Good intentions 'not enough' to ensure post-Games sports development in China
Published on 01 August, 2008
The good intention of administrators will not in itself be enough to ensure the development of sports in China after the Olympic Games.
That is according to event legacy researcher Danya Hodgetts from CQUniversity Australia, who said a conscious, sustained effort is required for sports to develop as result of an event.
"It is not necessarily a matter of build it and they will come," she said.
Ms Hodgetts said Chinese administrators will be trying to ensure the momentum in elite sports rubs off on potential competitors in the general population.
She said effective legacies needed to be planned from as early as the initial bid process.
For example, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games has a specific legacy section, including the donation of sports equipment and the creation of legacy funds to contribute to sport development.
In contrast, Australian Sports Commission desires to harness motivations from the Sydney Olympics started much later in the process and were not as effective as they could have been.
Similarly, hope was expressed that the Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup would encourage wider participation in exercise via grassroots sport, but this was not supported by any programs or initiatives to bring about this change.
Ms Hodgetts said she would be tracing the event legacies from the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships in Western Australia over the 2007-2009 period.
Evidence to measure the sport development impacts will be gathered from organizational and event statistics, a member survey and focus groups.
"This research will establish a framework for measuring the sport development impact of large sporting events, with likely recommendations including performance indicators for event bidding documents," she said.