat in the front row and paid attention
Is there anyone here from swimming?
The National Sports Development Seminar saw another bravura performance from one of the larger characters in the world of sports administration. Jonathan Ives wonders if size is still an issue
An Australian perspective of leisure
A little while ago a group of Australian leisure professionals arrived in the UK as part of an international study tour. The Leisure Review spent some time with them during their hectic schedule to see what they had learned and what lessons they would be taking home with them
The Leisure Review: thinking features
The Leisure Review aims to offer a range of articles to cover the full breadth and diversity of the leisure, culture and recreation industry. Our remit extends to all aspects of the management, development and promotion of leisure.
If you would like to contribute to TLR, either by submitting an article or just suggesting a likely line of enquiry, we would be delighted to hear from you.
