Chris Mackintosh

An analysis of County Sports Partnerships in England: the fragility, challenges and complexity of partnership working in sports development

The management, use and reliance upon multi-agency partnerships in the field of public sector sports development became increasingly important following the election of the ‘New’ Labour government in 1997. In this study one example of a multi-agency partnership – County Sports Partnership (CSP) – will be examined through a case study analysis of four CSPs in the East Midlands region of England. A review of the theoretical and conceptual literature around partnership working will inform an appraisal of the impact of CSP arrangements in this region. The theoretical framework of partnership dynamics is utilized to explore the reality of partnership working in sports development in conjunction with the findings of four in-depth interviews that were conducted with Chief Executive Officers and senior managers in each of the CSP regions. In particular, consideration will be given to the potential implications and issues of ‘working in partnership’ for public sector sports development officers and managers who negotiate the complex and challenging policy environment surrounding multi-agency working in sport. The key findings of the research include the extent to which there appears to be a misunderstanding of the CSP role amongst some CSP partner agencies; the fragility of partnership working; the importance of relationship management; and the complex shifting politics of sports development policy.

Dismantling the school sport partnership infrastructure: findings from a survey of physical education and school sport practitioners

This research examines the perceptions of education practitioners to the proposed changes to the school sport partnership (SSP) programme in England and in particular its implications for primary school physical education. It aims to explore insights into the dismantling of this partnership programme. The SSP system developed club links, increased community involvement in primary and secondary schools and arguably improved standards in physical education (PE) between 2003 and 2010. This research is based upon a survey undertaken with 70 schools in the East Midlands region of England following the announcement of the removal of SSP programme. Quantitative survey data were analysed using SPSS 17 and qualitative data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings highlighted include reduced specialist support for primary PE teaching, loss of collaborative primary PE curricular and extra-curricular club developments. There are significant implications for the quality of primary PE and physical activity opportunities made available for young people.

A qualitative study of the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on families in the East Midlands of England: lessons for sports development policy and practice

The dynamics and culture of families are central to individual and community sport and physical activity participation. This research project examined the lived experiences and day-to-day realities of the London 2012 Olympics from the perspectives of five families in the East Midlands region of England. The aims of the project were to assess the influence the Games had on shaping family sports participation, influencing social and health relationships within the families through sports and reactions to the 2012 Olympics. The study was conducted through the generation of rich qualitative data from pre- and post-Games interviews as well as production of video diary data by the families and young people themselves to gather micro-level information on the realities of ‘legacy’ for families. Findings from this research project illustrate that prior parental socialisation into sport shaped current attitudes to legacy and children and mothers and fathers had mixed reactions to the actual presence of legacy. There are also clear sports development challenges around accessibility, cost, project design, the non-family-friendly nature of some schemes present during the potential consumption of legacy that have consequences for future research in this embryonic area. Implications from the study include the need to locate the family as a more central concern for policy makers in sports development practice. The study has questioned the assumed virtuous legacy of the London 2012 Games from the perspective of families on a day-to-day micro-level. Instead, a far more complex and diverse picture from the perspective of the family has been presented that requires further critical research on this little explored topic of policy and practice in sports development.

Emerging School Sport Development Policy, Practice and Governance in England: Big Society, Autonomy and Decentralisation.

International interest in developing mass sports participation through systems of school and community sports development has become a growing field of public leisure policy interest. This research paper considers the policy change from School Sport Partnerships to the new 2012 School Games model of networked partnerships to establish characteristics of the changes in governance modes and implications from practice in England. The research project is based on a regional case study drawing upon in-depth, face-to-face interviews with key public policy stakeholders to inform an analysis of change. Initial findings indicate that the emergent networks are characterised by more networked-based mode of governance than previous hierarchical models present under UK New Labour. The study also shows the fragility of a reliance on partnership structures and the potential implications for incongruence in delivering policy outcomes and improving access to physical activity and school sport opportunities.

‘Don’t you feel bad watching the Olympics, watching us?’ A qualitative analysis of London 2012 Olympics influence on family sports participation and physical activity

This paper examines the use of video diaries (VDs) and their value as supplementary methods in qualitative research examining the influence of the London 2012 Olympics, from the perspectives of five families in the East Midlands of England. The aims of the project were to assess their reaction to the Games, the influence it had on family attitudes, opinions and perceptions towards sports participation and physical activity. We present qualitative interview data from pre and post Games interviews and VD data to gather micro realities of the influence of the Games. We draw on a dramaturgical perspective to explore the perspectives of familiess regarding the impact of the Olympics on their everyday lives. It has yielded the following themes: access, motivation, inspiration, apathy and reflection on methodological use of VDs. The benefits and challenges of VD use alongside Goffman’s framework are discussed in the context of assessing the impact of the Games on these families. Our evidence suggests that these methods are an invaluable tool for accessing the families’ immediate responses to mega-events during the period in which they are hosted. However, the feasibility and complexities of utilising VDs are presented, as we consider whether these methods assist researchers to examine the uptake of sports participation, or simply encourage the researchers to become voyeurs watching the participants, watch the Olympics. The implications for using these methods as part of qualitative methods for analysis of the sports participation legacy and the impact of future mega events are discussed.

An evaluation of the outdoor table tennis initiative pilot programme in London: ‘ping pong in the fresh air how does that work?’

This article examines the findings from an evaluation of the English Table Tennis Association outdoor table tennis pilot initiative in London. Ethnographic participant observation fieldwork was conducted, alongside semi-structured interviews with project and local partner staff to explore the impact and effectiveness of the scheme. The project aspiration was to develop a new entry route into the sport of table tennis, using an innovative new format of the game in park facilities. The project challenged established principles of sports development to encourage self-organised participation, raise the profile of the sport and attract new participants to this form of physical activity in a park setting. Results from the pilot programme evaluation illustrated that participants had engaged in multiple forms of self-organised play, usage of the tables were high and that there were minimal barriers to participation. Future challenges include how to link this initiative with wider national governing body sports development plans, harnessing the profile raising potential of the scheme and the development of opportunities and participants that were created through the scheme.

The British Asian Muslim male sport participation puzzle: an exploration of implications for sport development policy and practice

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore intersections between religion, faith and social identity with regards to their impact on either promoting or preventing sport participation amongst self-identified British Asian Muslim males living in Birmingham (West Midlands of the UK) aged 16–25 years old. The research questions around this topic of study are to explore how interpretations of Islamic faith promote or prevent sport participation amongst young Muslim males. Secondly, the paper will examine the perspectives of Muslim male participants in relation to sport to identify factors determining sport participation. Finally, the study will consider implications for policy and practice in sport development. The study drew upon seven in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Muslim males aged 16–25 years old and applied a thematic analysis and coding methodology to unpick the key dimensions and findings from the data. Findings from the study indicate the complexity of young Muslim male sport participation contexts, dynamics in decision-making, family influence and perceptions held about other communities and their own. The study draws out key implications for agencies in sport development that seek to encourage sport participation cutting across school, community, local government and national governing body partnerships specifically considering Islamic faith communities.

Unintended outcomes of the London 2012 Olympic Games: local voices of resistance and the challenge for sport participation leverage in England

This study was undertaken with five families before, during and after the London 2012 Olympics to examine and explore everyday reactions to the Games on families in the East Midlands region of England. The aim of the research was to build localised accounts of the multiple interpretations, potential impacts and reactions to the Olympics in everyday family household settings. The views, perceptions and interpretations of the Games were gathered through qualitative research methods, using video diaries and, pre- and post-event, group interviews. Findings from the study illustrated diverse reactions to the legacy messages, resistance to policy interpretations surrounding this mega event and a strong sense of regional and financial exclusion from the event. Lessons can be learnt for both policy-makers and event managers in the design of future events that encompass the localised perspectives of those communities and individuals who consume the event beyond direct physical participation. In particular, themes from the data included the importance of regional community involvement of national showcase events, limitations of existing media and web-based information sources, and the everyday resistance to policy messages assumed as taken for granted. It is also hoped that the study will provide lessons for the Rio 2016 Olympics from a local delivery perspective.

Challenges and constraints in developing and implementing sports policy and provision in Antigua and Barbuda: which way now for a small island state?

This paper examines the challenges and constraints of sport policy agenda setting and policy development in a small nation context of Antigua and Barbuda. It also aims to understand and explore existing limitations, issues and trajectories in sport policy implementation. The project draws upon a mixed-methods approach encompassing documentary analysis, 30 in-depth interviews and visual methodology in the form of photo observations. Through this methodology, the purpose of the paper is to open up sport policy agendas allowing the ‘voices’ of those local populations, policymakers, coaches and volunteers to be heard within the context of this study and wider sport policy research. Initial findings indicate sport and physical activity as a contested policy priority, barriers in cross-departmental collaboration, elite sport and performance agenda dilemmas and considerable limitations in third sector human infrastructure and physical facilities. Implications from this small nation sport policy context highlight the need for improved public policy problem definition and the need for clarity in agenda setting within tiers of the evolving sport policy community. Finally, the tentative potential positive policy spaces for future implementation and lessons in policy design involving national, regional and local actors and agencies are identified.

University sport and public policy: implications for future research

This Special Issue on University sport and public policy aims to stimulate further research to better evidence this growing field of study. In addition, the aim is to illustrate the potential for university sport by looking at how sport across a number of countries can be used as a vehicle to support many university and sport policies and practices. The term itself, ‘university sport’, is being used to incorporate all forms of sport and active recreation seen in universities from ad-hoc participation, organised recreational sport (with or without informal competition) to more formal external competition and student performance sport. The broader use of physical activity is not being looked at in terms of the World Health Organisation’s (2010) Physical Activity Guidelines that includes leisure time physical activity, transportation (e.g. through walking or cycling), occupational (i.e. work), household chores, play, games, sports or planned exercise, in the context of daily, family and community activities (p. 26). The Special Issue is interested in sport and active recreation as part of physical activity but not the full breath of the term physical activity. The word sport is often used alone here for ease but refers to both sport and active recreation. It is worth noting that many studies within this field also refer to the term ‘campus recreation’ that would also fall within the use of the definition for sport here. Increased interest has been seen in recreational sport at college campuses across the United States and institutional priorities regarding recruitment, retention and student satisfaction have arisen (Lindsey and Sessoms 2006). In the UK and Australia for example, such issues are only starting to emerge with any significance nearly a decade later with the potential for sport to better support the changing university context following major changes in the political and economic landscape. For instance, following the tuition fee increases in England in 2012 and the concerns around students’ perceptions of gaining value for money, the Teaching Excellent Framework has been introduced as a way of demonstrating this value (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills 2016) where sport is considered to be a key part of student satisfaction (Douglas et al. 2008). Whilst there is limited evidence within the UK, there is a consistent body of work conducted over the years from research carried out predominantly in the United States; most specifically on areas of core university business such as recruitment, retention, satisfaction and campus community (Haines 2001, Lewis et al. 2001, Lindsey and Sessoms 2006, Kampf 2010, Elkins et al. 2011, Miller 2011, Henchy 2013). In addition, university sport research has focused on university students themselves and on their motivations and barriers for participation, however, with few focusing specifically on sport per se (Hashim 2012, Spivey and Hritz 2013) versus exercise or physical activity (Arzu et al. 2006 and Grubbs and Carter 2002). More recently, a growing body of research has been conducted in the field of dual career student-athletes with continued European support for student dual careers (Commission of the European Communities 2007, European Commission 2016). With this, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have developed, or are developing, innovative methods and programmes focusing on how best to support such student-athletes (Sánchez-Pato et al. 2016). Little focus has been given to the purpose of university sport as seen by university leaders and managers, nor other deliverers, despite the growth of university students, their sport facilities and programmes and expansion of university sport over its history (Clearing House for Sport 2017, International University Sports Federation [IUSF] 2017, Universities and Sport 2017). To illustrate the potential of sportwithin universities, in the UK for example, therewere 2.28million students studying at UK HEIs in 2015–16, from which sport can take advantage of (Universities 2017). Additionally, this also INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORT POLICY AND POLITICS, 2017 VOL. 9, NO. 3, 373–376 https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2017.1361460