Bleve wrote:

Sure, but does that benefit "us" by getting more ordinary people out
playing sport?
Does it even affect grass-roots sport? My suggestion would be (no
facts to back this up, it's a belief ) that focussing on elite sport
may reduce grass-roots participation levels, but as above, that's just
a belief, I don't know if it's the case.

I've been participating in a program for the past couple of months
called "Hook in 2 Hockey". There are about 250 to 300 kids here in
Mackay participating, mostly ones who haven't played before. They learn
the basics of the game and hopefully will go on to play for many years.
It's funded by Hockey Australia, presumably from a government grant.

There's also an "active after school program" where kids can go and
learn about various sports. It's funded through an Australian Sports
Commission program. Coaches are paid $25 per hour to run hour long
sessions once per week with groups of kids.

I'm sure that Cycling Australia could develop something along the lines
of Hook in 2 Hockey and get more kids into cycling as a sport. That's if
they think that having a lot of people who will only ever ride at a D
grade or C grade level are of any benefit to the sport. I think they
are, but a lot of sports administrators and senior coaches aren't really
interested in people at that level.

Last year Mackay Hockey Assn organised an "adult beginners" course. We
ended up with far more participants than we expected, some have started
playing, others have taken up coaching. It's great for the sport but
mostly I'm happy that a few more people are comfortable with their
ability to be active on the weekend.

Peter


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Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA