“Legacy” is one of the most frequent words on sporting lips these days. The main reason for its entry into the vocabulary is the prospect of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012. It expresses the intention that this epic occasion will have a lasting impact beyond the medals won that summer.
During the next four years we have to decide what that legacy should be and after 2012 we shall be assessing its impact, possibly through the four year cycle of the Games, for decades to come.
The key point is that the Legacy will not be some benefit that will be sprinkled on us like magic dust in the immediate aftermath of 2012 (or any other Olympic year). It is something that has to be defined and worked for.
Similarly, the Sports Festival is looking to achieve even more than a fun and feelgood factor for a couple of weeks every year. That will not be an insignificant achievement, especially as the Festival grows.. But we also intend to use it as a culmination of programmes during the year and as a catalyst for new ideas and future action.
Elements of the Festival Legacy are being created already: in bringing organisations together; in different and more integrated ways of working; in attracting new people and activities into our sporting network; in discussions about new projects; and groups looking at the City’s long-term sporting issues. Most of all, it seems to be harnessing energy.
The proof of that energy is the speed with which this first Festival is being produced. Admittedly, its basis is the success of the Schools Sports Festival, already the biggest in the country but it was only last summer that it was decided to expand this for everyone. The lead agencies in the Festival are BHCC, the School Sports Partnership led by Dorothy Stringer (the City's Sports College) and the PCT. Their representatives have been working through a Management Team since the autumn. A larger Steering Group was convened for a wider range of opinion and soon distributed among the Sub Groups reporting here. Many of the organisations and events involved have their own management structures which is assisting progress. In those cases the task is often one of compatibility and coordination. Wherever possible the Festival is to support and help develop existing initiatives.
Yet this is only the beginning. What sporting aspirations do you have for Brighton & Hove? What do we need? What do you want to achieve? More players? More coaches? More officials? More, different or better facilities? Our own athletes on the Olympic podium in 2012, 2016, 2020 and beyond? Let us know what you think.
Jack Wilkinson
Chair
TAKEPART and Sussex County Sports Partnership
