"We have to be more reactive, dynamic and innovative but without losing sense of our strategic direction"
Putting aside the perverse conflict in the above statement the sentiment is spot on. We have absolute clarity of what the Government wants us to achieve by 2020. We have devolved responsibility for funding and decision-making at regional level through our Sports Board. Now all we have to do is make it happen, not withstanding the excellent work that has happened in the past, it’s time for action.
To achieve the targets set out in Game Plan, sport will have to engage with a new range of partners. Anyone reading this document has already expressed an interest in sport and active recreation. We want you to understand and promote the benefits that sport can bring, from children playing at school, teenagers skateboarding at their parks, to weary adults trying to keep fit. No one can deny the pride they have felt when England won the World Cup, not just the rugby in 2003, but as far back as the football in ’66. We all have our favourite sporting memory, Ian Botham’s heroics at Headingley, Sir Roger Bannister’s mile, Tanni Grey-Thompson’s Paralympic medal haul of 13, Sir Steve Redgrave achieving his fifth Olympic gold.
For Sport England’s part, if the East of England Plan for Sport sets out what we are going to do between now and 2008, the Annual Business Plan will set out how we are going to do it, when we are going to do it and whom we are going to do it with.
Sport England is already working on a Regional Communications Plan, which will enable a more consistent and comprehensive approach to information gathering and sharing, not least through the development of a regional sports observatory.
Monitoring and evaluation and identified resources will allow the Sports Board to act quickly and deliberately, speeding up decision-making based on evidence, good practice and need. Annually, the Sports Board will hold a public meeting to report on progress and to address issues from partners and customers.
The rest they say is simple - to make England the most active and successful sporting nation in the world.
It’s time to stop the navel-gazing and time to understand we all want sport to flourish and prosper in our region. We want partners to appreciate the added value sport can bring. We want to be seen as serious, as professionals and as experts. Collectively, little can stop us – so now it really is time for action.
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