After an unprecedented level of success and on the day that marks the start of an historical agreement between sport and health, , Chair Laura McAllister calls for a commitment from sport to be working with other sectors in achieving an improved future for Wales…
We’re extremely proud to say that sport is Wales’ success story. You’ve only got to look at the recent headlines for proof. Be it, Jamie Donaldson winning the Ryder Cup for Europe, Gareth Bales’ delight at wining the Champions League with Real Madrid or one of the many tales of victory from the Team Wales camp at Glasgow 2014.
And from this success story we have in our midst a whole new breed of role models, right from the very hearts of our communities in Wales. Forget your celebrities and X-factor contestants; how many children were inspired to take up gymnastics by Frankie Jones and Laura Halford? How many kids jumped on their bikes and dreamt of being the next Elinor Barker?
2014 has very much marked the start of a journey for Wales, a journey where we must all be looking to build on success and make improvements.
And when we talk about success, we don’t just mean medals and personal bests. Our efforts must also concentrate on every person in Wales and their own personal journeys within sport. It’s about personal podiums, be it a social kick about, signing up for a charity 5k, or plucking up the courage to go to that first Zumba class.
In Wales we are leading the UK, in seeing more and more people reap the benefits of regular physical activity. But that does not mean that we can be complacent; more than ever we need to be making every effort to get those who aren’t started and those who are, doing more. Sport has the potential to make a life changing difference to everybody and we will not be satisfied until the entire nation is hooked on sport.
Sport is in our DNA and has a unique hold over us in Wales. Win or lose we kick every ball, make every try saving tackle and run every race. As a nation we embrace the values that underpin sport: Pride and passion, belief and togetherness. And we must use this; the power of sport, to inspire us all to be better and make our vision of a nation hooked, a reality.
We are a long way from our full potential. We still have too many adults who are inactive, too many school children not enjoying PE and too many participation gaps between communities, particularly those living in poverty. In simple terms we cannot accept that people in Wales have limited access to the benefits of sport.
But we will not achieve this on our own. It’s time that we move sport from the side-lines, to play its vital part in delivering a stronger, smarter, more sustainable and successful Wales. And do to this we need Leaders who are going to take the front seat in driving forward change.
Today marks the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Welsh NHS Confederation. This demonstrates our ambition for doing things together and differently, but it is the actions that flow from the agreement that will make the real difference.
Our focus is to put the health back into the NHS. The World Health Organisation has identified lack of physical activity as one of the leading risk factors for global health. We obviously have a vital role to play here and we should be energised by the opportunity Wales has to be at the forefront of tackling inactivity through revolutionising our relationship with the health service.
And this is not just ours or the NHS’s responsibility; it has to start at the earliest ages. Through our schools we have a real opportunity to equip young people with the skills and motivation to become the healthiest nation the world.
By placing physical literacy at the heart of the school experience for every child, we could be making the single most important step change in improving the health of the nation. Through the review of the curriculum being undertaken by Professor Donaldson, we have in our hands the opportunity to make the Welsh education system the envy of the world, one which is proud not only of academic success but an improved resilience towards everything that adult life can throw at us.
The challenge to our sector is therefore to make sport more accessible to all. It is our duty to offer sport in an engaging, exciting and enjoyable way. We must be planning with the mind-set of ‘how do we engage everyone in what we love?’
I’m not prepared to look back and say that 2014 was the high water mark for Welsh sport and neither should you. Sport has the ability to change lives and revitalise communities and we all have the responsibility for making sure this happens.
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