Letters: Firm plan needed to build sporting legacy

Scottish sport has a national plan entitled Reaching Higher: Building on the success of Sport21, which bundles competitive sport into the same unchallenging parcel as basic recreational physical activity, and conveniently overlooks the notable absence of success of its predecessor, Sport21.

Launched in March 2007 by the outgoing Labour administration, Reaching Higher has been adopted by succeeding SNP governments. Subsequently subjected to lengthy departmental review and substantial informed criticism in 2008 by Audit Scotland, this extensive document covers numerous “cross-cutting” agendas in areas of health, education and social policy.

Sadly, it continues to lack measurable targets for participation in sport, performance and investment or indeed, joined-up detailed timescales.

This approach provides no proper platform for quantifying accountability and evaluation of success or failure against objectives on Scotland’s sporting journey towards 2020 (at which point the plan does at least envisage a minimum of two hours PE per week for pupils in state schools, with 60 per cent adults engaging in physical activity at least once a week).

A sloppy plan, or a simple tactic to avoid excessive commitment? In this so-called golden decade of sport, the emphasis for delivery partners including governing bodies, local authorities, clubs, communities and volunteers is on fitness for purpose, successful elite-level performance, increasing participation, introducing more qualified coaches, providing more and better sports facilities across the country, thereby building a proud sporting legacy around the London 2012 Olympics and Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in 2014. A firmed-up plan would help.

RON SUTHERLAND

Millwell Park

Innerleithen, Peeblesshire