At the launch event, Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth called the new strategy a ‘long-term transformation’ and set out how the sport and physical activity industry will keep ‘movement, sport and activity central to the lives of everyone’ in these uncertain times and beyond.

Time and resources will be focussed on three key objectives:

1. Advocating for movement, sport and physical activity
2. Joining forces on five big issues
3. Creating the catalysts for change

The second objective is a call to action for the sector to ramp up momentum and tackle and prevent inequalities in sport and physical activity across five big issues. They are: ‘Recover and Reinvent, Connecting Communities, Positive Experiences for Children and Young People, Connecting with Health and Well-being and Active Environments’.

Encouragingly in ‘Catalysts for Change’, Sport England sets out an ambition that ‘movement, sport and physical activity needs to be delivered, supported and led by a diverse range of people, equipped and supported to meet the demands of their role and changing needs of diverse communities’ and will focus on increasing volunteering and employment opportunities.

Check out the summary of the strategy.

UK Coaching’s Director of Coaching Emma Atkins said:

“As Sport England outlined this morning, it is well evidenced and reported that the pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on the nation’s activity levels. And although there’s every hope that we will return to pre-pandemic activity habits once we overcome the virus, this is our opportunity to reach and increase the activity levels of the whole nation. That is why we are focused on supporting a fully inclusive and diverse coaching workforce that helps people from across all communities.

“With our digital capabilities and great track record in collaborating with hundreds of partners, we are here for coaches to enable the vision set by Tim at Sport England: ‘to change lives for the better, in every home, in every community, across the country’.”

You can read more about the strategy on Sport England's website.

And UK Coaching Content Editor Blake Richardson shines a spotlight on the strategy's guiding principles of collaboration and opportunity in the opinion article Sport England Ten-Year Strategy: From Great Adversity Comes Great Opportunity.