There are also registered sports charity organisations, such as the Youth Sport Trust. There ‘mission’ is to increase the participation in PE and sport in school among the young, at all levels, and at any activity, trying to ensure that the youngsters get the best possible coaching so that they can be healthy and be the best they can be in general. They achieve this through educational sporting programmes. These are delivered through schools and are supported by a range of corporate partners, trusts and foundations and government departments. They also have their Specialist Sports Colleges, designated sports-focused schools to enhance young people’s opportunities to participate in a wide range of sports. They also strive to improve the teaching standards concerned with physical education in schools, making sure of progress from grass-root level. The Youth Sport Trust is responsible for the very useful TOP Programmes, which give participation opportunities to people since the very young age of 18 months old all the way up to 18 and above years old. This is very vital because it ensures all levels of skill and ability to be developed. Grass-roots will definitely be covered here without a doubt. They also have their Continuing Professional Development programme (CPD), also known as National PE and School Sport Professional Development Programme, managed by the Consortium Management Group, which consists of the Youth Sport Trust, Association for PE (AfPE), and Sports Coach UK (SCUK). The aims of this programme are obvious when one reads the name: to enhance and improve the quality of teaching of PE and sport within and beyond the curriculum of schools and centres.
Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM): -
ISRM, a registered charity, is the only national professional body for those involved exclusively in providing, managing, operating and developing sport and recreation services in the United Kingdom. The ISRM tries to promote professionalism in the management of sport and recreation services, ensuring that the benefits of sport and physical activity can be delivered effectively through the professional, safe and efficient management and development of sport and recreation facilities and services.
MEDIA AND SPORT: -
England has its own department when it comes to sport and media. This body, known as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, funds bodies such as Sport England to promote and invest in grassroots and community sports. They also happen to be the department responsible for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics. DCMS also support UK Sport in the hopes of helping the UK towards sporting success at a global level.
Though it’s not strictly related to sports, I think it fit to mention the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This commission is working to eliminate all sorts of discrimination in society, whether it’s for gender, race, ethnicity, disability or beliefs. The EHRC is working to bring in and ensure broader and a more diverse number of far participation in society, though no only for sport.
In some countries you may find that women don’t get the necessary facilities when it comes t sports. However, in England, there is just such an organisation called the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation. Their agenda is to increase the health and fitness of women and girls by making physical activity and integral part of their lives, physical activity being defined as ‘sport and exercise’. They work with Sports policy and strategy-makers at national and regional levels.
The WSFF try to achieve their goals by:
- Make sport as appealing to women and girls as it is to men and boys
- Making women aware of the importance of being active
- Making fit and healthy women and girls social and cultural role models.
For the disabled, we have the English Federation of Disability Sport, whose mission is to be the ‘united voice of disability sport seeking to promote inclusion and achieve equality of sporting opportunities for disabled people.
Since my chosen sport for evaluation is basketball, I will also briefly cover the provisions in England for potential basketball players. The most renowned association is England Basketball. They aim to govern and enhance the sport of basketball in England, through encouraging participation amongst everyone, from the fit to the disabled, and to eventually lift the performance and quality of basketball throughout England.
Working with Sport England, is Basketball Coaches Association (BCA), who specialise in training good coaches and improving the quality of education and training in basketball. What they basically want to do is improve coaches all around the UK.
And, specifically aimed at grassroots, is the Mini-Basketball organisation. This is aimed at children aged 12 and below, the rules having been simplified.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Advanced PE for Edexcel – Frank Galligan, Colin Maskery, Jon Spence, David Howe, Tim Barry, Andy Ruston, Dee Crawford.
WEBSITES:
England Basketball - http://www.englandbasketball.com/articles/article.aspx?aid=15&pid=34
Basketball Coaches Association UK - http://www.bcauk.com/articles/article.aspx?aid=101&pid=274
Sport England - http://www.sportengland.org/index/about_sport_england.htm
Badminton England - http://www.badmintonengland.co.uk/text.asp?section=000100010011&itemTitle=About+Us
Youth Sport Trust - http://www.youthsporttrust.org/page/our-mission/index.html
Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation - http://www.wsff.org.uk/about/what.php
The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM) - http://www.isrm.co.uk/aboutus/
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - http://www.culture.gov.uk/about_us/
Equality and human Rights Commission - http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/aboutus/pages/aboutus.aspx
English Federation of Disability Sport - http://www.efds.net/
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