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From: Turlo
Date: 12/31/2002
Time: 4:25:57 PM
Remote Name: 195.92.168.171
Here are several ways in which athletics and sport in general can be improved in this country at a junior level.
1. One hour of PE per day should be made compulsory in all primary school and high schools. This should include at least 15 mins of moderate to high intensity endurance type exercise.
2. Weekly lesson’s on educating children about the importance of regular exercise for health and fitness, including the teaching of skills such as self management and goal setting, should be made compulsory in all primary and high schools. Children should also regularly be made aware of the health risks associated with inactive lifestyles.
3. It should be made compulsory for schools to offer weekly sessions of sports hall athletics and cross-country running, in or out of school time.
4. All children at school should be made to take part in athletics assessment schemes, such as the Shine awards and the 5 Star Awards at least 5 times a year. Officials from local athletics clubs should be part of this process. Club Coaches and talent identification officers should have access to all the results of the assessment and should then be able to select children with potential to participate in taster sessions at their athletics club.
5. The above idea should be developed further so that positive school/club links are created. PE teachers should encourage their pupils to get involved with local athletics clubs and not be scared that their school cross country team may suffer as a result! Officials from local athletics clubs should be made more welcome to come into schools and run taster athletics sessions.
6. Local Authorities should set up regular talent identification programmes in high schools which have input from the schools and athletics clubs.
7. County and regional training/education camps should take place on a regular basis, where selected 12-16 year olds with good athletic potential can take part in training and sport educational sessions with the guidance of county and regional coaches. These camps would be more effective if they were on a residential basis.
8. A of national athletics day should take place schools in schools, where children at every high school in the country take part in some of celebration of athletics, including competitions, fun, games and athletics education.
9. Athletics institutes should be set up, which operate on a similar basis as universities such as Bath, Birmingham and Loughborough. These should be exclusively for junior athletes how compete at regional and national levels. Here athletes can study degree’s, which are related to sports science/elite athletics performance. Study can be combined with other subjects of the individuals choice, such as finance, management, engineering etc. While operating on a similar basis to universities, the Athletic Institute would be more geared towards elite athletics development, where athletes would be taken away from the booze culture associated with British Universities.
Anyone got any other ideas to add to these?
cheers and beers
Turlo