Mayor urged to ensure 2012 legacy for young Londoners

5.10.11pm GMT Tue 11th Nov 2008

The promised sporting legacy for young people in the capital is at risk unless efforts to increase sports participation in the lead-up to the 2012 Games are fine-tuned, the Mayor was told today.

A submission to the Mayor by the Assembly's Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism (EDCST) Committee claims it is essential new and innovative ways are found to engage with young Londoners outside mainstream education.

Current efforts to communicate with young people focus on using schools and colleges, ignoring the fact that large numbers of young people are not in the educational system. The submission recommends local sports providers work closely with pupil referral units and youth centres.

The Committee recommends that in order to boost access, a London-wide sports card - similar to the Oystercard - should be developed to allow young people free or discounted use of sports facilities.

The submission also calls for the introduction of a scheme giving young Londoners access to financial support to help them train to become sports coaches, which will enable them to deliver sporting activities for other young people.

Chair of the EDCST Committee, Dee Doocey AM, said:

"If the youth sport legacy is to be achieved, we need better sporting facilities, we need to communicate these opportunities to young people and we need to encourage them to participate."

"It is essential that the forthcoming London Legacy Plan for Sport sets out a clear strategy for how the commitments for a sporting legacy will be achieved and funded. And then this strategy must be implemented.

"A large haul of gold medals in 2012 will be gratifying. But the transformation of grassroots sports will pay dividends for decades to come."