Italy - UK Partnership

IN FOCUS | 13 www.italchamind.eu The United Kingdom, a sporting nation How the Government tackles physical inactivity S ports have always played a crucial role in British society, as witnessed by football, rugby, cricket, golf and tennis, which were invented in the United Kingdom. Several international games took place in the UK in the last 100 years. London hosted its first Summer Olympic Games in 1908, in 1948 and more recently in 2012, together with the Paralympic Games. Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slams, has been held annually since 1877 in London and, among other sports events hosted in the UK, we can mention the Rugby World Cup and the Hockey World Cup. Even though the United Kingdom is a sporty country, some categories face difficulties in engaging in sport. Women, people with additional needs, the elderly and those in lower socio-economic classes are less likely to practice sport regularly, according to a study of Sport England. The research shows that 40% of women aged 16 and over are less active than their male peers. Causes include practical and emotional pressure, such as fear of judgement, lack of confidence and of time. A higher percentage of disabled people – people with long standing and limiting disability or illness – is physically inactive (43%), due to the lack of adequate sport facilities and fear of not being accepted. In addition to this, the research highlighted how inactive people are more likely to develop health conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity; not to mention the unquestionable positive relationships between physical activity and mental wellbeing. TOWARDS AMORE ACTIVE UK Sport England, an executive non- departmental public body sponsored by the department of sport, media and culture, launched the strategy “Towards a more active nation: Strategy 2016-21”, aiming at creating a more inclusive sport environment for everyone. The strategy’s main scopes are to tackle inactivity and make youngsters sportier, as their early experience will shape their attitude to sport as adults. The plan also includes investments to support those who are already active and to make the sector more innovative, launching Apps and campaigns to increase sport awareness. “This girl can”, for instance, was launched in 2015 to encourage women who are afraid of judgment, who lack confidence or do not have enough time to do physical activity. The campaign has involved almost 2.8m women so far, inviting them to get active in the way they prefer, exercising on their own terms. Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, has also been carrying out the project “Sport Unites” with the aim of making London the most active and socially- integrated city in the world. Park Run, on the other hand, was launched in 2014 as an online platform to find 5Km runs in parks across the country, held every Sunday, encouraging the local community to do sport whilst socialising with other people. Being active is now a priority on the government agenda, as shown by the above campaigns that contributed to increasing the number of people who do sport across the UK. ·