Amateur sport is geared around participation and voluntary clubs. As land and buildings are expensive, many clubs use facilities provided by Local Authorities. Many outdoor sports clubs have their own facilities although there is an even greater number of players who use recreation grounds. There are about 78,000 pitches in the country. Thirty years ago amateur sport was largely centred on outdoor team games.
Competitive sport means participation and developing skills and there is a sizeable industry for coaches and instructors. Despite its profile, competitive sport is on the decline and organisations like Sport England are concerned that as a nation we are losing our sporting skills and becoming less fit and healthy. For example, many governing bodies have big school-based programmes, and Local Authorities will run schemes in deprived areas where people cannot afford to play sport or go to health suites.
Outdoor Activities-there are over a thousand centres in the UK which specialise in providing outdoor adventure holidays. Facility provision is also essential for outdoor sports, meaning the upkeep of the environment, and this is regulated by the organisations under the Countryside Agency umbrella, such as the Forestry Commission, Local Authorities or National Trust. For most participants activity in the natural world is occasional, and more time will be spent in training in built facilities such as pools or climbing walls. Profitable areas such as skiing, sailing, private sector companies are the main providers.
Health and Fitness- there are now at least 2,500 private health and fitness clubs in the UK- it is a boom industry that many young people see as the exciting place to work in leisure. Private sector will increasingly dominate the market and eventually also manage and invest in public sector facilities on behalf of Local Authorities. The central product of these clubs is the fitness room consisting of cardiovascular equipment and perhaps free weights, and frequently areas with small pools, jacuzzis and saunas..
The heritage industry concerns buildings and materials that have historical value. Thirty years ago these were largely stately homes, castles, ruins such as Stonehenge and battlefields. Heritage was often about how the rich and famous had lived or what they had collected, or about culture(e.g. Shakespeare). Now it has expanded to include a much wider interpretation of historical value. Many heritage sites are owned by Trusts and limited companies that have been set up to manage individual sites, while many stately homes are owned and run by two big organisations:
Museums-are not usually run by the private sector, largely because of high costs. Many museums started life as private collections which were later donated to the nation or the local community. Libraries-apart from their lending their services which we will look at later, they are largely involved in the heritage sector. They have a back-room role of collecting important documents including maps, and making these available to the public. This is known as the records and archives service.
Catering
Leisure catering includes pubs and clubs, restaurants, cafes and takeaways. Its firmly placed in the private sector with some exceptions. A catering company provides a service according to the specification of the 'client' and often under the client's name. Many leisure centres and theatres buy in service in this way. The catering sector has various components that make eating out an enjoyable experience: the provision of food and drink; entertainment, such as jazz at Pizza Express, games; and security in the form of door staff. Eating out is an increasingly important and available leisure experience.
The fast-food business is booming with a growth rate of 30 per cent. This growth is at the expense of takeaways and cafes, and especially of pubs and clubs. Fast food tends to be run by chains that can make economies of scale by producing the same product in each outlet. Many breweries have followed this trend and operate chains like Harvester restaurants within their pubs. In contrast cafes, restaurants and takeaways tend to be run and owned by family businesses.
Countryside recreation
The countryside is the natural, national playground and one which is used by walkers, ramblers and those involved in more active outdoor activities. A survey in 1998 by the National Centre for Social Research showed that 1,427 million day visits to the countryside were made and a further 241 million to the coast. Like any leisure facility such usage will have an impact which in turn will lessen, and even threaten, the leisure experience itself.
Organisations working in countryside recreation are therefore primarily stewards who maintain, manage and regulate the environment and also produce information and education. An important organisation funded by the Countryside Commission is the National Parks Authority. This is responsible for the regulation and interpretative service inside twelve National Parks, which are designated areas of significant natural beauty and wilderness. The Local Authority has a part to play in managing and regulating country parks. In many cases it also owns the land and will act as landlord to any tenants in the park, such as farmers.
Home-based leisure
This is cheap, easy and relaxing. The equipment most popularly used are: radios, videos, TV sets, gardening materials and home fitness machines is normally provided by the private sector. The main exceptions are the library lending services in the public sector. Except for broadcasting this component is retail based. As the internet is more widely used, shopping for leisure on the net is likely to increase. Free services like Tesco mean more people are using the net.
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