Sports Development Unit

The Sports Development Unit is the arm of the Guernsey Sports Commission that deals with the administrative work and practical application of Commission initiatives.

The Unit aims to make a difference in Guernsey by helping to provide any person with the opportunity and the encouragement to take part in sport or to improve their performance to whatever level they may desire.

Sports Development does not relate solely to the top or elite athlete. It is about opportunity for everybody: the disadvantaged, the able, the young, the beginner, the potential ‘star’, coaches, officials and administrators. The underlying belief of Sports Development is that all those who take part in sport should be encouraged and should have the opportunity to reach their maximum potential with the only constraints being their interest and ability.

Sports Development is designed to promote an environment in which change takes place. All parts of the organisation, department or group of individuals’ involved need to be committed to the process of change. This will mean that clear objectives must be set and there must be an understanding between all parties as to their role within the process. The Sports Development Unit acts as a ‘catalyst’ between the parties involved, not just to provide the sporting opportunity but to actively persuade people to experiment with or access that opportunity.

Sports Development focuses very strongly on target groups such as women, people with disabilities, or ethnic minority groups, and there is a constant emphasis on creating new opportunities for participation and marketing sporting opportunities to people who do not already take part.

Sports Development is not an academic subject, it is a practical ability: a set of skills and a role that is about quality delivery of opportunity. Sports Development is about the promotion and provision of sporting possibilities to the population. It is not, and never should be about talking about it.

The Sports Development Continuum

The Sports Development process should benefit people at all stages of their lives. These stages are best described in terms of the Sports Development Continuum, which classifies participants in terms of their levels of achievement. This continuum is commonly presented in four stages:

Foundation: means the early development of sporting competence and physical skills upon which all later forms of sports development are based. Without a sound foundation young people are unlikely to become long-term sports participants.

Participation: refers to taking part in an activity, whether for reasons of enjoyment, health, fitness or simply the desire to get involved in the sport for its own sake.

Performance: signifies a move from basic competence into a more structured form of competitive sport at club or county level, or, at any individual level where performance is measured on a personal scale.

Excellence: is about reaching the top, and offers those with the interest and ability the opportunity to achieve publicly measured levels of excellence.