Sports Facilities

The aim of this lesson is to learn about facilities, the types that are available and our national centres of excellence (Equivalent to UK GCSE Physical Education)

Some sports need really good (and often expensive) facilities (such as ice skating and swimming). Others don't really need any facilities (such as cross country running), although having some facilities can make these sports easier, such as changing rooms and showers etc

Indoor facilities

These include places like sports halls and leisure centres. They are purpose built buildings and are used for sports like swimming; basketball; badminton and gymnastics.

Indoor facilities need planning consent to go ahead. The people who give this consent (local authorities and councils) will want to know:

That it will get used enough
If there will be enough parking places
What other things can it be used for?
Is the transport and road system to the place good enough?
How much will it cost to build?
Is there anything similar nearby?

Outdoor facilities

These include pitches (football, rugby, hockey, cricket etc), tracks (athletics, horse, dog and motor racing), purpose built water facilities (rowing, kayaking, sailing) and natural features (like hills and mountains for hiking and climbing and the sea for surfing)

Public facilities

Some local facilities will be owned by the local council or other authorities. They are usually run at a loss and are subsidised by taxes. This includes most places like swimming pools, sports halls and leisure centres

Private facilities

These are owned by a company or by an individual and they are run as a business, to make a profit. Places like sports clubs and health clubs are private facilities. Some voluntarily run facilities are also private, in that you have to be a member, or pay a fee to use the facilities.

Centres of excellence

These are places which are run by the government for the very best athletes to train. They are the best facilities in the country for each sport:

Crystal Palace (London) - Athletics; swimming; martial arts

Lilleshall (Shropshire) - Football

Plas - y - Brenin (North Wales) - Outdoor activities

Bisham Abbey (Buckinghamshire) - Tennis

National Cycling Centre (Manchester) - Cycling

Hole Pierrepont (Nottingham) - Water sports

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