REPORT OUTLINING THE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY BY DOM HUGHES

There are many reasons why members of our community do not take up a sport or involve themselves in the activities advertised in the locality. The reasons can be described as the “barriers to participation “ in sport which means the factors that prevent people from participating.

Sports development has evolved over the last 30 years and was originally based on sport and exercise. It has now evolved into a flexible concept that has brought a variety of benefits to different areas, people and sport. Schemes have developed to encourage people to get into sport and enjoy it whatever their capability. The schemes are developing to encourage participation at all levels and it the levels are explained in a model that is known as the sports development continuum which is split into four levels.

The four levels of the continuum will now be explained and I will describe the barriers to participation and at each level using three different examples drawn from at least three target groups.

Foundation

The programmes at this level are aimed at primary school children or complete beginners.

Target Groups at this level could include:

Women – Barriers for women at this level could include:

Economic – They may not be able to afford to start a new sport due to other commitments. Club membership can be expensive eg. Gym membership/ tennis/golf/swimming club membership.

Historical – Women who want to get involved with sports that have historically been male dominated may not feel confident to get involved eg golf, rugby, football.

Cultural – Women of certain religions may not be allowed to get involved in certain activities. Some cultures with Britain have their own sports that have not been developed in certain areas eg. Thoda, kabaddi.

Young People – a key target group

Economic - Again fees and membership can be expensive and it is important to try and make the availability of new sports accessible and affordable.

Sports include golf/squash/tennis club membership

Social – Young people often want to follow the fashionable sports and feel pressure to do what their friends are doing. Some may lack confidence to try out new sports.

Educational – There may have been a confidence issue or a young person may have been put off in sports lessons by bad experience. It is important to work with a young person to find a sport that they enjoy and can get involved with.

Disabled People

Economic – funding may not be available to adapt some sports so that disabled people can get involved. With the Disability Discrimination Act 1996 progress has been made but funding is tight.

Historical – disabled people in the past may not have been given the opportunities they may have now.

Educational – lack of funding together with lack of facilities at this level and lack of experience and qualified coaches.

Sports which may be a problem in this area include basketball teams/swimming clubs/athletics.

Swimming –Barriers in this sport could include such things as lack of facilities and also economic problems such as the lessons are expensive or lack of government funding to be able to attract more for example women to start and maybe enjoy swimming.

Tennis- This certain sport would come under the category of educational however the barriers in this sport include such things as economic with facilities and the sport being expensive to run for beginners. The category I would class tennis would be for young people.

Participation

This level is harder to define with many schemes and participants at ages and types. They level tends to focus on community participation by trying to get people involved more regularly.

Now I am going to explain three target groups and the categories within them.

Over 50s

Economic- They may not be able to afford such expenses included in the price whilst going to sessions.

Social- The social side would be the fact that maybe over 50s might be on their own and maybe it could help overcome barriers such as loneliness.

Educational- Adults at this age maybe conscious about their body and seek to feel better about them. However they may not in the area they live, not have the facilities to be able to take part.

The sports in this include such things as aerobics, swimming and golf.

Young people

Social- Some youngster may feel unfit or without any confidence within themselves and this barrier can prevent them from participating in sport.

Educational- Some sports in school may be introduced to youngsters but they may not be able to do so due to lack of facilities.

Economic- Youngsters may live in a rundown community and not have the money to be able to take part.

The sports which include in this include such things as squash, gym and boxercise.

Black and minority group

Historical- Some sports over the years have secluded or as they say used segregation and this is a huge barrier for black minorities.

Educational- Maybe this will link in with historical as black minorities and other groups maybe come from a poor background and can’t go through education to take part in sports.

Performance

This level in the continuum emphasises improvement through regular practice, competition or skills training.

Women

Economic - Women may not get the funding they need to boost their chances of honours and also at a high level in sport so this may be a barrier.

Educational - Women again due to male dominated sports only have a few facilities to be able to improve skills and therefore perform at a high level.

Social - Women get abuse for taking part in such sports as rugby or contact sports so this may stop women participating.

Young People

Economic - You could say that there is a lot of money being put into sport where youngsters are coming up to high levels of sport. However clubs are sometimes not funded to help players get to this high levels and this is important if we are going to achieve great results at such a level and compete.

Social- This section may not be such a big barrier as youngsters gegt involved with others and helping their confidence however district levels are not in complete control and sometimes players how need more of a confidence boost might not push themselves to come.

Educational - Youngsters often first encounter weaknesses in performance and become less confident and self-conscious.

These sports include rugby, football and netball.

Disabled People

Since the early 1990s and the Disability Discrimination Act 1996, progress has been made for disabled people in terms of acceptance, funding etc as mentioned earlier. However, there are still barriers:

Economic- This may be a problem as there might be a lack of government funding for disabled people and therefore less disabled people participating.

Educational - A lack of facilities or lack of qualified coaches may hamper participation in certain sports.

Social- Disabled people may feel that due to their disability they won’t have the confidence to take part in sport or the ability. It is important to encourage where possible disabled people to improve in their chosen sports in order to complete at higher levels.

Sports that can be looked at include wheelchair basketball and swimming and athletics.

Excellence

This is a national and international level and may involve participation in events around the world.

Women

Economic - Top level women’s teams may not get the government funding to be able to compete in international events as the men teams get.

Educational - Again women may not have the facilities and even have to share them with the men after their practice. It depends on the type of sport.

Cultural- Male dominated sports for national level/international may prevent women’s teams achieving their potential and getting the teams go get to the high levels.

Black and minority groups

Economic- Funding for some minority groups may be harder to find and also for minority sports. There is often financial difficulties in minority groups competing at this level.

Educational - It may be more difficult for minority groups to get the facilities they need to ensure they reach full potential. There may be a lack of coaches for certain sports.

Social – There may be pressure on some minority groups now to participate at this level.

In order to break down the barriers mentioned above in getting the local community involved in participating in sport, it is important to recognise the barriers that exist and put in place schemes which enable people to break through the barriers. Promoting sport and educating people as to what is available in the community can help to achieve this in each target group.