In this assignment I am going to write a report about the sports industry locally and nationally. I am going to write about two sports: mountaineering and sailing. They are controlled by national governing bodies, which are the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) and the RYA (Royal Yachting Association). I will be writing about the employment, the participation and the financial turnover. Task a) Employment is important to the society today because it creates jobs and careers for the people. It allows people to socialise at work.
The sports industry employs a large number of people. They have also been an increase in the number of centres in recent years. To run a big company like the BMC or RYA you need a lot of staff. The RYA has 12 senior managers, 31 executives, officers and coaches and 59 administration staff, bringing the total to 102 members of staff for just one centre. They are a lot more in the whole of the UK because when you look at the annual report the expenditure for staff costs comes up to i?? 2,601,172. This includes staff salaries, social security costs and pension and life insurance costs.
I haven’t got staff numbers for a centre controlled by the BMC but when I look at the annual report the expenditure for staff costs comes up to i?? 1,063,400. This includes staff salaries and personnel, office costs, communications, servicing and repairs, general postage, printing and stationary, office sundry, marketing and publicity, IT, finance and consultancy, bank and credit card charges, depreciation and more… Looking at this the BMC have to pay for a lot staff but they’re expenditure is not even half of the RYA’s expenditure. This means that more people work or prefer to work for the RYA.
I think this is due with the activity as sailing is more popular and enjoyable. Money is also important to society because everything cost money. Nowadays more money is available as there are many jobs and people can get promoted meaning they get higher wage so they can afford to participate in sport. The sports industry needs money to be able to provide the facilities and good quality of sport to the society. Everything in life costs, nothing comes from free. Participation is important to society and the society participates a lot more in sport now. There are many reasons for this: increased free-time, increased disposable income, fashion.
But why do people participate in sport? For health reasons, it provides exercise, which keeps us fit and helps us live a healthy life. For social reasons, it brings people together in a common cause and reduces crime and anti-social behaviour. For character building, it teaches us values such as teamwork and respect. The number of facilities has increased and the quality has improved encouraging people to participate. The average life expectancy of the population has increased and more and more elder people can take advantage and participate in sport.
People with disabilities have better access. The media has also influenced people and affected its participation as sport is often on the news and there is a lot more coverage, which means it raises awareness. For the BMC, during 2005 membership grew at a slower rate than in previous years and at year end BMC had 64,752 members, 286 more than 2004. This was made up of 36,374 individual members and 28,378 club members split between 349 clubs. The total number of club members who took advantage of the reduced rate and upgraded to full individual membership was 225.
Since this category was introduced in 2004 the total number of upgrades is 1344. Insurance sales also grew at a slower rate, producing 954 more insurance policies than 2004. The RYA’s membership has grown over the past few year and they currently have 103,400 members. Looking at this we can see the RYA is more popular. I think this is because watersports are more accessible and available as we live on a land surrounded by water and we don’t have to travel too far to get to them. Watersports is also cheaper and a more enjoyable sport. Also climbing is see and considered as dangerous.
Task b) Sport has had a major influence on society even in the past years. It has prepared people for wars, hunting or improved they fitness at work. Sport back then was consisted of mob games, which are mass games with very few rules and played occasionally in or between villages. It was often football or rugby and often violent. People had very little money and so people in the upper classes played sport mainly or some people of the middle class because they had land and money. The lower class had very little time on their hands and so they couldn’t participate in sport.
In the 19th century upper class people sent their children to public schools. This was for boys only at the start. IN the schools they played sporting activities with rules facilities and organization. After that sport developed more quickly and the main factor was increased in leisure time. Historically there was little transport available which had a big impact on the sports participation. When the development of roads, the bicycle, the railway and eventually the cars arrived it enabled good communication and travel and developed sport. Education:
Sport has developed as a result of what has happened in schools. Physical education encourages the development of skills that are used in sports, and help keep the children fit. They teach them about how to live a healthy lifestyle. Also there are a number of extracurricular activities organized outside of school that children participate in. When the national Curriculum was introduced it made Physical education compulsory. Physical education isn’t just learning about the sport but also fitness, health and diet. It introduces sport to people at a young age. If P. E is compulsory then it will raise participation.
Extra curricular activities are available to help the children develop and participate in their chosen sport more so they gain experience and it also teaches them social skills, like teamwork. And the achievements are recognized. Outward bound is a charitable organization that helps young children get involved with sport. It created the outdoor education movement, which is when more people participated in outdoor sport. Teachers are there to teach you, you look up to them as your role model and they can influence you on the sport you choose. They can teach you the skills and broadens your knowledge.
The Lyme Bay tragedy affected the education system, it bought in new rules and legislation to make the activity safer (AALA). Lyme Bay has had a positive and negative impact on outdoor education. In a positive way it has bought new rules and legislations in to make it safer, but on the negative side it has raised worries and made it stricter. For example nowadays if a teacher wants to take a group of pupils kayaking they must be a qualified RYA Level 2 Kayaking instructor and they must also fill in papers like parental consent forms, route cards and risk assessments.
This is to help make the activity safer under the new rules and Health & Safety Act for Young People. This is a good thing as well as a bad thing. Funding: Sport cost money! They are many sources of funding available. Government funding comes from a number of sources but the two main ones are taxes and the National Lottery. The government provides funding to local authorities and sports organizations to help encourage more participation for example building new facilities. It also increases the success of the teams.
The National Lottery supports sport by creating new sports facilities for example the Manchester Velodrome and the new Wembley. Sponsorship is another source of funding as it provides money in return of the name of the business. It is important and many clubs couldn’t go on without sponsorship. Advertising provides money as it advertises in clubs, books magazines TV etc… Another big source is broadcast rights as they bring in a lot of money for selling the rights to a TV company such as sky to broadcast matches and events.
It helps promote the sport and increases participation. Another source of income for sports is grants. These are payments, which are made to a club or organisation for specific purposes such as improving a club’s facilities so that the availability can be improved. Organisation: There are three main providers of sport in this country: Public is organisations such as the national government and local authorities who provide services to people in their area. It is not a profit-making sector. They provide free or lost cost facilities such as local playing fields or swimming pools.
Private is organisation that aim to make a profit for themselves or for other people. They provide facilities and services for the benefits of members. If the organisation doesn’t do well they are in danger of going out of business. Voluntary is organisations that provide activities for the benefit of local people and to meet a local need. Often these people have a common interest or skill, or feel that the activity they do is worthwhile and important. Volunteers give up their time and energy for free. This sector is non-profit making and any money made is put into the activity to keep improving it.
Media: Media influences sport and sport influences media. In recent years, sports coverage in the newspapers has increased. They are two types of newspapers: broadsheets such as the times, the Daily Telegraph etc… and tabloids such as the Sun, Daly Mirror etc… Tabloids are sensational in their coverage and emphasis less on facts and more on gossip and rumors. The language is simple and use headlines that attract people. Broadsheets are less concerned with the gossip report the fact accurately. The range of sports covered is much wider and the language is more complex.
The media can have a huge impact of people’s opinions for example Wayne Rooney became a superstar overnight at the age of 18. He is seen as an idol by most young people and as a result is a role model. Media has impacted sport because sponsors have been attracted to them by the amount of media coverage they receive. The dress and language of people in the society has changed as they follow what their sports heroes wear and say. The opinion of people is often what is read about in the papers, magazines and what they hear on TV and radio.
Sports have changed their rules and competitions format to meet the needs required by the media. Many sports are seen as fashionable. Players have become role models for young people. Media has increased the number of players and spectators. I think education, media, sponsorship and funding have all impacted sport as they are all linked together. It is like a vicious circle that you enter at a young age when you start school and learn about different sports and participate in them. Then if you decide to pursue you can go into media or if you don’t you can still watch it.
Then if you are doing a career as a footballer for example you will be sponsored which will bring money in and effect the funding. The participation is affected by all of these different things. Sport has developed through education as it has raised awareness of different types of sport through school and the National Curriculum. There has been a wider range of after school activities and the children have a wider range to choose from. For example dance and gymnastics are now part of the national curriculum, also outdoor sports such as kayaking and climbing are considered to be traditional now and children can try them out through school.
Although there is pressure from the other subjects to be taught at school P. E has helped developed outdoor sport. Sport has also developed through funding as they are a lot more means of funding nowadays and it is supported by the government. These are a few of the funding providers: Sport England, the National Lottery, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, Sports Aid, Sports Match and the Youth Sports Trust. Also funding comes from the media and raises it awareness and the government may give grants for the development of a sport which is particularly popular.
If the funding is good then it can mean people can participate in sport in good conditions with good facilities and the right equipment. Media is a big developer of sport as it has raises awareness through broadcasting it on TV. People watch TV a lot and if they see a sport that they like it will encourage them to maybe try it out and participate in it. People often hear about new things through TV, Radio, Newspapers and so I think that the Media has played a big part in the development of sport.