British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan: 'remarkable decade for UK sport'

“The Olympic Games were an outstanding and historic event for the UK” were the words of Lord Colin Moynihan last night as the University of Kent’s autumn series of open lectures headed to the Medway Campus.

In a poignant tribute to the London 2012 legacy, Lord Moynihan made his final public speech as British Olympic Association chairman, as he gets ready to pass the baton on to Lord Sebastian Coe.

Speaking to students, staff and members of the public, his lecture on ‘The Olympic Legacy from London’ touched on how his seven year stint as BOA chief had transformed the organisation into an “athlete-centred” body, firmly “focused on performance”.

The former politician and Olympic silver-medalist said: “Our objective was to earn more medals for more sports.” The Great Britain team came third in the medal table, with a total of 65 medals including 29 Gold’s, exceeding all targets made by the UK Sport government agency.

But with the Olympics now over, Lord Moynihan turned his attentions to the importance of the Olympic legacy, and how the main “objective is to improve sports in schools and education.”

He said: “Success of the Olympics Games needs to be a catalyst for a wider school sports agenda.”

His ideas echoed recent government policy, unveiled by Sport Minister Hugh Robertson, which will see £135million invested in sport facilities.

Other key policies include a £1billion investment over the next five years in the Youth Sport Strategy, to link sports clubs and schools together with the support of teachers, parents and the local community.

Speaking about the proposals, Lord Moynihan said: “Imagine the talent that is out there that we haven’t discovered.”

Arguing that money should be devolved from sporting quangos to local government and sports clubs, he said the way forward was for the cross-government promotion of sport.

He argued: “There are many departments of state in government who can help promote sport.”

During the lecture, he went on to praise the “girl power” of the Olympics, stating that a key feature of London 2012 was how “women led the way”. He argued that more access for women participation in sport  and more ‘top job’ opportunities for women in sporting organisations were vital.

He also added that the popularity of female presenters such as Clare Balding and Hazel Irvine should lead the way for a change of attitude in the media, stressing the need for more female editors and reporters.

Looking to the future of UK sport, he claimed that this decade would be “a remarkable decade for UK sport.” The UK has already won the rights to host more than 20 events, including the Rugby World Cup 2015, the Commonwealth Games 2014 and the World Athletics 2017.

And, as he hands over to Lord Coe on November 7, Lord Moynihan reflected that it had “been a massive privilege” to work at the BOA for seven years, but that he will "continue to argue strongly in the House of Lords for sporting legacy.”

Can the Welsh language survive?

I'll be quick to admit that I have never been to Wales. Usually one for picking the 'exotic' over the 'countryside' when it comes to holidays, I have never ventured that side of the Severn. But the latest campaign from Wales has certainly interested me, and this was further highlighted by a recent article in the Guardian.

Because, according to the latest statistics, the Welsh language is dying out. According to the Welsh Government, there are only 580,000 people in Wales speaking Welsh, about 21% of the population, whereas in the late 1800's, the figure was nearly 80%. There is a net loss of about 2,000 to 3,000 Welsh speakers each year as a result of factors such as death and outmigration.

Which is possibly why the Welsh tourism board have produced this new advertising campaign, to re-establish Wales as a part of our culture and society.

It's certainly sad when any language dies out. After spending most of my college years studying language variation and change, I became fascinated in language change, particularly in pidgins and creoles. Therefore, I look at these statistics from an academic point of view, and from my own personal view.

From an academics point of view, the new figures are somewhat alarming. No matter how small Wales is, it plays a very important part in the British society. Its heritage - whether it be cultural or economical - form part of the British society, so to dismiss the new figures as a sign of a growing problem would be somewhat fickle. Surely promoting the Welsh language would be a good idea for all of us?

But then again, from my own personal perspective, what is the point in the Welsh language? I mean, what with English so widely spoken, with England inevitably holding the most power in Britain, what is the point in trying to protect the national dialect?

Arguably, it is a question that Wales is trying to answer. The Welsh Assembly recently introduced new legislation appointing a commissioner of the Welsh Language through the Welsh Language 2011 Measure. Meri Huws spoke out about how she wished to restore the trust people have in the language, with Scotland and Northern Ireland all watching her closely to see if they can mirror her success.

Language commissioners are nothing new, in fact they are widespread in countries like Canada and Ireland,  but do they work? Huws believes she can help promote the Welsh language through various codes and laws, such as fining companies who fail to promote Wales and its language. Schools are tyring hard, and even market sellers are trying to promote the language.

But the public remain dubious, with many people in Wales conceding that the language is doomed to become extinct in the next few decades. For me, this is sad and something that should be helped to protect. Our country is built on its multicultural past, with language varieties such as the Welsh language forming our rich history.

Times change as society evolves. Arguably, the present English language could be described as more American then English as it once was, so maybe the national government could collate their efforts into protecting both languages. If the government can lay down laws meaning any immigrant must learn English, maybe something similar could be said for anyone who moves to Wales?

Time will tell, but I would like to think that in centuries to come, the Welsh language will still be alive and kicking.

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia