The Government has sought input from those with an interest in Irish Sport on how to frame a new national Sports policy for the next decade.
This is the first time in 20 years that such a framework will be adopted at Government level and it is a crucial opportunity to put sport into its important context as part of overall Government thinking.
The Key Areas of interest and the Sport for Business views on each are as follows:
- Contribution of sport
- Participation
- High Performance
- Local and Regional Facilities
- National Sports Campus
- Governance
- Coaching
- Volunteer engagement
- Safety in sport – Below
- Integrity of sport and international influence
- Sport in a cross-sectoral context
- Outdoor recreation
- Sports Tourism
- Financing Irish sport
- Measuring the impact of sport
What particular safety challenges need to be addressed around sport?
Concussion and brain trauma are major issues and will not be going away any time soon.
Protecting participants in sport from consequences which may not yet be fully known is a major challenge but one which needs to be met on a continual basis.
Doing what is right as opposed to what has always been the way is never the easiest path but…
What more might the Government and others do to ensure safety in sport?
Sport exists for the moment of play, the thrill of victory and the ascendency of champions. It quickly moves from one winner to the next and that is not an ideal environment for long term consideration.
Government’s role should be to act as a ‘parent’ knowing what is right and imposing that upon groups who may be resistant and reluctant to abide by what is best for them in the long run.
What should be the role of NGBs in setting and overseeing appropriate safety standards in sport?
It should be of paramount importance. The role of the regulator is to provide regulation that ensures the safety of those taking part.
Over the coming years there will be continued heightened awareness of the potential long term consequences of trauma and with sport being a physical environment that will be a major challenge to get right.
Combat sports, rugby, american football all the way through to horse racing, gaelic games and others will have to set strict parameters that enable the sports to function without placing the health of participants in danger.
What standards and safety guidance should be in place for sports and leisure facilities?
Those that ensure the safety of those who walk across the threshold. Simple.
