Inspire a Generation: participation legacies of elite sporting success
It has been a busy few weeks on the elite sporting stage. We've had two bronze medals for England from both the Roses in the Vitality Netball World Cup and the Lionesses in the FIFA Women's World Cup. It was another awesome year of Wimbledon tennis, including the explosion of 15 year old debutante Coco Gauff onto the international stage. Then England's men's XI lifted the Cricket World Cup after one of the most exciting finishes^ to a major final in recent sporting history, defeating an unlucky New Zealand side by only the narrowest of margins.
The participation legacy legend
Of course with all this excitement happening on the elite stage, thoughts inevitably turn to the participation legacy, not least for the youth of our nation. The phrase "inspire a generation" became common parlance around the time of the 2012 London Olympics, when it was announced as the official strap-line of the London Games (1). This always seemed an ambitious goal given that the evidence for major sporting events delivering a participation legacy was pretty thin to say the least. What was apparent though, evidenced by a systematic review by the Department for Health prior to London 2012 (2), was several key things:
There is limited evidence for the "Demonstration Effect" (when simply seeing something makes you want to do it) but it is likely to be strongest in helping those who are already active do more;
No natural link exists between elite sport and community participation, so in order to support any legacy a link must be purposefully created; and
The opportunities available to people within their own communities immediately following exposure to a major event has a direct impact on their subsequent behaviour.
It's all in our minds
So what actually happens from a behavioural point of view when we watch elite sporting success? Well first of all there's a neurological response; positive emotions in our brains lead us to engage in 'approach behaviours', which basically means we are neurologically attracted towards the thing that made us feel positive and want to do it more (3). Seeing others playing sport also normalises sport. This can be particularly powerful for audiences who are stereotypically less likely to associate themselves with sport; for example, for women, seeing strong female role models can challenge social norms that 'sport is for boys', 'girls are no good at sport' or that it's 'unattractive for women to be sporty or get sweaty'. Interestingly one of the challenges presented by elite role models is what is known as the competence gap - where the talent of elite athletes is so far removed from the capabilities of the 'average spectator' that the idea of you taking part yourself seems pretty much pointless in comparison (1). One of the interesting things about the current climate for women's sport is that, whilst on the one hand we strive for equality in recognising the talent of our ladies, on the other there is something implicitly inspiring about the fact that Rachel Dunn is both a leading shooter for the England Netball team whilst also holding down a day job as a genetic scientist working for the NHS.
We are what we see
But even so, that's kind of where the direct effect ends and, since we're all heavily influenced at multiple levels by the immediate world around us (4), what happens next depends hugely on our own environment. So we must turn our attention to: Who is actually watching these major sporting events? We know if we're honest that a large proportion are existing sports fans for whom watching and playing sport is already part of their day to day norm. Witnessing elite success adds to their already positive associations and emotions about sport and so it makes sense that, for this crowd, they could be drawn to do even more.
For 'non sporty types' on the other hand it is certainly true that they may equally experience that warm feeling of positivity. Then maybe, just for a minute, they might think "maybe I could do that". If at that moment they look into their immediate environment and see opportunities for entry level, non-judgemental participation; and perhaps more importantly people like them taking part, then just maybe they go along and give something a try. If the experience delivers on the promise there is a chance for the beginning of a new social norm, where people like them can take part. This can be the first step on the road to a genuine behaviour change. If however what they see is only competitive people, people with all the professional gear, people who talk about running marathons and being the best, this will reinforce their ingrained social norm that sport is not for people like them and they'll be back to whatever they were doing quicker than you can say "stick the kettle on, love, and I'll fire up the Sky Planner ready for Love Island".
When is your best good enough?
I think what this tells us is that huge credit is deserved by those who have created the types of environments which are making a significant contribution to the small but certain gains in decreasing inactivity numbers (5). Behaviour change is no easy task and there have been a host of successful initiatives in recent years, some wide reaching like parkrun, some technological like Couch To 5K, but also smaller enterprises, like YouthBox, a Surrey based organisation which uses boxing as a way to engage with and support vulnerable young people who may never otherwise have engaged with physical activity. At their heart what all of these initiatives have in common is an ethos of positive inclusion, welcoming and friendly environments, where your best really is good enough.
Hats off to all of these initiatives and the people who believed in them and made them happen. We certainly need more of these and long may their growth continue.
Proper Active are experts in creating welcoming and inclusive environments and we love to hear your stories. Drop us a line on info@properactive.co.uk.
^Worth a watch even if you're not a cricket fan - it had cricket fans and non-cricket fans alike furiously googling "what on earth is a super over?"
(2) Weed, M., Coren, E. and Fiore, J. (2009) A Systematic Review of the Evidence Base For Developing a Physical Activity and Health Legacy From the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Canterbury, SPEAR.
(3) Samanez-Larkin, G. R., & Knutson, B. (2015). Decision making in the ageing brain: changes in affective and motivational circuits. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(5), 278-289.
(4) McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health education quarterly, 15(4), 351-377.