Elite Sport Development: Policy Learning and Political Priorities

Elite Sports Developmentaddresses important questions in contemporary sports development, providing detailed analysis of the emergence and current status of elite sport policy and practice in the UK, Australia, and Canada. The authors consider the problems faced by governments and national governing bodies in establishing a successful elite sport infrastructure and examine in detail the particular issues associated with provision of facilities, coaching, sports science and competition. The lives and needs of full-time athletes are studied and tensions generated by competition for resources between elite sport, schools, and community provision are explored. The book includes a discussion of why governments invest heavily in elite sport; the relationships between Government and NGB's; the elite sport investment impact on "sport for all" and how individual sports are selected for priority funding.