But it seems schools do not do sufficient amounts of what I regard as traditional sports for the kids to feel confident to get involved.
I just think I have a non sporty squadron generally, except for a few cadets who play local club level and don’t see the ATC stuff as important.
While football and rugby might appear popular among girls on your units, what about the others and then other Wings.
I don’t think it’s a matter of modernising it comes down to as you allude, time. and more importantly staff to run it. I went to a inter wing rugby 7s and football a couple of years ago as I wanted to get some sport photos. There were 2 rugby and 2 footnall refs reffing the games and there was only enough time to run the competitions and trials and similarly the netball and hockey which was run at the same time. Add in another gender and age levels and that’s another 2 days and additional staff, to appease the equality agenda.
We always joked that the ATC needs 52 4 day weekends and we might just be able to do everything, now we almost need 52 7 day weekends. But then I think the ATC feels it can take over people’s lives and dictate what and how they do and live. There definitely seems to be more things going on than I remember as a cadet and I was a very active cadet.
I’ve moved Wings & Regions recently from a city to a more rural location and there is still a lot more interest in football than hockey.
It’s not about an equality agenda it’s about giving cadets what they want rather than what we want, sports seems to be struggling these days in the organisation and might this apathy be down to us playing the wrong sports?
But you need staff to run it and while you may say at the moment football and rugby appear popular among girls on you squadron, is it replicated across your Wing and Region? Then roll forward a few years and you lose the football/rugby girls and get girls that want to play netball and hockey. What then if the Corps had dropped them?
If a kid joins the ATC because of the sports it does, their lives are going to be pretty uninteresting, in the same way if they have a hankering to fly, shoot and all the other things.
I’m saying that - on a national level - I’m pretty sure that football is more popular amongst girls than the two existing corps sports, and that situation is unlikely to change. The only reason these sports were ever really that popular is that football and rugby were considered un-ladylike. So unless we have a reversal in modern attitudes I don’t think they’re going anywhere.
What is the age split on the 1.8M and how does that map across into the Corps membership.
I bet look at boys and it would be same, but it doesn’t mean they join the ATC or other youth organisation, just like our son didn’t who was quite a useful football player and still plays occasionally for a mate’s team.
Frankly there are many things we need to change in the Corps and sport isn’t really one of them, as much I as think sport is a positive thing for kids to do. I think we should do more swimming as it can save your life, kicking, hitting, throwing a ball is of no use if you fall into water. Hence the reason our kids had lessons from 3 - 11. It amazes me how many cadets can’t do the basic swimming cert.
My Wing have trialled introducing ‘Korfball’ which as far as I can work out is sort of a hybrid between basketball and netball the key thing being that teams are mixed gender.