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Sport in the Community

My Lords, like other noble Lords, I want to thank my good friend Lord Pendry for initiating the debate. It is hardly surprising, given his interest in sport throughout his life, and it gives us all who are involved in sport an opportunity to put forward our views about community activities. I shall concentrate on two activities: cricket and, not surprisingly, Rugby League. I declare an interest in both sports: I am president of my local cricket club, Adlington, and importantly I am chairman of Warrington Wolves. First, I turn to cricket. Following on from what my noble friend Lady Massey said about cricket—that is, mainly league cricket rather than club cricket—particularly in the north-west, I want to talk about our activities in giving children the opportunity to play. We have four sections; namely, the under-11s, under-13s, under-15s and under-17s. Every Friday during the season the kids train. There are three qualified coaches to give them training. They play cricket on decent pitches, which is very important. One of the problems is that many state schools cannot provide the type of pitches that private schools can provide. Kids can get frightened by the ball, which can be dangerous. All these sections play in leagues. In addition, boys and girls at the primary schools in our village have been brought together to play cricket. They played for a trophy for the first time this year, which is intended to be made an annual event. Adlington, unfortunately, straddles Bolton and Chorley. There is a Chorley development committee where all the cricket teams in the Chorley area meet every three months. Teams have been formed in the region—particularly for 11 and 13 year-olds—one of which got to the semi-final this time. There is always someone from the Lancashire board present at their meetings. That is going well. During the winter there are facilities for kids to play in indoor nets so that they do not lose touch with the game. All that is very important and augurs well, particularly, as has been said, because of our success in winning the Ashes. Let us hope that all is not lost in Pakistan and that we win the next test. At Warrington Wolves we are so proud of what we have achieved. We won the Rugby League community awards in 2001, 2002 and 2003. In 2004, we were better: we won the national community award against opposition from other sports, particularly football. We claim that we do more for the community than Manchester United, which we can be very proud of. We have also been given a boost with the new Halliwell Jones Stadium, which we moved into in February 2004. That gave us an opportunity to develop something that has not been done in any other stadiums, but an awful lot of interest has been shown in what we have achieved. Several football clubs and other Rugby League clubs have been along. I am sorry that my noble friend Lord Giddens is not here. He talked about enmity in sport. I am very proud that Rugby League is a founder sport. Spectators mix together. No one could get more excited or more involved with their teams than Rugby League crowds. At the end, friends, just like players, go for a drink and talk over what went wrong in the game. We should aim for that. In stating what has been achieved, I hope that I have put the doom and gloom a little bit right. At the new Halliwell Jones Stadium there is a community floor. The community education section of the borough council has moved in, together with our community staff. Another side of the stadium is taken up by the primary care trust. In that we bring health and sport together. It is very important that in 2005 we founded the Warrington Wolves Community Learning and Sports Foundation, which brings together the Warrington Collegiate to provide educational facilities, the community education section of Warrington Borough Council and the Warrington Wolves community team. Together, we are able to provide classes and opportunities for adults as well as children. They come along and do not regard it just as a sports stadium, but recognise its education and health aspects. It is very important that we bring that together. I am particularly impressed that youngsters come along and partake in classes and education in what is a new environment for many of them. Many of them are the most difficult children in some of our schools. They are kids who for one reason or another are contracted out of normal education. They come along and facilities are provided. We give them lessons on computer skills and so on that are linked to the sport that they may be interested in. A wonderful opportunity is provided for them to go forward. We also say that not all children are interested in Rugby League. I am sorry to say that, but they are not. Even in Warrington, we know that some of them are interested in soccer. We provide them with opportunities to play soccer, cricket, golf and even tenpin bowling. There is a wide variety of sports in which they can participate. But the fact is that these kids come along and see sport as something that they can enjoy. We have found that with a lot of kids who come along, the fact that the classes are allied to sport means that they have got an interest. Even if they do not participate, they take a big interest in sport. Certainly, we as a club benefit from all that we do in all these directions, which is extremely important. We have also got the primary care trust, which is running classes on healthy eating and helps kids with problems of obesity and so on. Altogether, there is a coming together of sport and education under the one stadium. To us it has made a lot of difference in our relationship with schools. All secondary schools in the Warrington area play Rugby League. This year, we are also encouraging girls and women to participate in sport. The fact that the European women’s soccer championship matches were held in the Halliwell Jones Stadium has made a lot of difference in girls and women being interested in sport. A lot more local women’s football clubs are participating. The local women’s Rugby League team has also benefited. So we are awakening interest. It has also been extremely beneficial for the club. Since moving into the new stadium, in two seasons, average crowds of just over 7,000 have increased to 11,000. A lot of young people come along. We offer not only facilities but also cheaper tickets. They bring their families, so the whole family is getting interested in sport, which is excellent. The Halliwell Jones Stadium is allied with Tesco, which could not get planning permission for a supermarket just outside the area. However, it got it because we were allied to it. It was said that it was granted because we are a community stadium and because we had been able to build on that and look to the future. One of the most important aspects of the club is its community side. It brings together sport and education. That it provides adults with a wide variety of classes means that people see the facility not just as a Rugby League stadium, but as a community stadium which belongs to the town and of which it can be very proud. Indeed, in a recent survey, Wolves’ fans said the community activities were the most important ones. When we think of what we have achieved without putting any silverware in the trophy cabinet—a situation, I hasten to add that the Wolves will hope to change in 2006—that shows that sport can help a community and give it hope and vision for the future. I again thank my noble friend for initiating this debate. I stress how important it is to get people thinking about sport and playing sport, but, above all, appreciating the spirit of comradeship that should result from it.