DOCSLIB.ORG

Written Evidence Submitted by UK Sport

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Written Evidence Submitted by UK Sport Written evidence submitted by UK Sport DCMS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY: SPORT IN OUR COMMUNITIES WRITTEN EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY UK SPORT 27 November 2020 Introduction 1. UK Sport is the nation’s high-performance sports agency. We inspire the nation through Olympic and Paralympic success, ensure that the UK plays host to some of the world’s biggest sporting events, act as an international leader in sports governance and seek throughout to use the power of sport to enrich lives across communities and country alike. 2. Thanks to continued National Lottery and Exchequer investment, British athletes made history at the last Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio, winning more medals than the London Games in 2012; bringing home 67 Olympic and 147 Paralympic medals and all the while bringing together and inspiring our nation once more. When, following the Rio Games, the public was asked what made them most proud to be British, ‘Team GB’ was ranked second behind only the NHS. 3. We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide evidence to the Committee’s inquiry into ‘Sport in our Communities’. While UK Sport focuses on high performance, it is our fundamental belief that international sporting success, hosted major events, and the influence & impact of our world-class athletes makes a significant contribution to the wellbeing of communities across the nation. Q1. Are current sports governance models fit for purpose? 4. Over the last 20 years voluntary sector sport – in the UK and elsewhere – has been undergoing a process of ‘professionalisation’, which has been described as ‘sport’s transition from volunteer-delivered amateur sport to professionally managed and delivered sport supported by volunteers’ (Ferkins and Shilbury 2014 cited Tacon and Walters 2016i). To a large extent this process has been driven by changes to the business of sport, with the type of decisions needing to be taken increasingly being complex, commercial, multidisciplinary and high- profile in nature. 5. A raft of policy statements, programmes and governance guidelines issued by central government, the Sports Councils and others over this time culminated in the Government’s 2015 sports strategy, ‘Sporting Future’, which called on UK Sport and Sport England to agree a new Code for Sports Governance. The primary purpose was to help protect the value-for-money the public receives from investment into sport in England and at a UK level, and to maximise the effectiveness of those investments. 6. The new Code for Sports Governance was subsequently introduced effective from April 2017 and remains in place today. It sets out the levels of transparency, accountability and financial integrity that are required from those who seek and receive Government and National Lottery funding. It has three tiers and applies to any organisation seeking funding from Sport England or UK Sport, regardless of size and sector, including national governing bodies of sport, clubs, charities and local authorities. The Code is also proportionate, expecting the highest standards of good governance from organisations requesting the largest public investments, including: • Increased skills and diversity in decision making, with a target of at least 30 per cent gender diversity on boards • Greater transparency, for example publishing more information on the structure, strategy and financial position of the organisation. • Constitutional arrangements that give boards the prime role in decision making. 7. Since its introduction, the Code has accelerated the professionalisation of many national sports bodies with a focus on areas such as: • Establishing Boards as the ultimate decision-making authority within a sport rather than traditional councils • Reforms to Board memberships, including at least 25% independent members • Commitments to targeting greater diversity, including at least 30% of each gender on Boards 8. In terms of diversity, the Code has significantly accelerated gender equality on sports boards, with women now accounting for 40% of board members across funded bodies following the introduction of a 30% target as part of the Code. UK Sport and Sport England have also put in place a successful programme with Perrett Laver to recruit and upskill a diverse network of board candidates. So far, the partnership has seen 33 appointments made to sports boards, 62% of which have been people from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds and 71% of which have been women. Overall, there are now 172 potential Board candidates in the network of which 65% are from an ethnic minority background. 9. While much has been achieved and the Code has been instrumental in raising governance standards across the landscape, we acknowledge that more remains to be done. While there are new challenges facing sports governing bodies all the time – never better seen than over the course of this year – it is important not to underestimate the scale and pace of the cultural change that organisations have undergone during the professionalisation process, typically moving ‘from volunteer-driven entities to those experiencing the forces of commercialisation and the infusion of paid staff to fulfil roles historically performed by volunteers’ (Shilbury, Ferkins and Smythe 2013 cited Tacon and Walters 2016). Against this background, in July 2020 UK Sport and Sport England announced the first joint review of the Code for Sports Governance. The review, now underway, will involve wide consultation with organisations to which the Code applies and will particularly be examining those elements of the Code that support equality, diversity and inclusion – including those that focus on the composition of boards. It will also check against current governance best practice from other sectors, recognising that thinking may have moved on and further improvements found in sport and other sectors over the last three years. 10. Equality, diversity and inclusion are an integral part of our emerging strategy- due to come into play from April 2021 - to find new ways of harnessing the power of sport to enrich lives. In terms of work already underway, as well as the Code review already mentioned, we are coordinating a review of racial inequalities in sport, involving all five of the UK’s Sports Councils. This work will bring together existing data on race and ethnicity in sport - to identify gaps and make recommendations – and will be followed by a second strand of work hearing people’s ‘lived experiences’ of racial inequalities and racism in sport. These initiatives are important steps in taking forward our commitment to develop a fully inclusive sporting system. 11. In a Westminster Hall debate on Historical Discrimination in Boxing last month, the Sports Minister said that the Government’s aim in promoting and supporting equality, diversity and inclusion is ‘to increase diversity among sporting organisations and to help the sport sector to be more inclusive and welcoming to spectators, participants and the workforce.’ This statement very much mirrors the broad, system-wide outcomes we are beginning to frame for our own organisational strategy at UK Sport. Q2. At what level of sport should the government consider spending public money? 12. UK Sport is the UK’s lead agency for high performance and invests both Exchequer and National Lottery funding into top-level sport, primarily among the Olympic and Paralympic sports. While we believe in supporting top athletes as talented individuals in their own right, we are also gathering an increasing quantity and quality of evidence about the social impact of our top sportsmen and women – whether as role models; through the success they achieve; or because of the active part they play in their communities. Latest research about the contribution that the Olympic and Paralympic sports make to the UK economy (some £24 billion in 2017) and about the public’s belief in the positive impact of sporting success on the UK’s general wellbeing (45% agree strongly with this proposition) in our view makes a compelling case for government investment at the highest level. 13. This being said, we should nevertheless take the opportunity to explain that individual sports have different opportunities to generate non-grant income - that some NGBs therefore have greater financial independence than others – and that this capability is taken into account when we are making investment decisions. As a result, we group NGBs into four co-funding tiers for the purpose of evaluating their performance strategy and budget submission. Tier 1 sports are defined as those which have access to sufficient grant income to fully fund their performance strategy: these sports cannot expect to receive any funding from UK Sport but will have access to technical support and services. Q3. What are the biggest risks to the long-term viability of grassroots sport? 14. While this question lies more within the scope of Sport England than UK Sport, there is one aspect of grassroots sport where our two organisations currently share concerns, and this is in terms of the flow of young athletes emerging from their local sporting networks and into what we call the ‘talent pathway’. 15. Although elite sport is in the fortunate position of enjoying certain exemptions from the restrictions that recreational sport has had to undergo during lockdown, in order to maintain safe practices and ensure that training remains effective, NGBs through this period have understandably tended to give priority to their senior, higher-level athletes. While this approach has had implications for the progress of young athletes already in the talent pathway, the situation facing those who are not yet on the pathway is even worse. Without access to local facilities or competition opportunities, the ‘class of 2020’ is often missing out on the chance even to be ‘talent identified’. Youngsters from disadvantaged areas - where access to connected devices may be less, where space for informal training may be limited, where even parental support be less readily available – are likely to be the hardest hit in this respect.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Animal and Sporting Paintings in the Penkhus Collection: the Very English Ambience of It All
    Animal and Sporting Paintings in the Penkhus Collection: The Very English Ambience of It All September 12 through November 6, 2016 Hillstrom Museum of Art SEE PAGE 14 Animal and Sporting Paintings in the Penkhus Collection: The Very English Ambience of It All September 12 through November 6, 2016 Opening Reception Monday, September 12, 2016, 7–9 p.m. Nobel Conference Reception Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 6–8 p.m. This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Katie Penkhus, who was an art history major at Gustavus Adolphus College, was an accomplished rider and a lover of horses who served as co-president of the Minnesota Youth Quarter Horse Association, and was a dedicated Anglophile. Hillstrom Museum of Art HILLSTROM MUSEUM OF ART 3 DIRECTOR’S NOTES he Hillstrom Museum of Art welcomes this opportunity to present fine artworks from the remarkable and impressive collection of Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Martha (Steve and Marty) T Penkhus. Animal and Sporting Paintings in the Penkhus Collection: The Very English Ambience of It All includes sixty-one works that provide detailed glimpses into the English countryside, its occupants, and their activities, from around 1800 to the present. Thirty-six different artists, mostly British, are represented, among them key sporting and animal artists such as John Frederick Herring, Sr. (1795–1865) and Harry Hall (1814–1882), and Royal Academicians James Ward (1769–1859) and Sir Alfred Munnings (1878–1959), the latter who served as President of the Royal Academy. Works in the exhibit feature images of racing, pets, hunting, and prized livestock including cattle and, especially, horses.
    [Show full text]
  • Sport England Annual Report 2004-2005
    Presented pursuant to section 33(1) and section 33(2) of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 (as amended by the National Lottery Act 1998) Sport England Annual Report and Accounts 2004-2005 ORDERED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS TO BE PRINTED 19 January 2006 LAID BEFORE THE PARLIAMENT BY THE MINISTERS 19 January 2006 LONDON: The Stationery Office 19 January 2006 HC 302 £ Contents 2004-05 Annual report against DCMS-Sport Page 3 England funding agreement 2003-06 Sport England - Summary of Lottery Awards 2004-05 Page 12 Sport England Lottery Awards 2004-05 - Awards over £100,000 Page 14 Ongoing awards over £5 million and their status Page 19 Sport England - Lottery Accounts Page 20 Performance Indicators 2004-05 Sport England Lottery Fund Monitoring & Evaluation Page 21 Financial directions issued under sections 26 (3), (3A) and (4) Page 24 of The National Lottery Etc. Act 1993 (as amended by The National Lottery Act 1998) Policy Directions Issued under Section 26 of the National Page 28 Lottery etc Act 1993 amended 1998 The English Sports Council National Lottery Distribution Page 31 Account for the year ended 31 March 2005 The Space for Sport and Arts Programme Memorandum Page 64 Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2005 The English Sports Council and English Sports Council Group Page 69 Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2005 2 2004-05 ANNUAL REPORT AGAINST DCMS-SPORT ENGLAND FUNDING AGREEMENT 2003-06 2004-05: Another year of progress and achievement Work area 04/05: Key achievements Strategic Leadership Sport England celebrates
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Value of Sport in England 1985-2008
    c Economic Value of Sport in England 1985-2008 August 2010 Sport Industry Research Centre Sheffield Hallam University Contents Page Definitions iii Executive Summary iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1: Terms of Reference 1 1.2: Methodology 1 Chapter 2: The Sport Economy in England 4 2.1: Summary of key indicators 4 2.2: Consumer Spending 5 2.3: Sport-related Output 7 2.4: Sport-related Employment 8 2.5: Summary of Income and Expenditure flows 9 Chapter 3: Comparison of English Regions 10 3.1: Spending, Output and Employment 10 3.2: Importance of Sport in England 11 Chapter 4: The Sports Economy 1985-2003 21 4.1: Growth of the Sports Economy 22 4.2: Sport and the Leisure Industries 24 Appendices: A1: Statistical Sources 27 A2: Model Output 28 A3: Sources and Methods 42 ii Definitions 1. National Income Accounting The concepts of National Income Accounting were developed for macro-economic analysis in the 1930s and 1940s. The basic principle is that there is accounting equality between total output, total income and total expenditure. The most common definitions of total output in the economy as a whole are the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA). For example, assume that the total output in a factory producing football boots is £100m. This is equivalent to the income generated as wages (say £60m) as profits (say £10m) and as flow to the companies selling inputs (£30m) required in the production. In this example GVA is the sum of wages and profits. Further, total income will also be identical to total expenditure because output that is not sold in the current financial year is treated as investment expenditure.
    [Show full text]
  • Articles of Association
    The Companies Act 2006 Company Limited by Guarantee and Not Having a Share Capital ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION OF ENGLAND BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Incorporated in England & Wales Company Number: 01429756 (Adopted by Special Resolution dated [ ] 2018) 1 8554913.3 The Companies Act 2006 Company Limited by Guarantee and Not Having a Share Capital ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION OF ENGLAND BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION The name of the Company is England Basketball Association (hereinafter called “the Association”) and the Registered Office of the Association will be situated in England. INTERPRETATION 1. In these Articles, unless the context otherwise requires: Act means the Companies Act 2006; Address means a postal address or, for the purposes of communication in electronic form, a fax number or an e-mail (but excluding a telephone number for receiving text messages) in each case registered with the company; Annual General means an annual meeting of the Members of the Meeting Association; Appointed Director means any person appointed pursuant to Article 29 (b); Articles means the Association’s articles of association for the time being in force; Auditors means the auditors who are from time to time appointed by the Association; Board means the Board of Directors of the Association; British Basketball means the representative body for the Home Nation Federation Basketball Associations; Business Day means any day (other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in the United Kingdom); Chair means the chair of the Board appointed in accordance 2 8554913.3 with
    [Show full text]
  • At All?: Interrogating Sport Policy Interventions in the United Kingdom
    European Sport Management Quarterly ISSN: 1618-4742 (Print) 1746-031X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/resm20 From ‘Sport for All’ to Not About ‘Sport’ at All?: Interrogating Sport Policy Interventions in the United Kingdom Mick Green To cite this article: Mick Green (2006) From ‘Sport for All’ to Not About ‘Sport’ at All?: Interrogating Sport Policy Interventions in the United Kingdom, European Sport Management Quarterly, 6:3, 217-238, DOI: 10.1080/16184740601094936 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740601094936 Published online: 22 Dec 2006. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 4692 Citing articles: 74 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=resm20 European Sport Management Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 3, 217Á238, September 2006 ARTICLE From ‘Sport for All’ to Not About ‘Sport’ at All?: Interrogating Sport Policy Interventions in the United Kingdom MICK GREEN School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, UK ABSTRACT This article provides a critical account of the ways in which the funding for, and political justifications underlying, sport policy in the United Kingdom have shifted from concerns to provide ‘Sport for All’ opportunities for the generality of the population, and at various times for targeted groups in particular, to a peculiarly sharp twofold focus. Namely: (i) the promotion of the ‘active citizen’ through social investment strategies that have children and young people as their principal target; and (ii) a ‘no compromise’ approach to winning (Olympic) medals and trophies on the international stage.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Value of Sport in England July 2013
    Economic value of sport in England July 2013 Sport England Economic value of sport in England 1 Introduction Sport benefits individuals and society. It is an important part of the national economy, contributing significantly in terms of spending, economic activity (measured using Gross Value Added) and employment. For those who participate there are health and well-being (or happiness) impacts. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games showcased the wide-ranging positive effects that watching sport can bring1. However, few studies in the past have sought to assess the full economic benefits of sport. This work presents the first comprehensive assessment of the economic impact (in relation to the real world economy) and economic value (in terms of welfare or utility) of sport in England. It shows that sport has very substantial benefits. This research was undertaken by AMION Consulting. 1. Source: DCMS (2013), Meta-Evaluation of the impacts and legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, London: DCMS. www.sportengland.org Economic value of sport in England Sport England 2 Key findings Sport makes a huge contribution to the lives of individuals, to the economy and to society. Sport England has undertaken research to examine the economic value of sport in England. The main conclusions are: • In 2010, sport and sport-related activity • The economic value of sport in terms of generated Gross Value Added (GVA) of health and volunteering in England is £20.3 billion1 – 1.9% of the England total. estimated in 2011-2012 to be: This
    [Show full text]
  • Improving Culture, Arts and Sporting Opportunities Through Planning a Good Practice Guide Improving Culture, Arts and Sporting Opportunities Through Planning
    improving culture, arts and sporting opportunities through planning a good practice guide Improving Culture, Arts and Sporting Opportunities through Planning. A Good Practice Guide Supported by: A full list of supporting organisations is given on page 2. improving culture, arts and sporting opportunities through planning a good practice guide Contents Section 1 Introduction 3 1.1 The aim of the guide 4 1.2 Using the guide 4 1.3 The Culture and Sport Planning Toolkit 4 Section 2 Culture, arts and sport 5 2.1 Outcomes for culture, arts and sport 5 2.2 Defining ‘culture, arts and sport’ 8 Section 3 The policy and development context 10 3.1 The planning policy context 10 3.2 Links to other processes 11 Section 4 Developing the planning approach 12 4.1 Principles 13 4.2 The National Planning Policy Framework 13 4.3 Strategic co-operation and collaboration 13 4.4 The local planning framework 14 4.5 Neighbourhood planning 17 4.6 Planning applications and changes of use 20 4.7 Infrastructure planning 20 4.8 Good design 24 Section 5 Funding and delivery 25 5.1 Key messages 25 5.2 Viability considerations in planning policy and development 26 5.3 Section 106 planning obligations 27 5.4 The Community Infrastructure Levy 27 5.5 The relationship between CIL and planning obligations 28 Section 6 Tools and guidance 29 6.1 Libraries, museums and archives 30 6.2 Arts venues and theatres 33 6.3 Public art 36 6.4 Open space, leisure and sport 39 6.5 Historic environment 42 Appendix A Signposts to further information 45 A.1 Key organisations 45 A.2 Sources of funding 45 A.3 Delivery mechanisms 46 Appendix B A National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) checklist for practitioners 48 Appendix C Glossary of key terms 52 1 good practice guide improving culture, arts and sporting opportunities through planning Improving Culture, Arts and Sporting Opportunities through Planning.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism, the English Question and Sport by Tom Gibbons
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Teeside University's Research Repository Chapter 1: Nationalism, the English Question and Sport By Tom Gibbons (Teesside University, UK) & Dominic Malcolm (Loughborough University, UK) Introduction The significance of the relationship between sport and national character has been recognised by the English for a long-time. Perhaps one of the earliest examples is the English artist and writer Joseph Strutt who wrote Sports and Pastimes of the People of England first published in 1801. Strutt (1903: xv) argued that in order to form ‘a just estimation of the character of any particular people, it is absolutely necessary to investigate the Sports and Pastimes most generally prevalent among them.’ Two hundred years later sport continues to be seen as one of the most important spheres in which English national distinctiveness can be observed. Carrington (1999:73) argued that, [given the] decreasing centrality to public life of two of the key institutions that have traditionally helped foster a sense of national belonging—war and the Royal family—sport…has increasingly occupied a central role in symbolising English nationalism. This viewpoint is a central theme that runs throughout Sport and English National Identity in a ‘Disunited Kingdom’. The various chapters have been selected to illustrate how current debates regarding Englishness are manifest in sport in diverse, and at times contradictory, ways. 1 This volume is timely because this particular form of nationalism has become increasingly contested in recent years. Of course, Englishness has long been referred to as “an identity in crisis”.
    [Show full text]
  • Sport Participation in Scotland: Quantifying the Benefits
    Sport participation in Scotland: quantifying the benefits Dr Larissa Davies OBSERVATORY FOR SPORT IN SCOTLAND: ACADEMIC REVIEW PAPER INTRODUCTION It is widely believed that participation in sport creates economic and social impacts on society that extend beyond the behavioural changes experienced by individuals taking part. This is reflected in a clear shift in policy across a number of countries, from investment in sport for sport’s sake to investment in sport for wider societal good. The Active Scotland Outcomes Framework (Scottish Government, 2018a) is the Scottish Government’s key policy framework for delivering a more active Scotland. It outlines six key outcomes desired for sport and other physical activity over the next ten years. It is clearly focused on the contribution of physical activity to personal, community and national wellbeing and considerably more so than the Government’s previous strategy. While Reaching Higher (Scottish Executive, 2007) was also concerned with the contribution of sport and other physical activity to broader policy agendas, it was primarily about the improvement and development of Scottish sport. The current strategy for Scotland clearly places the role of sport and other physical activity in relation to wide-ranging benefits for individuals and communities. Until recently, evidence on the impact of sport participation has largely focused on measuring the economic contribution of sport to society, in terms of traditional economic indicators such as Gross Value Added (GVA)1, employment and consumer spending. In the UK home countries and elsewhere in Europe, there has been a primary focus on measuring the economic importance of sport (SpEA and SIRC, 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Sport Is King : an Investigation of the Coverage of Female Sports in The
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep) Sport is king1: An investigation into local media coverage of women’s sport in the UK East Midlands Abstract : There has been a recent interest in research into national media coverage of female sport, particularly single events, but on-going sporting activities by women are rarely reported. This paper attempts to examine this subject at the local level, looking in general at women’s sport and in particular at women’s football in the East Midlands region of the UK. Quantitative methods were used to survey local newspapers and radio stations and interviews were carried out with a range of people relevant to the field of study. The topic of sports media is framed here with reference to research into masculinities and a socialist feminist approach is used to address problems. The data showed there was a significant and on-going imbalance in the amount of coverage and even some signs of a decline in women’s football reporting, in spite of a national resurgence of the sport itself. The authors try to account for this and suggest further areas of future study. Key words : women, sport, football, media, coverage, gender. Introduction The London 2012 Olympics were hailed by commentators as the ‘women’s games’ (Brown 2012) when gender parity in events and media coverage seemed nearer than ever before. Before the roar of the crowds began to fade in the memory, pundits asked whether or how the bonanza of reporting for so-called minority sports could be sustained.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the Impact of Engagement in Culture and Sport
    Understanding the impact of engagement in culture and sport A systematic review of the learning impacts for young people July 2010 The CASE programme The Culture and Sport Evidence (CASE) programme is a three-year joint programme of research led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in collaboration with the Arts Council England (ACE), English Heritage (EH), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and Sport England (SE). The work on this project was carried out by a consortium led by the EPPI-Centre with Matrix Knowledge Group 1 The EPPI-Centre (Institute of Education, University of London) – The lead contractors and lead on the Impacts work in this report. The work was authored by: Dr Mark Newman Dr Karen Bird Jan Tripney Naira Kalra Irene Kwan Mukdarut Bangpan Carol Vigurs This report can be downloaded from the DCMS website: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/research_and_statistics/5698.aspx 2 Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the support of Chloe Austerberry, Jeff Brunton, Sergio Graziosi and James Thomas for technical support and help with information retrieval. 3 Contents Section Page Background 6 In-depth reviews of learning impacts for young people... ...participating in the arts 14 ...participating in sport 33 ...attending school libraries 45 ...attending museums, galleries and heritage sites 53 Appendices 62 Arts A1: References 63 Arts A2: Quality, effect sizes 68 Arts A3: Summaries 79 Sports S1: References 104 Sports S2: Quality, effect sizes 107 Sports S3: Summaries 112 Libraries L1:
    [Show full text]
  • INJURIES in QUIDDITCH: a DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY Rachel Pennington1 Ashley Cooper2 Evan Edmond3 IJSPT Alastair Faulkner4 Michael J Reidy4 Peter S E Davies4
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH INJURIES IN QUIDDITCH: A DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY Rachel Pennington1 Ashley Cooper2 Evan Edmond3 IJSPT Alastair Faulkner4 Michael J Reidy4 Peter S E Davies4 ABSTRACT Background: Quidditch is a fast growing, physically intense, mixed-gender full-contact sport. Originally adapted from Harry Potter novels, quidditch was first played in 2005 in the USA but is now played worldwide. It is essential to elucidate patterns of injury for the safety and growth of the sport of quidditch. It also provides a unique opportunity to study injury patterns in mixed-gender full-contact sport, an area of increasing importance with the developing culture of transition from single-gender to mixed-gender sports. Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the types of injuries sustained while playing quidditch in terms of their incidence, anatomical distribution and severity, and gender distribution. Methods: An anonymous self-reporting questionnaire was distributed to all active quidditch players in the UK. Data collec- tion included player demographics, type of injury, mechanism of injury, player position, experience and treatment required, relating to the previous 12 months. Results: A total of 348 participants of 684 eligible athletes responded to the questionnaire representing a 50.87% response rate. There were 315 injuries reported by 180 athletes in total, with an overall incidence of 4.06 injuries per 1,000 hours. A statisti- cally significantly different rate of concussion was observed with female athletes sustaining more concussion than males (p=0.006). The overall rate of concussion was 0.651/1000hrs in males and 1.163/1000hrs in females (0.877/1000 hours overall).
    [Show full text]