A case study investigating the impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in two non-traditional English sports, Judo and Fencing.

The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOPG) brought with it detailed legacy plans aiming to ‘Inspire a Generation’. The idea that hosting a sports mega-event will encourage the host population to engage in more physical activity is commonly used by governments to justify the large investments they make. The aim of this research paper was to investigate the impact that hosting the 2012 Games had on grass-root sports participation within the host nation. This paper focuses on two non-traditional English sports, Fencing and Judo and investigated the changes in mass sports participation. The membership rate analysis of our sample highlighted an overall increase in participation between 2007 and 2013, in both Judo and Fencing. The data gathered from the interviews with the head office staff at the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and local club coaches suggested that the grass-root participation programmes were the most effective way of increasing participation, rather than the reliance, solely on the inspiration effect from hosting the LOPG itself. The study highlighted the importance of strengthening communication between local voluntary clubs and the NGB, to ensure sports could promote themselves and capitalise on this global sporting phenomenon, which provided unprecedented media coverage and opportunities for these non-traditional sports. This case study provides initial results relating to the effect that a major international multi-sport event can have in the development of non-traditional sports in the host population, in terms of membership variations, participation programmes and organisational dynamics

Sports participation as an investment in (subjective) health: a time series analysis of the life course

Background: The causal relationship between sports participation, as physical activity, and subjective health is examined accounting for the London 2012 Olympic Games, which it was hoped would ‘inspire a generation’ by contributing to public health. Improvements to weaknesses in the literature are offered. First, stronger causal claims about the relationship between sports participation and health and second, the actual minutes and intensity of different measures of participation are used. Methods: The rolling monthly survey design of the annually reported Taking Part Survey (TPS) is used to create time series data. This is analysed using a time series modelling strategy. Results: Increases in the level of subjective health requires accelerating sport participation, but no effect from the 2012 Olympics is revealed. Reductions in the level of health are brought about by increases in sports participation in early adulthood, although this gets reversed in middle age. However, a reduction in health re-emerges for older males compared with females. Conclusions: For the population as a whole, sport can contribute to health, with diminishing impact, but impacts vary across the life course and genders. Policy accounting for these variations is necessary. Policy aspirations that London 2012 would produce health benefits from increased sports participation are misplaced

Emerging school sport development policy, practice and governance in England: Big Society, autonomy and decentralisation

International interest in developing mass sports participation through systems of school and community sports development has become a growing field of public leisure policy interest. This research paper considers the policy change from School Sport Partnerships to the new 2012 School Games model of networked partnerships to establish characteristics of the changes in governance modes and implications from practice in England. The research project is based on a regional case study drawing upon indepth,face-to-face interviews with key public policy stakeholders to inform an analysis of change. Initial findings indicate that the emergent networks are characterised by more networked-based mode of governance than previous hierarchical models present under UK New Labour. The study also shows the fragility of a reliance on partnership structures and the potential implications for incongruence in delivering policy outcomes and improving access to physical activity and school sport opportunities

Event and club volunteer potential: the case of women’s rugby in England

Sports could not survive without volunteers as they are vital to the ‘playing of sport’. Volunteering in sports is typically associated with sports-club systems or sport events. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of harnessing volunteer activity in different contexts, as a result of previous sports club volunteering experience and to establish what determines the decision to volunteer and to continue volunteering. This is important for government policy, given the current objectives to promote a ‘Big Society’ and reduce public expenditure. A total of 168 volunteers involved in women’s rugby in England completed a web-based survey. Factor analysis was employed to summarise volunteers’ satisfaction with their experience. The analysis yielded six reliable factors of volunteers’ satisfaction. Regression analysis was then applied to identify which aspects of satisfaction, which motivations, how much previous sports engagement and which socio-demographic characteristics had an impact on actual volunteering for the women’s rugby world cup, and future plans for volunteering in a rugby club at a rugby event, or at other sport events. Regression results provide statistical support for the transfer of volunteer efforts across activities. Thus, the UK government may meet its objectives to stimulate a Big Society and widen community engagement through sport volunteering, by acknowledging that social mobility varies between and within sports and is determined by the experiences, interests, motives and characteristics of both the individual volunteers and voluntary sport organisations

Exploring the interrelationship between sport, health and social outcomes in the UK: implications for health policy

Background: Policy agencies are now re-visiting early aspirations that sport, as a form of physical activity, can be an instrument to foster general health and also subjective well-being (SWB). Both of these concepts capture physical and mental health states. SWB also encompasses broader psychological and life satisfaction as well as mood and affect. Past and current policies also identify a link between sport, social capital and SWB. Methods: Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is undertaken on data from the UK’s Taking Part survey to investigate the interrelationships between sport, general health, social capital and SWB. Results: The SEM shows a simultaneous relationship between sport and SWB. The effect is mediated through general health. The results also show that there is no relationship between social capital and sport but a clear relationship between SWB and social capital. Conclusions: From a health policy perspective there should be an emphasis on encouraging greater sport participation, despite the difficulties that this poses, because there is a potential ‘multiplier’ effect on SWB and on general health through mediation. The multiplier effect occurs because once someone engages in sport and has their general health and SWB enhanced, then even further sport participation becomes likely, and subsequent general health and SWB, which would comprise both physical and mental health benefits. To target traditional non participants the research suggests that physical activity should be promoted for enjoyment, with health benefits subsequently following

Heterogeneous sports participation and labour market outcomes in England

Based on a unique composite dataset measuring heterogeneous sports participation, labour market outcomes and local facilities provision, this paper examines for the first time the association between different types of sports participation and employment and earnings in England. Clear asso-ciations between labour market outcomes and sports participation are established through matching estimation whilst controlling for some important confounding factors. The results, which are supple-mented and supported by a formal sensitivity analysis, suggest a link between different types of sports participation to initial access to employment and then higher income opportunities with ageing. How-ever, these vary between the genders and across sports. Specifically, the results suggest that team sports contribute most to employability, but that this varies by age across genders and that outdoor activities contribute most towards higher incomes