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Issue 33 Autumn 2012 - Bases

Issue 33 Autumn 2012 - Bases

Issue 33 Autumn 2012 - Bases

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From national pride to public health – TheLondon legacyWith Team GB’s outstanding performances at the London <strong>2012</strong> Olympic and Paralympic Games still fresh inour minds, Drs Ken van Someren FBASES and Garry Tew discuss the London legacy for sport and exercisescience with a broad view across elite athletic performance to participation and the nation’s health.A world-leading high performance systemThe role and impact of sport science in high performance sporthas seen revolutionary development over the last decade. Withoutdoubt, the increased government and Lottery funding afforded toelite sport since London won the bid in 2005 to host the <strong>2012</strong>Games has been critical. But what have we got to show for thisinvestment? An impressive medal tally indeed, but what about thelegacy? Well, the UK now has a high performance sport systemthat is the envy of the world – sport science is now embedded inmost sports programmes, performance is deconstructed, modelled,addressed through science, medicine and technology, and the‘aggregation of marginal gains’ is now the standard for all.London <strong>2012</strong> has afforded an opportunity and focus forcollaboration between high performance sport, academia and thetechnology and engineering industry sector – fields in each of whichthe UK is a world leader. Not only has this resulted in a commonfocus and commitment to enhance sports performance, it has alsoprompted a stepwise development in sport science knowledge andexpertise. Add to this, the growth of professional development andcareer progression pathways for sport scientists working in elitesport, and the future is very promising for applied sports science –particularly with David Cameron’s recent announcement to confirmfunding to elite sport at its current level through to Rio 2016. Thehigh performance sport system we now have, together with theenhanced knowledge and expertise in sports science form a reallegacy and there is much to look forward to over the next 4 yearsand hopefully beyond.A more physically active and healthy nationA key and unprecedented feature of the successful London bidin 2005 was to inspire young people all around the world toparticipate in sport. At the time, this promise was high on ambitionbut low on detail, and so it subsequently fell to Governmentministers to put flesh on the bones. A <strong>2012</strong> legacy policy documentproduced in 2008 by the Department of Culture, Media andSport (DCMS) outlined a headline target of getting one millionmore people playing sport regularly and one million more peoplephysically active by <strong>2012</strong> (DCMS, 2008). This ‘aspirational’ yetarbitrary target became a responsibility shared by the DCMS andthe Department of Health, both of which was meant to inspire onemillion people. So the ensuing political expression of Lord Coe’sSingapore sales pitch was broader than it had been, involving targetsfor increased participation in sport and physical activity, beinginclusive of children, adolescents and adults, and being underscoredby the ambition to be the first Olympic Games that could point toa public health legacy.To achieve these participation targets, much attention hasbeen placed on the achievements and heroism of elite athletesto motivate and inspire (known as the ‘demonstration effect’),and the majority of investment has gone towards increasing thesupply of opportunities to participate in sport or physical activity.As indicated in the Spring <strong>2012</strong> issue (Fox, Biddle & Murphy,2011), there is no recognisable psycho-social mechanism by whichwatching and listening to elite athletes will translate into a broadAbove: What will be the legacy from London <strong>2012</strong>?Courtesy Daniel Childand sustained increase in sport or physical activity participation. Infact, elite sportspeople might actually deter participation becauseof a perceived competence gap. That is, people may be put offdoing sport because they cannot imagine being anywhere near asgood at sports as our sporting heroes (Weed et al., 2009). As forinvesting in providing opportunities, a prime example of this is thePlaces People Play ‘mass participation strategy’, which is a £135mNational Lottery funded grassroots sports participation programmethat was launched by Sport England in November 2010. Around£90m of the £135m is designated to providing/transforming sportsfacilities, which will provide more opportunities but not stimulatemore demand. Time will tell if this strategy proves effective, but itis likely that the resulting new facilities will be used predominantlyby existing sports participants rather than those not currentlyparticipating.A potentially important step towards an Olympic public healthlegacy was the establishment of Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM)as a new medical specialty in 2005, along with the launch of theNational Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) inJanuary <strong>2012</strong>. The NCSEM has a remit of promoting the nation’shealth and wellbeing by developing SEM services to enable morepeople to be active, and help prevent and treat injuries caused byexercise or conditions associated with lack of exercise. The NCSEMcurrently comprises three collaborating partners: Sheffield, Londonand the East Midlands. The Department of Health has pledged£30 million to support the development of a capital infrastructurenationally, with £10 million going to each partner. However, ongoingrevenue streams are yet to be defined, which has raised questionsabout the Centre’s sustainability (House of Lords Select Committee6 The Sport and Exercise Scientist n <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>33</strong> n <strong>Autumn</strong> <strong>2012</strong> n www.bases.org.uk

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