11/07/08: OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY OVERLOOKED

A FEAR of grassroots sport neglect in the shadow of London 2012 has been voiced by a leading athletics club secretary in Bournemouth.

Gail Chappell, of the Bournemouth Athletics Club, said: “Don’t get me started! I just feel that this is an opportunity that is passing us by. I’d like to think that we’ll see some benefits from the Games around here, but I can’t see it personally”.

The Bournemouth Athletics Club reflects a growing discomfort within grassroots sport at the shadow of 2012. Liz Hughes, of the London Pools Campaign, which is battling to avoid swimming pool closures across the capital, said: “In terms of our vision of what we would like to see the Olympic legacy do, we would like to see something like what happened in the 20s and 30s, when Herbert Morrison was in charge of London County Council.

“He had three election promises that he made, and one of them was to build lidos. We’d like to turn that around and say “look, this is what 2012 gave us”. Councillor Geoff Taylor, of the Olympic Delivery Authority, however, views the Games in terms of benefiting the entire country.

“In the Financial Times, I saw an estimate that we as a country could get around £20bn of exports as a result of the work we’ve done on the Games. So, you have to be careful to say its just £9bn for some Games” he said.

 

 

 

Grassroots bodies are concerned about falling off track before 2012