Sport is a heritage that has been entwined into the British society over the past centuries. It incorporates everything that is strong within the United Kingdom and creates a fulfilment of passion through most keen citizens. But over the recent decades Britain has lost its dominance in the sporting field. After creating the wonders of sports such as tennis, cricket and football and always being a prominent force within such areas why has the country vastly declined from a sporting super-power.
Yes, Britain is still a power player with the available funds it is able to plough into the sporting environment however this has not seen the success it duly requires. The growth of obesity to worrying levels is also a major concern to the British government, yet the question still beckons asking why people aren’t playing a lot of sport anymore?
Decrease In Sporting Standard Worrying
Could Britain’s decline be simply due to the rise of smaller nations across the globe? Is it that the common British person lacks the motivation and will to succeed at the top? Have the government and UK governing bodies failed to develop the necessary programmes for each individual? Are the school’s struggling to uphold a curriculum whilst also nursing the sporting talents that children possess? Or is it even more basic to the query that Britain just doesn’t have the same talent it had decades ago.
In a period of technological advancement within sport it is important for any governing body to invest into the development of top athletes. This development has led to some sports being played metaphorically in labs and between those who wear white coats. In these sports Britain has seen a remarkable rise of competitiveness, the success of the cyclists in Beijing and France, the better results of the swimmers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton competing well in motorsport and the emergence of gymnastics sensations such as Louis Smith and Beth Tweddle.
However the depth of individuals that are international class in Britain’s primary sports has plummeted. Localised football talent is near non-existent within the English Premier League, there is a sever lack of internationally superior Cricketers and the Davis Cup tennis team have been relegated to the Third tier next facing sporting minnows Lithuania. It is also of concern that the British Lions rugby team got thrashed in South Africa and there were only two gold medals at the Athletics World Championships. Mixing that all together in one pot is a disastrous soup for any British sports fan.
Radical Change
But what is going wrong? In tennis nearly £800,000 a year is being paid out to have top coach Brad Gilbert coaching the Wimbledon first round wobbler Alex Bogdanovic. This money surely could be spent elsewhere, developing more grassroots activity for trainers to teach young children to play for the smallest charge possible. Localised sports is too costly, the equipment’s price for each sport is expensive enough. Another failure from Top Down is the lack of recognition for the work the volunteers put into these clubs. Many have even been scared off from nurturing Britain’s most talented due to procedures now enforced before a ball has been kicked.
Now it is not said that the top coaches are unnecessary but they need to have the talent that has been developed given to them. Much of these talents can be helped along through school lessons, but this would require an acknowledgement that local coaches need to be granted to assist teaching in every school, possibly in a floating role from school to school. This would incorporate greater activity in the school, whilst keeping children healthy and entertained again.
Strength In Numbers Required
Depth of talent is an issue; France has a great sporting infrastructure and is able to create vast amounts of top class sportsmen over a number of disciplines due to a largely free localised plan. Britain does have the sporting etiquette out there, it just needs to be brought out early in one’s life and the same opportunity for all. Top tennis star Andy Murray, did not learn the trade in the UK but in an academy in Spain, another country who seem to have sporting development spot on.
Whereas sport is a business, it should also be a natural process that is encouraged to all and pressed to many. The stories of Serbian stars learning to play sport in a disused swimming pool and Kenyan athletes that run from a very young age are heartening yet worrying at the same time. There is less of the sense of urgency and motivation in Britain, it is often heard that a footballer was maybe spotted by a scout playing with friends in a park, but never anything that pushes people further.
Smaller countries are not expansive in their focus like Britain. Many are primed on success in only a few sports, whereas Britain is forced to develop talent in them all. This is a huge stumbling block for any governing body searching for change. But this is not impossible and certainly with the expectation of the British public it is a needs-must concept. With the Olympics in London only 3 years away plenty of plans have been in place to develop the top talent to improve to even higher standards. after the Olympics it may be so that the whole sporting structure of Britain may need a radical overhaul.
