Nicholas Craig column

Mar 24 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

World class athletic in the North-East should grow by 2012.

The Budget news of £34m for a new national sports foundation, and a schools Olympics with national competitions taking place in a different city each year will open up sports to many more of us, and help the most talented sports enthusiasts take part in Olympic-style events across the UK.

It's great news to hear of significant sums being channeled into sport. The proposed sports foundation echoes the aims of Newcastle's Year of Exercise and Sport, by encouraging exercise in people who may never have considered themselves sporty.

I am part of the Steering Group for YES, and have always supported any initiative which seeks to include the plump, the lazy, the old and the young in activities which will make them feel better about themselves.

Gordon Brown's plans for `grassroots participation' and more local sports facilities should help many more of us keep our bodies and our approach to life as healthy as possible.

It's been a good month for sport in the region. Local swimming champions Chris Cook and Joanne Jackson won two golds and a silver at the Commonwealth Games, and 12 North-East teenagers who excel in their fields were honoured at the recent Sports Newcastle charity dinner alongside Shay Given and Alan Shearer.

It is tremendous to see the next generation of sporting stars being rewarded. Without green spaces and sports facilities sports in schools suffers, and ultimately business loses out. Apart from better health and fitness, the team building, networking and competitive aspects interlink with qualities needed for successful future careers.

As a keen participant and watcher of sport throughout my life, I have played against teams throughout the region and the country, and appreciate how sport breaks down barriers. Team colleagues have become real friends because of a shared love of the game.

Sport is a huge business. The newly announced national sports foundation is an opportunity for the private sector to become directly involved in sports for all. It will bring together public and private finance, modelled on the football foundation.

I'm keen to hear more about the foundation and the school Olympics, both exciting ideas with the funding to make them - and us - winners.