Recollections of the Early Years (March 12th, 1971 – April 2nd, 1978) The Project The Gamechangers In 1960 Sir John Wolfenden drew national attention to “the serious shortage of facilities for indoor games and sports”. His report (Sport and the Community) persuaded many local authorities to plan for the “greatest challenge of the seventies”. […]
Given the scarcity of new leisure and community sports building in the early 21st Century, it almost seems remarkable that there was a time when there was a demand for multiple standardised sports buildings to meet the growing demands of communities. However, that was the situation in the early 1980’s when Local Authorities and other […]
ARM News played a key role in the formative years of recreation management from 1970 to 1982. It is an amazing chronicle of – the practicalities of sports centre management in the first decade of centres, of the developing recreation management scene, and of the important character and role of the Association of Recreation Managers […]
Previous chapters, and link, including National Centres by John Birch and the Research Study by Mike Fitzjohn & Malcolm Tungatt, have highlighted the role of the national Sports Councils including the amount of policy and technical advice that they published and was also provided by staff. This supplement records the roles of the Regional Offices […]
Lilleshall was originally built in 1831 as the hunting lodge and family retreat of the Duke of Sutherland. It first became a National Sports Centre in 1951 and was opened by the then Princess Elizabeth II with the original plaque still in place in the entrance to the main hall. It was Lilleshall’s connection with […]
1. Three Principal Sources for Centre Management Recruitment Initially centre managers came mainly from three principal sources (Physical Education, Baths Management and the Military Services). From the mid-1970s, as the number of sports centres rapidly grew, and demand and interest increased, the sources for managers broadened. 1A Physical Educationalists PE teaching was the largest source […]
I was appointed to be the first manager of the new Bracknell Sports Centre in 1966. The building complex was located alongside the existing athletic track. I had been a physical training instructor during my National Service from 1949-51, then worked for the Bahrain Petroleum company, the Outward Bound Trust as an instructor and then […]
By John Birch The early years 1945-1970 Although established for a different purpose, National Sports Centres have played a part in the development of the indoor sports centre. The first two National Sports Centres, Bisham Abbey and Lilleshall were based upon large country houses. Bisham Abbey, the first Centre to be opened, in 1946, […]
The 1980s had seen a slow but clear reduction in the investment in sport both at a local and national level. This is well documented in other contributions. From the late 1980s there had been increasing discussion about the possibility of introducing a National Lottery in the UK partly based on the success of other […]
Derek Casey was born and educated in Scotland. In 1978-79, as a Scottish Sports Council Officer together with Mike Hornby, he was closely involved in ‘A Question of Balance’, a major survey of Scottish Sports Centres (see Chapter 6 – 6.2.1). Later, as the Chief Executive of the Sports Council and Sport England from 1994 […]
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