Centrally Manageable System for Public Sector Sports Grant’s Distribution to Children and Youth Sport Clubs Abstract Research questions: What kind of system would be the best for financing children and youth sport (CYS)? Research methods: As a first step, we identify the most relevant aspects that have or may have influence on the unavoidable costs of sports. Secondly, we investigate less studied aspects like the costs of sports per practitioner and families’ ability to cover these costs, relaying on the data from 947 annual financial reports of CYS clubs from 2012 – 2016 and data about private persons’ annual income by quintiles from Statistics Estonia. Thirdly, by relying on the results of this study and previous studies, we propose a model for CYS financing. Results and findings: The quality and capacity of trainings for children determine the extent and height of entire sports pyramid. Results of previous research and findings of this study suggest that the centrally manageable system that takes into account impact of resource dependency and population density, costs of sports and sport levels and also income level and structure of families is the best possible solution for CYS financing. Implications: The proposed model guarantees efficient and targeted distribution of public grants, balanced financing of CYS, and reduces exclusion from sport due to financial and demographic reasons. However, a survey for identifying the needs of sports should be carried out before implementing sych a distribution system. For keeping grants’ distribution fair, the survey is recommended to repeat periodically. Keywords: Children and youth sport, sport financing, supports’ distribution, Estonia Introduction Several EU and world level recommendations suggest for children to be physically active at least one hour every day (WHO, 2010; EU, 2008). From state perspective, rising sport participation is beneficial, as wider participation rate guarantees healthier population (EU, 2008) and raise the probability to find talents. It has been found that the skills of various sports acquired in childhood increase likelihood to remain physically active throughout lifetime (Smith, 2006), therefore high quality trainings in sufficient capacity are recommended. Also, the EU reference documents have advised to guarantee the diversity of sports (EU, 2008). In Estonia (Buldas, 2019a) and in other EU states (Pühse & Gerber, 2005) the number of physical education classes is small in schools’ curricula and the overall mobility of children is low (Guinhouya, Samouda, & Beaufort, 2013; Mooses, 2017; Mooses et al., 2017). Unfortunately, it is difficult to increase the number of PA classes in curricula (Ministry of Education and Research1) and therefore, the best possible solution for increasing the mobility of children is to do it via sports clubs’ system. The most important stakeholders groups related to this topic are (a) families who are the main financiers of CYS clubs (Andreff & Nys, 2002), (b) public sector who supports CYS mostly from local level (Andreff, 2006; Bergsgard, Houlihan, Mangset, Nodland, & Rommetvedt, 2007; Škoric, Bartolouci, & Ĉustonja, 2012 ; Wicker, Breuer, & Hennings, 2012) and (c) sports clubs who are expected to provide quality trainings using finances that are mostly received from families and local governments. In Estonia, Sports Act states that local governments should support CYS if the resources are available (Spordiseadus § 3 (21)). Public grants have been seen as the backbone of grassroots clubs (Breuer & Wicker, 2009; Houlihan, 2005; Lasby & Sperling, 2007; Scheerder et al., 2010; Taylor, Barrett, & Nichols, 1 Interview with Pille Liblik, advisor of Üldharidusosakond [General Education Department]. 2 2009; Young, 2007). In principle, clubs can also earn business revenues and get other income, but these revenue sources are not very common in CYS clubs (Buldas, 2018a). The delegation of financing CYS from lower power level has lead to the coexistence of numerous micro level financing models (Buldas, 2018a, Wicker & Breuer, 2015) without clear concept in grants’ distribution (Buldas, 2019a). Implemented grants’ distribution principles and even the age of children and young people eligible for grant vary by local authorities and in the worst cases regulations are completely missing (Buldas, 2019a). Considering these findings, it is hard to believe that grants in different size and without clear distribution pattern are the best possible solution for CYS financing. At the same time, public grants could be a systematic tool for reducing negative effects of resource dependency and for covering unavoidable costs rather than being incidental. This study focuses on proposing a system for CYS financing that takes into account revenues and costs affirmation in CYS clubs and families’ ability to cover these costs. The proposed model may be suitable for many countries and could therefore be of interest for sports managers and politicians who are responsible for building supports systems and design regulations. 3 1. Theoretical Background The Place of CYS in the Sports Pyramid Usually, the mass sports and grassroots sports are seen as the basis of sports pyramid, top sport forms the tip section of the pyramid, amateur sport the layer between these two levels (Green, 2005), CYS is mostly positioned as a part of grassroots sports (Bergsgard et al., 2007). This concept describes the sequence of sport levels, but does not describe their chronological order. We should take into account that all sport levels are outgrown from CYS and top athletes do not usually pass the amateur sport level before reaching the top. Therefore, in depicting a sport activities’ pyramid following the chronological order of formation of sport levels, it is reasoned to use horizontal section for CYS as the basis of the whole pyramid and vertical sections for adults’ sport levels (Figure 1). The top sport sector raises vertically in the center, adjacents are vertical sectors of amateur sports, and sectors of physical activity (PA). As all sport activities’ sectors grow out from CYS, the participation rate among children and the amount and quality of CYS trainings determines the horizontal extent and also the height of the entire sports pyramid. Practitioners can move from amateur sport to PA and to the opposite direction, but in most cases, amateur sport and PA do not feed the top sport, only CYS does. There is also possible to step out of the sport pyramid from every sector or to step into the sport pyramid, but again, probably it is not possible to step into top sport sector from the inactivity area. Although it is possible that some individuals decide to enter into the activity area in adulthood, the macro level data show that participation rates decline with age (Coalter, 2007; Downward, 2007; Downward & Riordan, 2007). (Figure 1 near here) Considering the previous concept and the impact of sport on health and on the development of top sport, CYS is strategically important field for states and sufficient financing of this 4 area helps to guarantee healthier population and higher athletic achievements. For understanding, how to create efficient and suitable model for CYS funding, the functioning of main stakeholders groups should be explained and main aspects highlight that have or may have impact to the costs of sports and stakeholders groups ability to cover these costs. Public Sector’s Approach The main interests of the public sector in funding CYS are related to the two objectives of sport: high athletic results and better public health (Council, 1992; Olympic Charter). The prerequisite for both goals is broad participation in CYS because it determines both the width and the height of the sports pyramid. To ensure broad participation rates, researchers have often come to the conclusion that school programs are the best possible way to raise PA among children (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kirk, 2005; Van Acker et al., 2011). At the same time, the number of physical education hours in curriculum is not sufficient to ensure the required volume of PA (Pühse & Gerber, 2005) and different forms of PA are expected to implement in parallel (Kirk, 2005; WHO, 2010). Such a solution where clubs, sports schools, educational system, and after-school programs complement each other, guarantees a very high participation rate in sports and PA (De Meester, Aelterman, Cardon, Bourdeaudhuij & Haerens, 2014). While sports clubs are partly funded by the public sector, partly by the private sector (Andreff, Bourg & Halba, 1994; Andreff, 1996), school programs and after-school hobby groups are generally fully funded by local governments. As clubs’ system affords to involve private finances (Andreff et al., 1994), the expected grant from state is smaller. It is unclear if the state maximizes the utility for society with this solution. Children from low income families and from families where sport and PA are not valued may stay away from trainings. 5 Public grants to CYS are not always inevitable. The expected size of public grant is (Buldas, 2016): S = Co – Pn – B, (Equation 1) where P is the price of training, n is the number of practitioners, B is club’s revenues from business activities and other sources, S is the amount of public sector grant, and Co is the size of club’s unavoidable expenses. If Pn + B = Co, then the public grant is not needed (S = 0). If the average level of households’ income is low and or the level of inequality high, Pn + B cannot cover Co and public grant is needed. (Buldas, 2016) Therefore, in creating grants’ systems, it is reasoned to take income distribution into account. Grants raise the perceived utility from attending trainings compared to other possible choices of spending free time (Buldas, 2018c, Downward, Dawson, & Dejonghue, 2009), The study Buldas (2019a) show that the principles for grants division have not been used systematically in Estonia so far. The principles, on which the CYS funding system can be relied upon, are (Buldas, 2018b): (a) several equality and needs sub-principles or (b) the sub- principle of needs that suggests relaying the grants division on the unavoidable costs.