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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Cath Bishop

Too many of us were traumatised by sport at school – but it’s never too late to change

Three people walk toward a basketball court carrying bags, backlit by bright sunlight.
Sport and physical activity is poorly linked up across schools, sports clubs, community organisations, parks and playgrounds. Photograph: Miodrag Ignjatovic/Getty Images

There is a disconnect between the proliferation of reports recommending we should be more active and actual levels of activity, that are scarcely budging. Sports councils, health bodies, charities and thinktanks are piling up the evidence that sport and physical activity help us live healthier, happier lives, improve academic attainment at school and productivity at work, connect our communities and help prevent crime and reoffending. Why can’t we turn this into reality?

Reports often call for better coordination, including the recent House of Commons inquiry Game On: Community and School Sport. But sport and physical activity remains poorly linked among schools, sports clubs, community organisations, parks and playgrounds. In an era of superintelligence and rockets flying around the moon, surely we could do better?

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