A sporting and health legacy for the London 2012 Olympics in the east midlands: some initial findings

A sporting and health legacy for the London
    2012 Olympics in the east midlands: some
    initial findings

Mackintosh, C2,3 , Wilkins, H1 Darko, N2,3., & Rutherford, Z1,3.

1Sport Science Department, Nottingham Trent University;2 Education Department, Nottingham Trent University;   3

SHAPE Research Group.

Aim of the project

To examine the extent to which young people and their families
change their attitudes to sport and physical activity participation,
sports volunteering and coaching due to the presence of 2012 games

Research objectives:
• Do young people and their families change their physical activity and sport participation
over the 2012 Olympic games and one month follow up?
• Do young people and their families change their values, attitudes and behaviours
around physical activity and sports participation due to the presence of 2012 Olympic
games?
• Do young people and their families change their values, attitudes and behaviour
around sports volunteering, coaching and participation due to the presence of the 2012
Olympics?

May 2011                                                                           2

Theory to inform our study

• Boardley (2012) – theory used to explain and help examine
  behaviour change in sports participation
• Role models, self confidence, motivation, transtheoretical model
  (Prochaska et al.,1992)
• Literature review around legacy and sports development and
  participation impacts (Boardley, 2012; Coalter, 2007; Devine, 2012;
  Griffiths and Armour, 2012;)

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Methodology
• Four phases of data collection
• Preliminary findings of this project
• Thematic analysis of 10 focus groups and 10 hours of video footage
• Physical activity survey analysis – interim findings

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Findings - realities of the family context

“…So until I see myself, to be honest until I see myself being older I don’t really
envisage myself having the time to do stuff for me so… there are things that I would
like to try but not right now!...”

“…So as a choice for us we would try and do things that don’t cost lots of money,
if we want to take them swimming it’s a cost, if you go to football it’s a cost
“family member four” goes to boxing… it’s a cost and I would rather they get the
opportunity to do things and I, we don’t have the money for us to do it because they’re
trying it! You know so there is definitely a cost issue!”

                   Family 5, initial interview, mother of two children, age 40 yrs old

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Sporting role models?

Family Member One: Yeah I think it’s more disciplined as well and that’s not a bad
thing to teach is it, some self-discipline. How you can strive and make things
happen.
Interviewer One: Ok, so there’s an appeal to the Olympics as a family in order to bring
up your children?
Family Member One: I would definitely prefer my children to be interested in sport,
and widening their greater range of friends, outside of the school arena and
keeping their fitness levels and it being more about wellness rather than you know
pushing them more towards going out clubbing, which is what I did as a kid, and you
know diets and those kinds of things and just being well, I mean psychologically it’s got
great benefits.
                    Initial interview Family 1, mother of three children, 37 yrs old.

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2012 triggered behaviour change

Family member 3 - Anything’s possible, it’s a dream. One of the things I have
noticed whilst the games have been going on, that I haven’t noticed before and I
don’t know if it’s because it’s in London, is that more people are interested in it,
interested in all sports, ….
…..two or three of “family member’s one and two’s” friends have started playing
baseball over the past two weeks and “family members two and three” have started
Bokwa, which is cardiac fitness it is based, it has come over from America and it’s
signing for the deaf. But obviously all abilities can do it, and also they’re playing hockey
again, full on! “family member two” is swimming a lot more…..

…..they just seem more enthused and it just seems to be a thing that’s round
with everybody and as I say I don’t know whether it’s because it’s based in
London or here, we’ll see whether it’s the same when Rio comes.
                               Video Diary extract Family 3, mother 43 years old

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Pre-contemplation to active
participation

“family member four” is now on an outdoors pursuit camp with the guides, next week
“family member four” is going on a boot camp …it’s a full week away, everything supplied
and it’s full on fitness and exercise and healthy eating so for us as a family as a whole and
my eldest “family member five” although she wasn’t the most active, bit of a coach
potato, she has started walking a lot more, out and about a lot more and obviously with
the fresh air and the exercise she’s happier, because there were some issues with her so
her whole being has turned around in the space of a month really which is absolutely
fantastic! And you do, when you do exercise, although it’s exhausting physically,
emotionally it gives you that buzz, and for me I find that anyway, and I’ve joined the gym
now I’m going down there every other day, so absolutely fantastic!
                               Video Diary extract Family 3, mother 43 years old

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Pre-contemplation to active participation

‘yesterday I watched the Ping-Pong a bit of the diving as well,…and the day before I
watched the women’s cycling and the lady from Great Britain, …she said that she was
practising for four years and it’s finally paid off. So that was kind of motivational and
today I did some exercise, and some pilates in my bedroom, yeah I am planning on
watching more of the Olympics it’s just that… (Shrugs shoulders) …were thinking about
doing rowing lessons or water sports or something because we’re interested in rowing so
we might take that up so… that’s pretty much all for today.. Bye! ‘
                                        Video diary extract, Family 2, 12 year old female.

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Insights into activity in young lives

‘it’s a completely different story for us. And because we’re older, we only have
one hour of P.E per week, it’s not even an hour because we have to have like
fifteen minutes each way to get changed, so we have like half an hour P.E a
week, and I’m in bottom set so that’s helpful! And we’re the lazy people that
will not put any effort in whatsoever! We’ve not been doing much in P.E
because of the rain, we’ve been inside doing like football, rounders and
benchball and…’
                           Family 1 initial interview, female 14 years old

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Displacement of activity

• Family Member Two: Are you more active because of the Olympics?
• Family Member One: I don’t think I’m more active because of the Olympics.
• Family Member Two: No definitely not, I’m not more active because of the Olympics.
• Family Member One: In fact, I’m not active anyway I’ve probably been less active
  because we’ve been watching it! Well the boys have probably; certainly you (Speaking
  to family member three) you’ve been less active haven’t you?!
• Family Member Two: Yes! Yeah I suppose that a bit for me because I’m more
  watching the Olympics than actually going outside and playing tennis or football or
  doing anything like that so yeah I must admit I think it has made me less active

          (Video extract, Family 5 FM 1 – 42 yr old male FM 2 – 40 year old female,
          FM 3 – 10 year old boy)

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Reflections on family constraints

• Health and physical activity promotion – need to focus on the family
  being involved
• Realities of family life - barriers for parents as facilitators in
  family setting – time, cost, travel
• Channels of communication with potential sporting populations
• Provision of local opportunities - limitations
• Low infiltration, awareness and use/appeal of sports development,
  coaching and volunteering programmes (school, community and
  voluntary sector)

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Policy cynicism around ‘legacy narrative’

• Sponsorship – MacDonalds and Coke – health and wellness
• School and community sport need for female involvement
• Stigma of physical activity participation for female adolescents
• Policy rhetoric rejected by families – finance, resources and priority
  of sport/activity in communities
• How will we reach/engage the inactive?

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Conclusions

• Interim findings – physical activity data to triangulate
• Tentative movement of four out of five families towards
  action/contemplation (medium term?)
• Highlighted range of limitations with current systems for engaging
  families and the inactive
• ‘Lack of voice’ for families in policy and practice
• Lack of trust in the Olympic legacy

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References

Boardley. I.M. (2012) Can viewing London 2012 influence sport participation? – a viewpoint based on
relevant theory. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics iFirst 10 April 2012.
Coalter, F. (2007) London Olympics 2012: ‘the catalyst that inspires people to lead more active lives’?,
the Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 127, 109-110.
Griffiths, M. and Armour, K. (2012) physical education and youth sport in England: conceptual and
practical foundations for an Olympic legacy? International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics iFirst 10 1-
15, April 2012.
Silk, M (2012) Towards a sociological analysis of London 2012, Sociology 45, (5) 733-748.
Bullough, S. (2012) A new look at the latent demand for sport and its potential to deliver a positive
legacy for London 2012, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics iFirst 10 April 2012.

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