Achieving our Ambitious Targets: Richard Harry

As the sector looks ahead to ambitious targets and the future of community sport in Wales, Sport Wales Advisory Group Member Richard Harry assesses the current landscape and the tools available to help us on that journey.

We need to remember that over one million adults in Wales want to play more sport. That's a pretty remarkable figure, given that Welsh sport is already bucking downward participation trends seen elsewhere. But how do we get a million people more active? And what about those who don't want to be?

A year has passed since the Sport Wales Advisory Group published the ground-breaking Acting Today for an Active Tomorrow report, setting out the seven key trends that will transform sport in Wales over the next decade. When we imagine the future, we often think of technology. So it’s unsurprising that there's been so much focus on the digital revolution – and in particular the growth of ‘wearable tech’ that can tell us how active we've been, and nudge us to do a little more.

The attraction to strategists and policy-makers is obvious – there's no easier way to get our message out to people every day – and to get sales to continue to grow. But can technology take us to Sportopia alone? With increasing doubts over this technology’s long-term effect on participation, we need to recognise that we can't rely on the watches on people’s wrists to get a nation hooked on sport.

What other trends should we be focusing on? For me, there are two things. First, providers need to work hard to appeal to potential participants as consumers, even if the activity is free. That means offering sporting opportunities which are easy to access, flexible and responsive, safe, personalised and good value for money. It's no surprise that some of the fastest growing activity requires no weekly commitment, plenty of volunteer support, competitive and recreational elements and pitched at the right cost. Get those things right, and we’re halfway there.

But that is the bare minimum. There's nothing very human about a heartbeat monitor, however personalised the messages it displays. And while convenience and safety matters, it won't be enough to engage more people on its own.

It's striking that when we listen to people talk about why they enjoy sport (or don't), the reasons are often emotional or social. On the positive side: socialising, having fun, or, as a video Sport Wales published recently showed, feeling good in ways which we don't really understand. On the negative side: lacking confidence, not feeling fit enough, not having people to go with.

Technology can support this, building new networks of participants, signposting activities or measuring our fitness progress – but we need more than that. We also need to appeal to potential participants as people too: their sense of identity and belonging.

So, how do we get to a future in which a million more adults are hooked on sport? We can start by thinking more broadly about the future, harnessing all of the trends which will shape people’s lives over the next decade.

To discover more about the tools and resources available to support the development of community sport in Wales visit www.ourambitiousjourney.sport.wales