I disagree.Originally Posted by Yorkshire Thug
OK youngsters are important, but the future of the sport will not be affected by a lack of fell running kids, sorry but the future is safe. Whether climbers, footballers, road runners, there will always be a path to fell running. Fell running as we know it, will always be a fixture in the hills whether we have kids races or not.
What % of racers actually ran as a yongster? I mean competitively not the odd 5 k or x country at school?
Ooh there's an interesting poll to be had
Jason
I suppose that means you won't be applying for the post of Junior Coordinator?
Purple Plodder wrote:
More food for thought on this. Article about UKA's treatment of one of athletic's biggest stars and a future one...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/6707395.stm
Why should Paula Radcliffe get lottery funding? She's already a millionairess
Because she hasn't signed the contract she also can't compete in UKA / Fastrack events - which is a bit like stopping her from earning a living.
She spends most of her time abroad - doesn't stop her from competing in lucrative races there
What the hell has Paula got to do with this thread?????
Not signing the contract means Paula is inelligible for lottery funding. Fine.
But she's already inelligible because it's means tested, so lets get back tot he important issues here.
I think the juniors issue is a huge red herring with regard to the essential debate about whether we are better off in or out of the UKA. Both arguments seem to be linked to very emotive issues so I'll try to be dispassionate.
Fell running , in the wider sense of the 70's and 80's scene, took off because of an overspill from the 'running boom' of those years. It did not take off because it was fed by a junior section. The future of the FRA then was determined by how many runners with an interest wanted to take part. Many did and so growth and affiliation to athletic mainstream seemed to be the thing to do.
But things are different now. Affiliation brings other considerations with it. Lets take an extreme view. What if the ageing of the 'Running Boom' cohort of fell runners means that numbers start to dwindle? What should be done? Should we try to encourage more juniors to bolster the sport and maintain a viable future? Or let natural processes dictate what happens? If people gradually lose interest and the sport dies out, so what? It came from nothing and it returned to nothing but at least the essence of what it was was never compromised.
In actual fact such a scenario is never likely to happen. People are attracted to the wilderness in ever increasing numbers. But, just like farming has to adapt to 'preserving' that which attracts people to the wilderness in the first place, so I think that the fellrunning has to face up to the same responsibility. This is not a place for 'development' or 'moving with the times'. Its not a man-made environment like a stadium or a road. A sensitivity and an empathy is needed.
The desire to involve young people in the love and simple joys of competing in this environment is totally admirable and its something I have done with my own. But it has nothing to do with whether FRA should stay affiliated to UKA (although junior international competition...which is a seperate issue...obviously does).
I don't know about 70s and 80s - that seems an awful long time ago, and won't have any relevance to kids of today.
Harping back to what went on 30 or so years ago isn't a good argument - not when you're living in 2007. I agree it doesn't affect whether the FRA stays or goes - but I also agree with others who believe that the FRA needs to carry on catering for juniors after the decision has been made - whatever that may be.
We can't all bury our heads in the sand and keep our fingers crossed.
[And don't forget that there are those who would rather there weren't any juniors at all ...]
Don't get me wrong, I want to see kids encouraged, but more because its important we get kids into Sport.
But with football, if a lad can't control a ball by 8 years old, he'll never develop into a player. Therefore the adult game is dependant on the youth systems, However With Fell running you can come across at any age, so I don't see argument for fell running juniors being our future.All you need is the ability to run, today a bloke bat me in the 1000m race who had come across from Rugby, dropped some muscle mass and is performing well in fell races.
I just want to see kids having fun keeping fit and getting a taste for sports. The more sporting choices they have the better. I'd gladly see membership fees for a club/organisation funnelled through to juniors, just for very different reasons.
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