By Harriet Wood
As youth clubs disappear and leisure centres close due to funding struggles, young people lose access to facilities that help develop their passions and talents in sport.
Expenses are a barrier preventing the this generation, especially children and teenagers, from success. Even where there is talent, the cost of maintaining it prevents progression.
Children from wealthier families are more able to afford coaching, equipment and club membership, compared to those who may rely more on school sport and leisure centres. A survey from ActiveKent revealed that children from affluent families are more active (58%) than those from least affluent families (45%). These children of affluent families are also more likely to go on to train at an elite level.
Affordable physical activity such as lessons, teams or equipment is increasingly underfunded. Outside of London, this issue is even worse. Those living in rural areas face scarce placement of facilities and leisure centres, meaning the community is less motivated to make a long commute to train properly.
The Office for National Statistics found that there is a positive correlation between the relationship of the number of sporting facilities per 10,000 people and the proportion of adults who exercised for over the government recommended amount.
Many local councils across England are in a financial crisis, and for the past few years have been calling for service cuts, with parks and leisure facilities sitting at the top of the list, according to the BBC.
Different types of sport and training receive and require different levels of investment. Football and running could be considered relatively accessible without support, however swimming, gymnastics, cycling or tennis would need more to achieve a foundational level of skill.
For less common sports, some athletes choose to leave the country, such as in athletics, cycling, rowing, sailing and winter sports. Overseas training is seen more in sports that are endurance based or environment dependent, where foreign countries provide facilities that are either not available/accessible in the UK or are not of an elite quality.
Perhaps, more money could be given to councils to keep their sports centres open and provide better quality centres to enable a future for the next generation of athletes.