Wales wants more - so what are we going to do about it?

This week we revealed that Wales is an active nation with 41% of the adult population doing sport three times a week, over 1million wanting to do more and just under half a million wanting to help out in sport.

That’s a whole lot of people doing and wanting to do sport.

We are proud

We always knew that there would be a swell of interest in participation and volunteering around the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics but to sustain participation and interest is something to celebrate.

Over the last few weeks as we’ve prepared for the launch of these results, we’ve spoken to a number of clubs and initiatives, including the Newport Parkrun, the Breeze cycling project, an over 50’s football club in North Wales and the National Trust who offer outdoor activity at beautiful locations around Wales. Each of these have one thing in common – they have helped people to find their thing. They’ve looked to provide opportunities that fit with local needs. They’ve opened sport up to a range of people who previously thought it just wasn’t something for them.

These people are the regular mums, dads, sisters, brothers and friends that live busy lives but make the time to have a kick around in the garden with their children, run around a park together on a Saturday morning, sprint up and down the sand dunes after a crazy day at work. These are our Welsh sportsmen and women and we want to take the time to celebrate them.

What has become equally apparent when talking to the men and women who have fallen in love with sport through these popular initiatives is the feeling it gives them to be part of something – they suddenly have motivation because they feel confident in their abilities, they’ve made friends and these friends have pushed them to achieve their goals. They are a support network that make sport friendly and fun and something each of them want to keep coming back to each week.

As Ashok Ahir, from the BME Sport Network Cymru, highlighted in his blog earlier this week, motivating factors such as support, confidence to take part and the chance to have fun and make friends in the process is what will help us to engage those groups who are still less likely to be hooked – they include people from black and ethnic minority groups but also women, those with a disability and those from deprived areas.

Building on strong foundations

As we look to the future of sport I find myself feeling quietly confident. We’ve been able to build strong foundations that have made the opportunities above possible. It is on these strong foundations that we look to build and grow.

There’s no doubting that things change; trends come and go. We must be ready to embrace them and be flexible enough to adapt – yesterday’s aerobics is today’s Crossfit, thankfully minus the leotards!

Earlier this week the BBC visited a great initiative in Cardiff which allows mum’s to work out literally a few meters away from a small crèche. They can keep an eye on their child, occasionally hearing words of encouragement (‘you can run faster than that, mum!’) shouted back at them.

Café Junior has looked at local demand and plugged a gap but it is also very much a part of developing the next generation of Welsh sporting stars as children who see their family getting active are much more likely to be active when they are older.

We need to work together as a team

I’ve outlined in a previous blog that this year promises to be a big year for Welsh sport. We’re hoping these major sporting events will help us to ignite interest in sport and encourage more people into taking part. But to be truly effective, we, along with our colleagues in other sectors including health, need to take a whole nation approach to engaging more of the population. Not only because we want more people in sport but because we want a healthier nation and sport plays a very real part in that.

Many of us are targeting the same communities and individuals as we look to convert more people to the healthy, active lifestyle. These people don’t want ten people telling them ten different things. We need to work together to find role models that resonate, conduits that will help to positively convey messages about the importance of health and wellbeing and what people can do to stay healthy and active. We also need a dedicated workforce that will help to ensure opportunities are available and experiences are positive and most of all fun. That’s where the half a million people wanting to help out in sport come in.

Whatever we look to do in the future, we need to start by listening. Listening to what people want, when they want it and how. If people don’t want to be the next Mo Farrah but are happy running a few miles behind him in the World Half Marathon then we need more Parkruns. If they don’t want to be the next Non Stanford but they’re happy cycling around the Welsh hills and swimming our coastal waters or our leisure centre pools, then we need more ‘Go Tri’ opportunities.

Through listening and tailoring our delivery of sport we can make sure we’re providing opportunities that won’t be wasted. Opportunities that will go some way to engaging the 1 million who told us they wanted to do more sport. Opportunities that encourage more women, people with disabilities and people from communities that have less of a chance to access sport, to be active and stay active.

Sport is for everyone

Sport can be competitive. Sport can be social. It can be for complete novices and it can be for those who want a new challenge. Sport is what you make of it and it really is for everyone. Next time you take part, think about taking someone with you. Introduce them and share those feelings you get from it. You could be the one to help them to find their thing!