Sir, Matthew Syed is appalled that, despite hefty public investment, sporting participation has not budged since 1994 (comment, July 11).
However, in focusing on funding streams, he misses the actual cause of the failure. The focus has been on increasing participation in sport when it should be on getting more people to be “active” in the widest sense, ie outdoor pursuits, walking, cycling and gym-based activities. Regular exercise reduces the risk of diabetes, heart failure, cancers and much more. Yet the experience of the past 13 years has shown that the promotion of sport in isolation is unlikely to engage the people who will most benefit from being active.
Nonetheless, given the brevity of Jennie Price’s and Derek Mapp’s leadership of Sport England, it is only fair to allow the necessary time for the development of their new strategy. We hope that this new direction will fully engage with the promotion of physical activity in the broadest sense.
ANDR?E DEANE CEO, Fitness Industry Association Sir, I am in my seventies and very fit, having taken moderate exercise all my life; but I have never willingly undertaken any excessive running or jumping, or engaged with balls of intimidating hardness.
To try to push into sport those of us who are unable to see the point of it is like asking the tone deaf to form an orchestra. MARGARET WARBIS Tiverton, Devon