Bring Back Competition - In Defence of Competitive Sports

Tuesday 15 July 2008

As schools around England and Wales get ready for their annual sports days this week, the Manifesto Club has launched a new campaign - A Manifesto for the reintroduction of competition in schools.

In his Manifesto Club Thinkpiece "In Support of Competitive Sport" tennis coach Dan Travis argues:

"Competition is a valuable and rewarding experience for children, but it is being sidelined in schools. In place of the ethic of competition schools are organising sports tuition around health and self-esteem. This leaves children bored, and removes their incentive to improve.
"Of the ten primary schools I work with in Brighton, only 4 have 'races' in their sports days. One school said they were unable to hold races because health and safety regulations; another said that parents watching their children compete and egging them on from the sidelines contravenes the schools 'inclusive' sports politics."

Alongside his Thinkpiece essay, Travis has written a 5 point Manifesto. The Manifesto calls on schools to:

1. Bring back competitive matches and races: We should make it a mission to help fund and maintain weekly competitions within and between schools.......
2. Stop pushing away parents: Sports policy now often demonizes the 'pushy parent' on the touchline.......
3. Play sport for sport's sake - not for 'health': Competitive sports do far more for children than weight-watching and pedometers........
4. Reinvigorate community sport by rolling back 'child protection' bureaucracy: The day-to-day running of children's sport should be placed in the hands of coaches, teachers and volunteers, and not be determined by outside agencies such as the Child Protection in Sport Unit......
5. 'Self esteem' is not the end of sport: The most pernicious factor in the removal of competition has been the supposed threat of 'lowering children's self-esteem'.....

The full A Manifesto for the reintroduction of competition in schools is at www.manifestoclub.com/sportmanifesto

Notes to Editors:
1. A Manifesto for the reintroduction of competition in schools is published by the Manifesto Club on Monday 14 July 2008 at www.manifestoclub.com/sportmanifesto
2. Dan Travis's Thinkpiece essay, "In Support of Competitive Sport" is available at http://www.manifestoclub.com/files/Dan%20Travis.pdf
3. Dan Travis is a Manifesto Club member and director of sports coaching company OverTheNet, and coaches tennis in Brighton. He plays competitive tennis and was previously a middle-distance runner for his county.
4. The Manifesto Club is a pro-human campaigning network. Our ambition is to start to develop the theory and substance of a new progressive politics. We publish reports, organise campaigns, and host regular public debates and discussions.
5. To arrange an interview with Dan Travis, for preview copies of the Manifesto for the Reintroduction of Sport in Schools, or for further information, contact James Panton at the Manifesto Club: info@manifestoclub.com / + 44 (0) 7792 795 462