News Release
Dennis Canavan(1), President of Ramblers Scotland (2), has called for National Lottery funds to be used to secure the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games legacy.
Commenting on the Scottish Parliament debate(3) on lottery funding and community sport, scheduled for Thurs, 25 Sept, Dennis Canavan said:
“We really welcome the cross party support that Margo MacDonald has achieved in her efforts to secure National Lottery funding support for the Glasgow Games legacy. Without such funding there is likely to be very little long term benefit for the nation’s fitness and health as a result of the Games.(4)”
Dennis Canavan called on all politicians to give their support:
“Every member of the Scottish Parliament, whatever their political views, should support Margo MacDonald’s motion. With the London Olympics in 2012 and the Glasgow Games in 2014 we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to inspire everyone in Scotland to take up healthy exercise and to enjoy the outdoors. Scotland’s politicians must grasp the baton and back the bid for National Lottery funds.”
But Dennis Canavan also warned that legacy funding should not just focus on elite sports performance or developing sports facilities:
“This is a golden opportunity, not just to help our finest athletes, but to involve everyone in healthy exercise. I’d like to see everyone walking thirty minutes a day by 2014 - all the evidence points to walking as being the best way of getting people more active.(5) We need to work hard to promote the benefits of walking and we also need to put serious investment into developing path networks. I call on all politicians to walk the path to 2014 – from Holyrood to Westminster, all Scottish politicians should work together to ensure that the Scottish people become the fittest and healthiest in the world by 2014. Lottery funding has been crucial to the success of promoting walking programmes in England – now it should be Scotland’s turn to see National Lottery funding used to help everyone to become more active.”(6)
ENDS
Notes
(1) Dennis Canavan was first elected to the House of Commons in 1974 and was a member of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 until he stood down in May 2007. He has a long-standing interest in sport and the outdoors – enjoying running, hill walking and horse riding. Dennis was Convener of the Cross Party Sports Group in the Scottish Parliament and Chair of the Scottish Sports Group in the Westminster Parliament. )
(2) Ramblers Scotland is part of Britain’s biggest walking charity. We are a voluntary organisation with a network of 58 local groups Scotland-wide. We promote walking for everyone, as individuals or in groups.
(3) Debate on Thursday 25 September 2008: S3M-2514 Margo MacDonald: Legacy from Lottery Funding for Community Sport—That the Parliament, in view of the reduction in lottery funding for the development of community sport in Scotland, supports calls for a substantial sum of National Lottery funding to be released now, thus ensuring both support for ongoing coaching programmes and a legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that benefit the population of Glasgow and all of Scotland, and believes that such funding is capable of enhancing the Glasgow games so that, in addition to supporting a spectacular event, the investment would lay the foundations for health and sporting improvements across the entire population of Scotland.
Supported by: Jamie Hepburn, Jack McConnell, Sandra White, Michael Matheson, Jackie Baillie, Jim Hume, Bill Kidd, Robin Harper, Robert Brown, Elizabeth Smith, Alex Neil, Jackson Carlaw, Stuart McMillan, Mike Pringle, Jamie McGrigor, John Park, Hugh Henry
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/businessBulletin/bb-08/bb-09-22f.htm
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/MSPs-push-Lottery--demand.4513028.jp
(4) Ramblers Scotland welcomes plans to make Scotland a better place to live as a legacy of the 2014 Games. The Games are not purely about sport but offer an opportunity for promoting all forms of physical activity, as well as setting and securing new environmental standards for Scotland.
(5) Evidence shows that previous host countries of Commonwealth and Olympic Games have largely failed to achieve any lasting legacy, particularly in relation to increased levels of physical activity. Scotland therefore faces a big challenge in achieving different outcomes for 2014.
Only 35% of the Scottish population reach the minimum levels of physical activity for good health (30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week) and experts say today’s parents could be the first generation to outlive their children.
(6) Ramblers Scotland are currently working with a number of other organisations – including the Scottish Government - to develop ideas on promoting walking in relation to 2014.
In England the Ramblers’ Association is using Lottery funding to deliver the Get Walking Keep Walking project in London and other major cities. The project promotes the benefits of walking through a free 12-week walking plan or with a DIY pack.
Walking and the 2014 Legacy
