Before Party Conference, I launched an appeal for visitors to conservatives.com to tell me their suggestions for campaign ideas around the 2012 Olympics. I’ve already received many great suggestions, and look forward to receiving many more before the closing date of 31st October.
My favourite suggestion so far is from Mr and Mrs Buckland, who emailed me with this idea to encourage schoolchildren to take part in sports:
We would strongly support the idea of inter-schools competitions, possibly promoted as being something like a football league. There could be visits by athletes to schools to encourage this idea or what about promoting "sports scholarships" for particularly able children? Most important of all, be the party which brings back the idea of ALL schools having sports fields, and a set amount of time EVERY DAY set aside for sports - whether gym/PE or actual football / hockey / rugger / athletics / cycling etc.
Without this attention to sports for ALL children, we shall continue with a generation which cannot take exercise - and which is then doomed to be overweight, and all the medical problems which will follow.
Make it smart to do sport!
I love the phrase "smart to do sport". This gets right to the heart of the issue. Mr & Mrs Buckland hit the nail on the head by highlighting the current problems with sport and the potential opportunity 2012 represents to put them right. It's a scandal that nearly 1 million children still do not get even two hours a week of exercise, or that 1 million fewer children last year did competitive sport than the year before.
School competitions in the run up to 2012 could help change this and visits by athletes would get kids excited about the Olympics. Hopefully by the time the Games come around sport would be a central part of children's lives and something they get excited about. Believing it's smart to do sport would then remain with them for life.
If you’ve got a bright idea for a campaign we could run around the 2012 Olympics, please email me at huntj@parliament.uk before 31st October. The person with the best suggestion will be invited to Westminster to discuss their idea with me and the rest of the Culture, Media and Sport team.
Find out more about Jeremy's initiative
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