I SPENT a good deal of my time last week meeting on Zoom, and there is without a doubt a tangible air of optimism about that hasn’t been noticeable for so long.
I know that we still have a way to go and have no idea how life will look post-Covid, but we are beginning to make plans and look forward to the future.
Where sport is concerned, there is a deep sense that it can play a huge part in the recovery, and a lot of discussion is centred around how best to tackle the issues people will face once they have a bit more freedom. Over the past year we have spent a huge chunk of our time stuck at home, getting out only to exercise and even that was limited.
A lot of people have turned to walking or cycling and it has been lovely to see families getting active together.
Even people who never described themselves as active before have made use of the small window of opportunity available to them to get outside and go for a walk.
What we need to do now is understand how we work together to retain this demographic and offer them activity and sport that fit in with their lifestyles. These small steps, I hope, have given many people a greater awareness of the benefits of keeping active and it may also have given them a bit more confidence in their own ability and stirred their imagination on what they can do next.
Flexibility will be key and, from what I have heard, organisations are more than willing to listen and learn in order to help those who need a little more support before committing to sport.
For girls and women there is much more visibility around sport and the great news is that BBC Scotland is now showcasing highlights from the Scottish Building Society Scottish Women’s Premier League on the BBC Scotland channel every Sunday.
Another great move, from GRM is the creation of Sponsorlead, a new platform that will connect business with athletes. In the first cohort they have Lynne Beattie and Mel Coutts from Volleyball and Kaleigh Haggo, para-cycling. Interested?
Check it out at tinyurl.com/pcyzxs38
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