Me too. There is something familiar about "Seth" and his childish insults, closely followed by a plea for everyone else not to be nasty!

Anyroads, what no one has mentioned, is of course the P word. Profit, and the massive growth over the last 20 years of the leisure fitness industry, which I believe coins in £3.6 billion annually.

I wonder how many of those people who claim an imminent decline in the health/morals of our younger generation have a vested interest, and are actually employed within this fairly lucrative industry?

Billy I insulted you once, and for good reason as you were not trying to debate the issue, you were trying to be smart and getting personal.

The subject matter has gone way over your head, you just don't get it, this much is evident from your replys, best leave it there then.

So do I - the two people with some actual experience in the field of school and young persons sport weigh in with well reasoned, supported argument and then the keyboard warriors call them stupid and point out how everything was better in their day.

It's a microcosm of Southstander at its best.

I have a lot of experience in the field. It was only 7 years ago I finished high school. And from my experience the after school clubs and al' that we're e! Instead I got myself to my local rugby club funded by local British businesses.

I can also reference to young chap in the family. He is currently 15, still in school. He plays for his local football team, again funded by private sponsorship from local businesses. This keeps him off the street 2/3 nights per week. He is also a customer of the five-a-side football company. Again no government funding just all part of the booming leisure industry in the UK. And guess what he the school he goes to is only a foooking sports college!

And yet, people continue to highlight a few positive or negative examples like they reflect the national picture, missing the point!!!

I can post a whole host of national statistics and examples if you like?

Some great press releases on the SSPs at the moment, young ambasadors also taking the petition to London in a couple of weeks.

I don't know if the SSP's have made a significant improvement or not so in an ideal world we should keep the funding for them as it is important for youngsters to get involved in sport - however we are not living in that ideal world any more.

Unfortunately it would appear we have been living above our means for quite some time now and there are many services that we simply cannot afford to continue to fund for now and the forseeable future.

In my experience with sport and in particular rugby there is still so much good work that goes on by parents who were former players. They give their time freely often gaining coaching qualifications along the way and usually this is on behalf of a club that is privately funded. In many cases youngsters learn more in these evening and weekend sessions than they do in school hours. So I am optimistic that sport will not suffer as much as some other areas may do over the next few years.

We are a broad church Gilder.

The thing that I really dislike about quoting government and newspaper sources is that they change literally day to day - a few pages back I linked to an article in The Observer which had a paragraph in it stating Gove as saying that the school sports money would not be ring fenced in future and that headteachers would have control over where it would be spent - you'd think that a Sunday paper would keep its reporting intact wouldn't you ?

Not so, as you state above the report that I linked to has had that paragraph removed now and its more apparent that the £162mill spend is ceasing to be replaced by a £10mill Schools Olympic fund.

Either the minister didn't make his press release clear enough or the reporter just wrote the first thing that came into his head, or was drunk.

Probably all three.

m.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/ ... pe=article further pressure being put on the government. Hope the link works!

m.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/ ... pe=article further pressure being put on the government. Hope the link works!

Seth, Someone from your partnership got me to sign it when she was over 2 weeks ago. I know first hand what you guys do and how beneficial you are to our school sports.

Thanks mate appreciate the support. Probably would have been Carol, she's great.

Hope alls good at Nortonthorpe.

Thats it - Carol!

Elite athletes warning to David Cameron m.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/n ... pe=article

Elite athletes warning to David Cameron m.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/n ... pe=article

Having watched today's PMQ's it sounds like an embarrasing coalition 'U turn' on the policy is on the way.

Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour ex sport's minister) asked the question and David Cameron acknowledged he was reviewing yesterday's debate on the issue and will bring forward a further announcement soon.