Its' coming up to 2 months since the Olympics began.
We had 5 weeks of inspiring sport.
But what is being done to convert all that enthusiasm and passion amongst our youngsters?
Tonight on ITV4, we had a 30 minute programme where Mark Austin addressed a few of the issues which were there before London 2012 and ones which it appears, are certainly there now.
It would seem that despite covenants in existence to protect many playing fields across the nation, including the Clitterhouse playing field in Hendon and the Claremont Road ground of Hendon FC where I spent many a happy hour watching them play in the 1970's (the ground is derelict now - another story), there are moves amongst Councils to sell off these fields to developers (Claremont Road is about to become a housing development).
Another huge issue is the cutting of the £162m School Sports Partnership where after nearly a decade of good work in the state schools sector, the money for coaches and the provision of many different sports has been swept away. It has been replaced in part by a £50m fund which is being administered by the Youth Sports Trust but it's not to be spent in the the same way.
I think the most striking segment of the programme was listening to the Head Teacher of an inner London school which actually has very good facilities including a a proper athletics track. The thing is that due to budget cuts, this school has just sacked its' athletics coach and also, 4 other coaches and a competitions manager whose job has been to do exactly what David Cameron in his interview on school sport said should be happening.
I got severely irritated by Hugh Robertson, the Minister of Sport, who in the smug way that many Ministers seem to either posses or adopt, intimated that it was the fault of the school's top man for allocating his funds that way.
Robertson did not answer one question in a straight way. When Austin asked him if he had fought the SSP cuts, he replied, 'No-one involved in the provision of sport would want to see many monies cut'. So, is that a yes or a no?
I know politics is a dirty business and someone's got to do it but my patience is severely tested by arrogant and superior people like Robertson.
This is the man who spent time cajoling his fellow minister from Australia about the Aussies' lack of gold medals and then tried to create a media photo opportunity out of it instead of sitting her down and squeezing every ounce of her experience as to how the Australians tried to create a sporting legacy post games amongst their kids.
Australia has had many problems since holding the games. Does Hugh Robertson know what they were and how we can avoid them?
He finished off by saying that so many people who complain about money that is cut never suggest as to where that money might come from elsewhere. I shouted at the TV, 'As Minister of Sport, that's what YOU have to do'.
And really, even just a mere £162m is actually chicken feed in the context of total Government expenditure of around £650 billion and I'd start by cutting the £4b a year poured into the sands of Afghanistan to continue a completely pointless occupation (aside from the fact that it was illegal at the time of its' launch in the shocked wake of 9/11 with no UN Security Council resolution - again, another story).
Disagree? No problem. We can look elsewhere. Or, Mr Robertson, you and 'your Government' (as he kept reminding us) can look. Somehow, the wheels of Westminster will keep turning despite a sliver of £40m in cash being wasted over the West Coast Franchise bidding fiasco, so don't sit there with your wide eyed and patronising look as if we are kids insisting on a new toy when the bailiff is at the door.
I really did think as I watched him, who's side are you on?
We were then shown the sports facilities at Harrow School. 13 rugby and football pitches. 12 cricket squares and an indoor swimming facility that would make Loughborough weep. One of the school's masters seemed just a bit embarrassed at being in command of such a vast wealth of sporting fields and facilities for 800 boys.
How is it that we have such a divide? Is it really the case that if you've got the cash, you're OK. If you haven't, well tough.
For anyone who disputes that we have an elitist society, just get them to watch those 5 minutes. It's hardly a surprise that a disproportionate number of our medal winning athletes across many sports are educated in the Public Schools. Looking at those facilities, I'd almost say why aren't there more?
12 cricket squares; it's almost obscene. How many pairs of jeans does one school need?
The saving grace of this situation is that these playing fields are accessed and used by other local schools, we are told.
But perhaps the most insightful conclusion was that it's not just about facilities; in fact, facilities, although a key component of playing sports are always secondary to having decent coaches. A point I'd agree with wholeheartedly.
Helen Glover, our Olympic Gold medalist whose sculling victory was perhaps the high point for me after her back story, a woman who only took up the sport a few years back winning gold at her home games, made the point that it's about having inspiring coaches to lead our kids. I'd agree with this. But are they to do everything for free?
In the context of a state school environment where specialist PE teachers rarely exist for an age group critical to building decent athletic skills in their formative years, the programme finished by quoting a statistic that under 50% of primary school teachers feel confident of delivering PE to their kids.
Where are the specialist PE teachers for our primary schools?
Where are the teacher training programmes for non specialist teachers to enable them to deliver PE with a confidence level significantly higher than just under 50%
In conclusion, it was a fantastic summer of sport but already for many it will be a winter of discontent as far as any real chance of having a decent opportunity to start or play any sport and mainly for those in the state school sector.
London 2012 was sold from the beginning on the benefits of legacy. Legacy is not just about leaving a few excellent major facilities in the community after the games (well, the ones which haven't been taken down, that is). It is about this. But fundamentally, legacy is about getting more people to play more sport and this is a social, economic and political goal as a healthier nation will be a better nation.
If nothing happens post London 2012, what was it really all about? What was the point of it all? Just to make us feel better for a few weeks?
We may have loved the opening ceremony. But as things sit today, I'd rather have that £27m which that ceremony cost invested in a few schools like the one which has just got rid of all its specialist sports coaches. The more I think about it, the more mad it seems.
Here are some questions.
Are you involved in a sport?
Is your kid involved in a sport?
If yes to either question, then contact the Press Office of the national body of that sport and ask them one question, 'In the aftermath of such a fantastic Olympics this summer, what is the Sport doing about boosting participation numbers amongst children between the ages of 5 and 12?'
We had 5 weeks of inspiring sport.
But what is being done to convert all that enthusiasm and passion amongst our youngsters?
Tonight on ITV4, we had a 30 minute programme where Mark Austin addressed a few of the issues which were there before London 2012 and ones which it appears, are certainly there now.
It would seem that despite covenants in existence to protect many playing fields across the nation, including the Clitterhouse playing field in Hendon and the Claremont Road ground of Hendon FC where I spent many a happy hour watching them play in the 1970's (the ground is derelict now - another story), there are moves amongst Councils to sell off these fields to developers (Claremont Road is about to become a housing development).
Another huge issue is the cutting of the £162m School Sports Partnership where after nearly a decade of good work in the state schools sector, the money for coaches and the provision of many different sports has been swept away. It has been replaced in part by a £50m fund which is being administered by the Youth Sports Trust but it's not to be spent in the the same way.
I think the most striking segment of the programme was listening to the Head Teacher of an inner London school which actually has very good facilities including a a proper athletics track. The thing is that due to budget cuts, this school has just sacked its' athletics coach and also, 4 other coaches and a competitions manager whose job has been to do exactly what David Cameron in his interview on school sport said should be happening.
I got severely irritated by Hugh Robertson, the Minister of Sport, who in the smug way that many Ministers seem to either posses or adopt, intimated that it was the fault of the school's top man for allocating his funds that way.
Robertson did not answer one question in a straight way. When Austin asked him if he had fought the SSP cuts, he replied, 'No-one involved in the provision of sport would want to see many monies cut'. So, is that a yes or a no?
I know politics is a dirty business and someone's got to do it but my patience is severely tested by arrogant and superior people like Robertson.
This is the man who spent time cajoling his fellow minister from Australia about the Aussies' lack of gold medals and then tried to create a media photo opportunity out of it instead of sitting her down and squeezing every ounce of her experience as to how the Australians tried to create a sporting legacy post games amongst their kids.
Australia has had many problems since holding the games. Does Hugh Robertson know what they were and how we can avoid them?
He finished off by saying that so many people who complain about money that is cut never suggest as to where that money might come from elsewhere. I shouted at the TV, 'As Minister of Sport, that's what YOU have to do'.
And really, even just a mere £162m is actually chicken feed in the context of total Government expenditure of around £650 billion and I'd start by cutting the £4b a year poured into the sands of Afghanistan to continue a completely pointless occupation (aside from the fact that it was illegal at the time of its' launch in the shocked wake of 9/11 with no UN Security Council resolution - again, another story).
Disagree? No problem. We can look elsewhere. Or, Mr Robertson, you and 'your Government' (as he kept reminding us) can look. Somehow, the wheels of Westminster will keep turning despite a sliver of £40m in cash being wasted over the West Coast Franchise bidding fiasco, so don't sit there with your wide eyed and patronising look as if we are kids insisting on a new toy when the bailiff is at the door.
I really did think as I watched him, who's side are you on?
We were then shown the sports facilities at Harrow School. 13 rugby and football pitches. 12 cricket squares and an indoor swimming facility that would make Loughborough weep. One of the school's masters seemed just a bit embarrassed at being in command of such a vast wealth of sporting fields and facilities for 800 boys.
How is it that we have such a divide? Is it really the case that if you've got the cash, you're OK. If you haven't, well tough.
For anyone who disputes that we have an elitist society, just get them to watch those 5 minutes. It's hardly a surprise that a disproportionate number of our medal winning athletes across many sports are educated in the Public Schools. Looking at those facilities, I'd almost say why aren't there more?
12 cricket squares; it's almost obscene. How many pairs of jeans does one school need?
The saving grace of this situation is that these playing fields are accessed and used by other local schools, we are told.
But perhaps the most insightful conclusion was that it's not just about facilities; in fact, facilities, although a key component of playing sports are always secondary to having decent coaches. A point I'd agree with wholeheartedly.
Helen Glover, our Olympic Gold medalist whose sculling victory was perhaps the high point for me after her back story, a woman who only took up the sport a few years back winning gold at her home games, made the point that it's about having inspiring coaches to lead our kids. I'd agree with this. But are they to do everything for free?
In the context of a state school environment where specialist PE teachers rarely exist for an age group critical to building decent athletic skills in their formative years, the programme finished by quoting a statistic that under 50% of primary school teachers feel confident of delivering PE to their kids.
Where are the specialist PE teachers for our primary schools?
Where are the teacher training programmes for non specialist teachers to enable them to deliver PE with a confidence level significantly higher than just under 50%
In conclusion, it was a fantastic summer of sport but already for many it will be a winter of discontent as far as any real chance of having a decent opportunity to start or play any sport and mainly for those in the state school sector.
London 2012 was sold from the beginning on the benefits of legacy. Legacy is not just about leaving a few excellent major facilities in the community after the games (well, the ones which haven't been taken down, that is). It is about this. But fundamentally, legacy is about getting more people to play more sport and this is a social, economic and political goal as a healthier nation will be a better nation.
If nothing happens post London 2012, what was it really all about? What was the point of it all? Just to make us feel better for a few weeks?
We may have loved the opening ceremony. But as things sit today, I'd rather have that £27m which that ceremony cost invested in a few schools like the one which has just got rid of all its specialist sports coaches. The more I think about it, the more mad it seems.
Here are some questions.
Are you involved in a sport?
Is your kid involved in a sport?
If yes to either question, then contact the Press Office of the national body of that sport and ask them one question, 'In the aftermath of such a fantastic Olympics this summer, what is the Sport doing about boosting participation numbers amongst children between the ages of 5 and 12?'
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