Making sport accessible

John Challinor, Publisher

There is now wide recognition and acceptance – partly thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic – over the need to improve physical activity levels across every part of society. It is also now well understood that, to truly create a healthy nation, there needs to be genuine engagement with groups that are not as active as they should be. There are some stubborn and long-standing inequalities and barriers that need tackling.

While there is work being undertaken to remove barriers and make activities more accessible, we ‘re still struggling to get enough people physically active in whatever way works for them – be it formalised settings (such as pools, leisure centres, gyms and sports clubs) or encouraging active travel and other types of exercise. The data shows record levels of inactivity – which is sadly reflected in the increasing pressures faced by the NHS.

One of the inequalities that needs urgent attention is the continued gender gap when it comes to women and girls playing sport. See our feature on page 26 that highlights the recent Health Barriers to Girls and Women in Sport report, published by the Women and Health Equalities Select Committee. It makes sobering reading and emphasises that, despite all the progress being made, how much more needs to be done to help everyone be more active. There is some great work going on, however. All national governing bodies of sport have plans to increase participation within their individual sports – often utilising creative campaigns and initiatives to engage with new population groups and attract new players/participants. There are a lot of great examples of this work and in every edition of SportsNation we shine the spotlight on a different sport and what they do. In this issue we look at how Badminton England is on a mission to make badminton the most inclusive and accessible sport in England (p64).

John Challinor, Publisher