Jim Parker: The tide is finally turning for sport in Torbay

Is the tide finally turning for sport in Torbay? It is no secret that I have spent a lifetime in sport both as a player and coach in football and cricket in particular. It is also no secret that I have always viewed sport as the 'Cinderella' when it came to finance from the public purse.

I have used changing rooms and played on sports pitches that have not changed or been improved or refurbished since I was a youngster nigh on 60 years ago.

Sport has always been on the substitute's bench with little recognition for the impact it can have on people's lives of all ages and abilities.

Yep, sport (and leisure for that matter) improves your fitness and health, but it has also proved to be a winner when it comes to mental health and wellbeing and tackling isolation and changing lives especially those of our younger generations and those with special needs.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel after the pandemic when the Lib Dem-Independent coalition then running Torbay Council  found money to launch a Back to Sport initiative which aimed to do just that after Covid lockdowns hit sports clubs numbers.

A Believe to Achieve funding pot was also started to help the more elite sportsmen and women climb the ladder in their particular sports. In all around £100,000 was allocated over a three-year periods. I am glad to say that after a little nudging the Conservative leaders have agreed to continue with the funding this year.

Sport is on the map at last. A lot of that is down to clubs being united with one voice under the Sport Torbay umbrella.
Now it is also being recognised that sport can actually boost the local economy. The potential from sports tourism in the Bay is massive be it an Easter hockey festival, which used to attract clubs from all over the country, to national championships at Torquay Tennis Club.

Competitors and their families need somewhere to stay and eat, spending money especially in the quieter 'shoulder' months of the season and year. Same goes for our so-called 'Blue Economy'. That is staring us in the face and comes at no cost. It is what we are famous for, our natural environment, our Bay, our 21 miles of  beaches.

Again it is something we discussed at Sport Torbay and was instrumental in forming a first Torbay Water Sports Forum bringing together dozens of clubs ranging from sailing and rowing to kayaking and paddle boarding across the Bay.
World record Stand-up Paddle Boarder Brendon Prince presented his plans to the Forum to bring national, international and world championships to the Bay. 

Torbay Council and the English Riviera BID Company are now backing his plans which is understandable when you consider that for these type of events when you invest one pound you get between £70 and £80 back. There is also talk of a water sports hub being created. It is also what the Torbay Story is exactly all about, providing the Premier Marine and Natural Experience. At last sport is shedding its Cinderella rags and Torbay will go the ball. Just a shame it has taken 60 years.

(BTW Sport Torbay's next meeting is at Paignton Sailing Club on Thursday May 2 at 7pm. Please join us)