Olympic cash plea for youth sports

8:34am Friday 16th November 2007

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YOUTH SPORTS - including football, basketball and athletics - should be getting a share of South Dorset's Olympic cash, a councillor said today.

County councillor Mike Byatt said popular pastimes for youngsters were in danger of missing out on legacy finance because there was too much focus on watersports.

Coun Byatt says Portland hosting the 2012 sailing events is an opportunity to raise the profile of sport and fill gaps in current sports provision.

This should mean the development of tracks, sports grounds and proper training facilities, which are desperately needed in the area.

Coun Byatt spoke ahead of a meeting on Portland today of the Olympic Legacy Board of which he is a member.

He will be making a plea at the meeting for sports schemes to be identified through the development of a joined-up strategy.

Current local authority sports strategies are out of date and make no reference to the Olympics, Coun Byatt claims.

He said any plan should involve input from Weymouth College which is hosting a sports conference in the New Year.

The Olympic Legacy Board is a newly-formed group made up of representatives of Dorset County Council, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, West Dorset District Council, the Dorset Strategic Partnership, and South Dorset MP Jim Knight.

Working with the recently-appointed legacy manager Gary Fooks and partner groups, the board is tasked with giving leadership and direction towards developing Dorset's legacy from the 2012 Games.

Coun Byatt said: "Talk to young people on the street and you will discover the vast majority are not sailing - they are playing football, basketball, athletics and probably many other sports.

"We need to develop a strategy that fills the gaps in current sports provision and maximises the funding opportunities available - develop football pitches, 24/7 training facilities, basketball courts and areas for track and field events.

"We have competitors locally who excel at water-based activities and they are important but I'm concerned there's too much focus on it when the vast majority of people are not involved and playing other sports.

"There is going to be money available as part of the Olympic legacy so it's important it goes where it's needed."

He added: "The profile of sport is high on the agenda but it's important people don't see the legacy as just about water-based sports.

"We need to promote all sports and that means having the resources to be able to do that.

"Let's get going now and bring a sports strategy and the Olympic legacy together."