My Welsh Sport_The Conversation

For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. Rob Baynham , Further Education Sports Coordinator at Colleges Wales , asks whether by focussing on younger or older people we are missing "the bit in the middle".  In a conversation around the long-term vision for sport in Wales, creating sustainable change and removing barriers to participation, you could ask what this has got to do with making a healthy sandwich? The aim of this blog is to challenge everyone to think a bit more about the filling or more precisely “the bit in the middle”, in this case 16-19 year-old young people. Many government and Sport Wales initiatives to improve physical activity focus on younger children and early years – which makes a lot of sense. Others promote subsidised or new activity for the elderly – another very credible area for development. However, my question would be: have we previously chosen two nice slices of

For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. Anne Adams-King, Chief Executive Officer at  Welsh Cycling , believes banishing silos in organisations is key to developing a bright future for the sports sector.  We often complain about a silo mentality and working in silos but are we all responsible for establishing and compounding this way of working?  We as a sector have a fragmented landscape of organisations which in most cases we cannot change, but within our own organisations we embed this culture by creating teams and departments that have different aims and who compete for resources, making internal and external collaboration limited unless it benefits those in each silo. It is very easy to slip into creating silos and then allow them to exist with different purposes or functions to the detriment of the overall organisation. We accept that it is the role of the leaders to set the tone and values in their or

For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. How can the digital revolution transform sport? Time is of the essence, says Helen Humphrey, Chair of the Welsh Sports Association .  Back in November 2014, I chaired the Sport Wales Advisory Group who, in partnership with Future Foundation , produced a report, 'acting today for an active tomorrow’ , looking at the consumer trends which could have a real impact on the world of sport. Over three years later, there has been little significant progress here in Wales, whilst technology moves on at a pace. A recent survey of Welsh Sports Association members showed that currently, amongst all the competing demands, digital is not a priority. But if we don’t start making big changes soon, we will get left behind. We all know how important digital technology is and increasingly so. You’re probably sat there reading this on your tablet or smartphone, or the early adopt

For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. Today sees Run Wales blogger Nicola Roylance explain how running has changed her life and how the running community keep her motivated.  I have been running now for about four years. I was at a very low point in my life, I’d put on a lot of weight, I wasn’t very happy and so I knew I had to do something about it. I signed myself up to the Race for Life 5k and downloaded a sofa to 5k app. I hadn’t run for years and it was extremely hard starting from scratch. I went out on my own and prayed that no one would see me as I puffed and panted my way down the cycle path near my house. However, with the support of my husband I kept at it and eventually, albeit not in the 9 weeks allocated, I completed the 5k run. Always one to push myself, I signed up for a 10k run and trained in the same run/walk way to increase my distance.  Time on my feet was key. But once I had comp