- Develop the skills and competence to enable sport to be enjoyed
- Allow all to follow a lifestyle which includes active participation in sport and recreation
- Allow people to achieve their personal goals at whatever their chosen level of enjoyment
- Develop excellence and to achieve success in sport at the highest level
This strategy was so that everyone could have the chance to play sport, whether they were playing it to have fun, for their health, to enjoy the natural environment or simply, to win.
The Sports Councils aim was to make, ‘England the sporting nation’, and while doing this, a sport development continuum was identified. The continuum had several stages. The stages are: foundation, participation, performance and excellence.
The goals for the foundation stage of the continuum were to:
This refers to the work of local authorities in association with clubs and schools to develop basic movement and sports skills. The acquisition of good exercise habits with appropriate knowledge and understanding helps to develop a positive attitude to sports and physical activity.
- Increase curriculum time for PE
- Increase the number of children participating in extra-curriculum activities
- Increase the number of children taking part in sports out of school
- Generate more of a positive attitude towards sport, especially by girls
- Increase the amount of young people taking part in sports on a ‘regular’ basis
The goals for the participation stage of the continuum are to:
This stage refers to creating as wide participation level in sport as possible.
- Increase the amount of people participating in regular sporting activities
- Reduce the number of people dropping-out with age
- Reduce barriers to participation
The goals for the performance section of the continuum were to:
This stage refers to improvement of standards through coaching and training. It relates to competitive sport and encourages people to obtain fulfilment and enjoyment by improving their performance.
- Increase the number of people trying to improve their sporting skills
- Increase participation in clubs
The goals for the excellence stage of the continuum were:
This was about reaching the top standards in sport, for example national ad international competition.
- To achieve improved levels of performance in terms of world rankings, win/loss records, national and international records and individual personal bests
- For English teams to succeed in international competitions
Groups of people whose participation levels on sports are below those of other groups are groups like:
- Ethnic minorities
- People with disabilities
- Women
- People aged 50 and over