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Part 1 - analysis and principles for change

Preface

During the implementation of the Foster report there were approximately 30 open forums regarding the changes proposed in the report. A common plea across the country was, "we need to do something about competition. It's a mess." In the vigorous discussions that followed there were many disparate views, a genuine desire to change and an overwhelming sense that the sheer complexity of athletics competition meant that meaningful change without alienating some sections of the sport was impossible.

Furthermore there have already been two significant reviews of athletics competition since 2000. Both reviews involved widespread consultation and were communicated throughout the sport. Implementing the changes has been challenging. Our sport remains better at individual initiative than collective agreement, but, despite the challenges, many changes, such as event specific competitions and the UK challenge have been initiated, and these have been broadly welcomed within the sport.

This project will build upon some of the previous recommendations contained within the 2000 and 2004 reviews but will contain some significant differences.

Firstly the project will concentrate on the provision of athletics competition for young people - defined as 11 - 20. It will not address senior competition above 20.

The overall objective for the project is increasing participation and improving standards for young people.

The project will also target athletics and athletes below the elite. The assumption is made at the outset that elite performance is identified and tracked on an individual basis. At the same time the hopeful results of an improved competition pathway will see more athletes aspiring to the elite level so the connections across the pathway will need to be consistent through the sport.

Secondly the initial perspective for the project will be broader than athletics. Previous reviews have begun with the world of athletics as currently exists. This review will look at the changes in the sporting and social landscape and how this impacts upon competition in athletics. Inevitably this leads to broader questions about our sport and this report poses some of them. Our sport needs to improve its image. We need to look beyond athletics to see why our sport has declined.

Thirdly the project will be split into three distinct phases. Changing athletics competition is a huge and complex task. The sport will need to reflect as it embarks on the change process. The first phase is this report. This report contains background analysis and some outline principles for change. These will be discussed across the sport before a second report is compiled. This will contain a vision for the future of athletics competition and more detailed recommendations to reach that vision. The third phase of the project will be implementation - working to achieve the vision. A more detailed timetable of the process is included at the end of this report.

Finally, and most importantly, this project wants athletics to become fun again. Our sport is amongst the most physically demanding of all sports but that should not prevent the overall experience being both motivational and enjoyable. The best competitions provided by our sport - Sportshall Athletics, the Great North Run and the London Marathon manage to combine challenge with entertainment. Too often current athletic competition misses the entertainment factor and that is a key reason for the sports decline.

Introduction

The current landscape of athletic competition has emerged over a long period of time in an uncoordinated fashion. This means there is plenty of athletic competition around the country and this is the result of the incredible hard work done by volunteers. Any competition review should start by paying tribute to all the many volunteers who give up so much time to provide competitive opportunities. At the same time many of the volunteers feel frustrated by the sheer complexity that has emerged within the sport and when I talked to them there was considerable disenchantment with the current situation where events are often poorly attended and it is a struggle to find enough athletes to compete.

There are at least 50 different providers of athletics competition in this country and that number does not include the huge number of road races and local activities within every region and county. The consequence of this complexity is that the delivery of competition is patchy and whilst there are many well-organised events, many competitions exist on a knife-edge with barely enough athletes to complete the schedule and officials supervising jumps and throws with hardly any entrants.

Furthermore the piecemeal development of athletics competition means that the development of athletes (the athlete pathway) is often lost amongst the many stakeholders within the sport - clubs, team managers, coaches, officials, organisers, schools, parents and many others. All have many strong and often different opinions. Over the summer I have been meeting and talking to many groups and individuals, however I make no apologies that most of my time has been spent in discussions with young people themselves. These are the athletes and if our sport is to improve we need to listen to them and understand them.

In listening to young people and observing the changes in society the logical conclusion is that the sport of athletics is in a far worse state than indicated by the Foster report. The 2012 Olympics may provide a life raft but it is no exaggeration to state that unless athletics is prepared to change significantly in this country it will dwindle and become a minority sport. In many parts of the country this has already happened. If this happens the post 2012 environment for athletics is very bleak indeed.

The conclusions of this report are not critical of any individual or organisation. The sport of athletics is characterised by hugely committed individuals with incredible energy and enthusiasm for our sport. But, in true athletics fashion, many of us have been so focused on athletics that we have missed the wider changes in society, which have contributed to our sport's decline. This report seeks to address this by analysing that wider social context.

If we really want more people to take part in our sport and be committed to improving standards it will depend upon generations of youngsters accepting the challenge and organising their lives (and probably those of their support network) around the sport of athletics. Currently we are asking them to compete in a framework that has changed little in the last 30 years. Thirty years ago - before mobile phones, the Internet, Nike, CDs, police checks, skateboarding, computer games, Sky Sports, the national curriculum, the road race boom, the Premiership and the sale of school playing fields.

If we want them to do this, we need to understand them and their lives.

The social and sporting context

The environment young people are growing up in today is vastly different from that of thirty years ago. We have all experienced many of the changes in society that impact upon young people. A headline list would include:

• Different work patterns
• Fragmentation of family life
• Opportunity to travel
• Speed of communications
• Availability of information
• Choice of activities and lifestyle
• Insecurity of employment
• Changing opportunities within education

This section analyses some of the changes and their impact upon athletics.

School

Until the end of compulsory education (approximately 16), school is the most common feature in young people's lives. All of the children in this country will have some experience of sport through school. The national curriculum ensures that physical education is compulsory. However athletics is not compulsory within the school curriculum and it is often squeezed into the few weeks of a summer term during and after exams.

Unless a school has a PE staff that sees the value in athletics it is under pressure within the curriculum. The new teaching resource "Elevating Athletics" has begun the process of updating school resources, but athletics still struggles in its delivery and communication within schools. If schools are unable to deliver athletics and athletics competition the pressure quickly falls on athletic clubs who usually do not have the resources to develop the sport within the school environment. And the chances are that many youngsters with potential talent in the sport never find that out.

There are many changes currently in motion such as competition managers supported by the Youth Sport Trust but athletics has fallen significantly behind other sports within the school curriculum. Some other sports have developed substantial initiatives within schools usually targeted at recruitment or identifying talent.

Developing a coherent competition pathway through an improved relationship between schools and clubs is critical to the future of athletics.

Clubs
Beyond schools it is the athletic club that is the source of the majority of athletics competition. As society has changed the traditional athletic club has been under ever increasing pressure. A complex network of associations and committees has maintained the current competition structure but this often causes huge conflict within the club itself. Coaches, team managers and club committees frequently struggle to make sense of the competition environment.

The result is a network of clubs across the country offering very different experiences and with different motivations. Some new clubs have rejected the traditional model of athletics competition. Road running clubs have emerged with a clear focus on the increasingly popular mass participation events. Traditional athletics clubs continue to service athletics as it currently exists but are often under-resourced. Many clubs are split between a desire to develop athletes and an outdated competition structure that requires incredible efforts to fulfil.

All the challenges outlined in this report manifest themselves most acutely in the club environment. Young people will often make their first tentative steps along the athlete pathway through an athletic club. If their experience here is not motivating it is unlikely they will stay for long. This means our athletic clubs need to have the resources through coaching, competition and organisation to attract and retain young people.

A well-developed club sector is critical to the development of athletics.

Young People

Choice and the experience economy

Young people today have significantly more choice in their leisure pursuits than any previous generation. There is more competition for their time and more pressure to fill that time with activities that increase their social acceptance amongst their peer groups. In this context athletics is a sporting activity that will be evaluated against other sporting and lifestyle options, such as skateboarding, football, computer games, activity weekends, ten-pin bowling, theatre clubs or the cinema.

Young people will select from a multitude of lifestyle choices and quickly reject those that are not instantly engaging. Expectations are high and the boredom threshold is low. Likewise the carers of young people lead equally demanding and complex lives. If sports pursuits require excessive amounts of time or travel, the chances are they will be rejected in favour of other sports for their children.

The Experience Economy (Pine and Gilmore) explores the high expectations we all have from our lifestyle choices. Successful organisations and activities understand the importance of creating an exciting and motivating environment. The same holds true for sport. Sports need to capture the imagination of young people. Unless they are motivated by their experiences in a sport they will quickly move on somewhere else.

In our sport this experience is best exemplified by events like the London Marathon, the Great North Run and Nike Run London. These are mass participation events targeted at adults but acutely conscious the whole experience of sport needs to be inspirational. It is not surprising that the youth events around these road races are proving much more popular than traditional athletics.

With so much more choice available young people will sample sports and then move on. This means that sampling a sport or event is not the same as making a lifelong commitment to it. Athletics is a sport requiring considerable dedication; therefore we need to find methods to continually motivate young people if we want them to stay with our sport.

Sports that fail to engage young people quickly and provide rewarding experiences will be rejected in favour of other sports or leisure pursuits.

Brands, the team and the individual

Young people are increasingly sophisticated in their understanding of brands. As society fragments brands become increasingly important in defining an individual's identity. Brands can be the clothes you wear, the team you support or the sport you play. Young people today have more personal power and more attention focused on them than any other generation before them, affecting close to 60% of all brand decisions taken by their parents. Young people's lives are very different from any previous generation. 30% of 8-14 year olds text several times a day, whilst spending on average 2 ½ hours on the computer. (Brand Child - Martin Lindstrom).

As there is so much choice, young people have strong opinions about the clothes they wear and the sports they play. At the same time their choices need to gain acceptance within their wider social group. Often their social group is critical in determining what is and what is not acceptable. Social groups often express stronger opinions on what is NOT acceptable than what is acceptable. In other words social groups will very quickly define what is "out" rather than what is "in". The work of Richard Elliott (Being Like or Being Liked) explores this critical area of young people's development. Why is this relevant to athletics competition? Because if social groups of young people define athletics as "out", they won't do it.

For these reasons young people are often more comfortable with the team rather than the individual sporting environment. The team environment offers more security and less exposure to failure. All of us from traditional athletics backgrounds know that ultimately athletic success is based upon individual effort but we need to be very conscious that today's young people are very sensitive to failure in this environment. During the early phases of athletics development we need to recognise the importance of the team and social experience.

Athletics needs to offer a strong social environment in the early teenage years.

The material world

Awareness of salaries and financial rewards has significantly increased in the lives of young people. Transfer fees, salary caps and wage bands are the common currency of the playground. It is often stated that the preparation of an Olympic athlete is similar to that of a Doctor - 10 plus years of dedicated graft. When we seek to inspire youngsters to move from participation towards excellence in athletics we need to be conscious they will ask what the financial rewards will be? Why should I train to be an Olympic athlete when other sports or careers offer more money or more secure prospects?

On a journey to school my two teenage sons asked me where I finished in the Olympics? Sixth. How much money did you get? Nothing. Why did you bother Dad? Apart from almost crashing the car it made me realise that the idealism of an older generation has been replaced by a harder-headed analysis of risk and reward.

Athletics needs to be aware that money and career options are legitimate concerns when evaluating the pursuit of excellence.

Decline in physical activity

There has been a well-documented general decline in fitness levels amongst young people and an associated rise in obesity. The DCMS annual report for 2006 estimates a 0.5% rise in obesity amongst young people. By 2020 if current trends continue 20% of all boys and one third of all girls will be obese. Our sport is one of the simplest forms of physical activity and can play a broader role in the health agenda. The need for athletics is probably greater than ever, but at the same time our current sport is intimidating to the broader population.

Athletics needs to be more aware of the broader health agenda and determine what our role should be with young people.

Other Sports

Football is the sport that dominates the national landscape. In terms of resources, popularity and media exposure no sport can compete with football in this country. From the Premiership through to local leagues and school teams, football will continue to be the most influential sport for the foreseeable future. Athletics cannot compete with football. The challenge for athletics and all other sports is to find a method of living alongside football. We need to work with football clubs to find ways of using our athletics expertise and to make our sport available as an alternative choice should football be rejected.

Almost every major sport is currently reviewing their competition model. A key impetus for this is the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model that is popular amongst all sports. There is concern about attracting and retaining greater numbers of young people, competitor burnout, over competition at young ages and the problems over 16. All sports are very conscious of keeping young people motivated and engaged through their sporting development.

Many sports (hockey, cricket, rugby and netball) are adopting the principles of LTAD. There is a challenge to athletics because most sports are looking at "athleticism" and how it can be delivered in a creative format (often competitive) within their sporting environment during the earlier years of development. The rationale is that LTAD involves fundamental movement skills linked to agility as a basis for developing sports specific skills. Therefore hockey may offer periods of the year when you can train in an athletic manner for hockey: likewise rugby, and to an extent cricket. These sports are becoming more year round and are looking to develop more "athletic" formats.

The underpinning principles of athleticism are traditionally associated with our sport of athletics. Our coaches and clubs could have the capability to develop fundamental athletic skills, but unless we change our approach and competitive format in the early years (11-14) we shall lose this to other sports very quickly. The current coaching format encourages specialisation at an earlier age than advocated by LTAD. A real dilemma for our sports and coaches development is at what stage to move from "athleticism" to event group to event specific coaching.

Other sports are also ahead of athletics in offering alternative competitive formats. These formats are often short, fast and fully involving. 20/20 cricket has had a huge impact on the sport but other sports (hockey and rugby) are also planning new formats where they can deliver the sport in a shorter time period on a more local basis.

Furthermore as stronger sports expand their programmes to encompass a more complete approach to athlete development, there will be less opportunity for weaker sports to attract and retain young people. If rugby, football and cricket can offer year round programme including phases of training, summer camps and improved all round skills, where is the time for athletics?

Most sports identify schools as the most fertile recruitment ground. Cricket and rugby have programmes targeted at schools. Cycling is a good example of a sport where an entertaining recruitment programme has been developed by the NGB, delivered through schools and linked closely to the local club network (Go-Ride).

Basketball (which has huge potential) is currently under review by Sport England. Basketball suffers from poor delivery but is the sleeping giant of urban communities. It has a compact, entertaining and flexible format as well as offering strong cultural, music and social links.

Many sports are reforming their competition programme to more closely reflect the lives of young people. Athletics risks losing out to other sports.

Young people and athletics

The scope of this project covers 11 - 20. Within this age range there are huge changes in behaviour and lifestyle. In order to evaluate the lifestyles and experiences of young people the target audience was split into three age groups. Interviews were then conducted in a range of schools around the country with groups within these age groups. I have visited 8 different schools around the country and met with approximately 400 young people. I have also visited clubs, talked to current athletes, athletes who have dropped out, coaches, officials, and schoolteachers and attended a range of athletic meetings.

Sportshall to Boredom

I define this as ages 12 - 14, school years 7 - 9 (S1 to S3). During this period most young people will have some athletic experience through schools. Sportshall athletics is the most compelling indoor format for this age group but there is a huge gap between this experience and the transition to "real" athletics. There is little progression from a fun, team oriented athletic experience to competing in track and field meetings organised as a small-scale version of the traditional Olympic format. At this age the social and team experience is critical within sport and athletics does not offer a compelling environment.

Many youngsters talked about their enthusiasm for Sportshall and then their disappointment with "real" athletics. Often they were persuaded to go to an athletics club and then pushed into an event specific group early in their athletic development.

At this age many other sports are offering more attractive alternatives to athletics. Time and time again the social atmosphere is mentioned. It is unlikely at this age that youngsters have the confidence to take up athletics without the support of a social group. Reception is critical if we want youngsters to take up our sport.

Some quotes from youngsters included:

"I got fed up with waiting around for ages."
"I got smashed and didn't go back."
"Prefer team games."
"Athletics is really, really scary."

The teenage (and parents') pressure zone

I define this as ages 14 - 16, schools years 10 -11 (S4 - S5). This is the period of increasing specialisation within sport, when sports are competitive with each other. This was recognised as the most desirable age for athletes to begin the process of event specialisation.

Again the social experience is critical as is time. As young people prepare for exams they are under time pressures and sports need to offer formats that encourage athlete development whilst not consuming disproportionate amounts of time. For young people to remain seriously committed to any sport within this age group, there will probably be a major time investment from primary carers. In this context athletics is amongst the most demanding sports not just of young people but also of their support network.

Mention should be made of schools championships. Everyone I spoke to who had attended the English Schools (or a similar home country event) mentioned it as a critical experience in their athletic development. "I wouldn't be in the sport if it wasn't for the English Schools." However the delivery of schools athletics at the local level is very patchy.

If there is a highly motivated county schools organisation working closely with highly motivated teachers and a highly motivated club sector, Schools championships work and can provide an outstanding example of sporting development, but if any of the three organisational pillars is weak (either clubs, schools or county) the delivery at the local level can collapse. For every athlete who speaks highly of his or her schools experience there are more who miss it, through poor communication or a poor local experience.

In these age groups athletics becomes very difficult to understand to young people or parents wanting to take part in our sport. Confusion exists over competition and what it means. Athletics often seems overly complex and inaccessible. Entry procedures are often complex, there is little linkage between events and athletic meetings can last almost the whole day. One parent of a talented and enthusiastic youngster described athletics as a "secret society."

As well as disappointing experiences there are many examples of great practice at this age group. Usually this occurs where a well-organised and motivated club works closely with the athlete and the individual athlete's support structure. Many clubs want to do more for young people but do not have the resources or capability. Young people come to athletics with high expectations based upon other sports or other areas of their lives. If athletics cannot motivate them they will often drift back to other sports or leisure activities.

Some quotes from this age group included:

"I wouldn't know where to start to go."
"I'm better at 400m but football is everything in my family."
"I got invited to the club but it clashed with football."
"I just sat there all day."
"I wouldn't go back to the club by myself."
"How come you can't get scholarships in it?"
"It got embarrassing because my Mum had to hang around for hours and watch."
"I'd think about it but there's nobody to take me."
"My coach packed it in. I don't know whether to call him or not."

Club Nights to Night Clubs

I define this as 16 - 20, breaking into 2 broad groups 16 - 18 and 18+ (defined according to the most likely age when young people go to college). This is the period of greatest challenge to all sport and to athletics in particular. The lives of today's post GCSE students offer as many lifestyle choices through education and work as were previously experienced at 18. "All sport drops off the cliff after GCSEs" - a quote from a PE teacher at a specialist sports college where, by any standard, the support structures for sport are outstanding. Social pressures, parties, the need to earn money, the drinking culture and the fragmented delivery of sport all militate against the extra commitment required to improve as an athlete as this stage of development.

It is an irony that within sports development in this country the school and social environment fragments at precisely the age group where increased specialisation and dedication is most required. Above 16 is the time when most sports require extra time and effort. Above 16 is when the distractions become greatest.

Statistician Ian Hodge has done some fascinating work on English Schools medallists. He chose a year (2000) and an age group (under 15's) at random and then tracked their performance through the sport. Of the eighty medallists at the English schools in 2000 only twenty-eight (35%) competed in 2006. Of the remaining fifty-two, forty-nine of them had packed it in with just three on the injured list.

There will be a story to tell for each of those talented individuals. For some this will underline the often-quoted story that successful youngsters don't make successful seniors, but this ignores the many lifestyle and sporting forces identified through this report.

There is huge wastage within athletics. The retainment and motivation of young people through the teenage years is critical to raising standards of performance within our sport. Further research into this group of athletes indicated that more disappeared in the year 2000 (when they were still U15's) than in any year subsequently. Twenty-nine of the forty-nine who have slipped through our fingers did so between 2000 and 2002 (in other words prior to them moving into the under 20's). Although the data represents just one season this does endorse the viewpoint that we lose most of our better prospects before they are 18.

There is a huge challenge in providing the support structures to young people during this time period. Some sports identified a small number of talented young people and find a method either through scholarships or academies of nurturing the talented few. By definition this is the very elite and the support structures quickly deteriorate below this level. Often young people who fail to achieve academy status are lumped into adult competition and this can stifle their long-term development and interest.

As there are so many changes in lifestyle and physical development competition as this age becomes less about age and more about standards. This is also the time period when many young people leave home; therefore the sport needs to find ways of communicating on a more individual basis.

There is often conflict at this age between the club league structure and the event specific pathway. This is often most distressing to the athletes themselves. Somehow our sport needs to find the maturity to reconcile the best interests of the athlete together with our ambitions for the athletic club.

Above 16 there is so much to distract young people away from athletics, our responsibility is to ensure that the sport becomes attractive and offers progressive competition opportunities that keep individuals wanting to be involved.

Some quotes from this age group included:

"The travel was a nightmare."
"It was all too much effort."
"Everyone has to earn money. There's no time for serious sport."
"There are two clubs. We talked about sharing a javelin coach but they just kept arguing, so I packed it in."
"The English Schools was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Summary of research and other sports

In summary:

• Young people have very high expectations of their sporting experience.
  
• There is lots of competition for their time from sporting and non-sporting activities.
  
• They are very sophisticated in their understanding of brands, technology and sport.
  
• The social environment of sport is critical.
  
• Team sports are often more attractive than individual sports.
  
• Sampling a sport is very different from making a commitment to the sport.
  
• Many other sports are becoming year round and have developed new formats to be more interesting and involving to young people.
  
• Long Term Athlete Development encourages the development of "athleticism" within sports specific environments and this is a potential threat to athletics.
  
• The delivery of sport in schools is very patchy.
  
• Young people are growing up faster - they face the lifestyle choices at 16 previously experienced at 18.
  
• All sport "falls off the cliff" after GCSEs.

Athletics: -

• Is a complicated sport that is difficult to understand?
  
• Takes up a disproportionate amount of time.
  
• Has a demanding and complex competition framework.
  
• Is not as fun and engaging as many other sports
  
• Provides a mini-Olympic format that may not be in the best interests of the athlete.
  
• Often encourages event specialisation at an early age
  
• Does not value the social team experience sufficiently.
  
• Has not evolved as society and the lives of young people have changed.

In terms of current competition provision, athletics is a supply driven sport. The existing competition model is fragmented, historic and assumes athletes will turn up. This needs to change to a structured demand driven model where the sport provides competition to fulfil the needs of athletes. If we can make the competition model attractive and motivational then we shall start attracting and retaining more young people. In turn this will lead to improved overall standards.
Principles for competition change

This report recognises the complexity of athletic competition provision in the UK. It also argues that athletics is in far more serious decline amongst the young people of this country than has been recognised by many of those closest to the sport. If athletics is to reverse this decline the changes in competition provision need to be of a level unprecedented in the sport's history.

The sport needs to recognise the huge changes in the lives of young people and adapt accordingly or else it will be marginalized. However, lasting change in athletic competition will only be achieved by a combined effort at the local and national level. It will require partnerships between current competition providers, regional councils, local networks and the governing bodies. In some parts of the country these partnerships are well established or already emerging.

Some will want to move ahead quickly with competition change, others will want to reflect before moving on. Therefore this report concludes with some outline principles for change. Once these are agreed the more detailed vision for the future can be developed.

• The core principles for athletics competition are:
• Athletics competition exists for athletes.
• Athletics competition should be fun and motivational
• Athletics competition should offer a simple and logical pathway that allows every athlete to fulfil his or her potential.
• Clubs and schools must co-ordinate their athletic competition programme.
• Athletics competition must embrace today's consumer.
• Athletics competition must be inclusive, flexible and imaginative.
• These principles should be applied to all competition within the sport.
• There are additional age specific recommendations for athletics competition. These are:

Principle Rationale
At all ages the primary athletic experience should be local, fun, within the region and recognise the importance of a strong social framework This reflects the lifestyles of young people and their carers - this will reduce travel times, make the sport more accessible, exciting and motivating whilst providing the security of a team environment where appropriate.
Under 13 national competition should be by exception only Vibrant local and regional competition should be sufficient to cater for this phase of athletic development
Between 13 - 15 there should be an emerging co-ordinated schools and clubs framework to the national level This should provide a clear, logical pathway through the sport, open to all, encouraging broader recruitment and be more motivating to young people.
Over 15 this framework should be supported by graded competition with open meetings and event specific activity. This will enable athletes to find appropriate levels of competition and event specific development as they progress through the athlete pathway. This will help develop the individual athlete beyond the team environment.

Next Steps

Once these principles have been agreed the next stage of competition reform is to develop a vision for athletic competition. This vision will be based upon the principles. It will contain an outline of how athletic competition could look in the future and a timetable for moving towards that vision.

The vision will be published in spring 2007 after consultation with the home countries, regions and competition providers.

The final phase this project will be implementing the vision. This will begin in the summer and autumn of 2007.