Report to the People
11th February 2008
Giving Inverclyde a Sporting Chance
The
remarkable achievement of Greenock’s own Lawrence Tynes in kicking the New
York Giants to victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl - and
becoming the first ever Scot to lift the coveted trophy - has rightly been
celebrated here and across the country.
It
sends a clear message to any of our young sportsmen or women that, if you have
the talent, and if you want it enough, glittering success can be yours.
Politicians
like me can exhort young people to take up sport as much as we like, but it’s
great sportsmen who actually inspire them to make the sacrifices and stick at
it.
And
hopefully Scottish sporting success, allied to far-sighted moves such as
Inverclyde Council’s bold new plan for local sports facilities, will lead to a
good crop of home-grown athletes competing when the Commonwealth Games come to
Glasgow in 2014.
Indeed,
2014 could also inspire the next generation to forsake the traditional west of
Scotland hobbies of sitting on the couch, eating rubbish and having heart
attacks, in favour of staying healthy with sport.
That,
though, will be just one of the potential benefits on the agenda when I meet
with council colleagues later this month to discuss exactly how Inverclyde gets
maximum value from the Games - not just when they come, but beforehand and long
after they’ve gone.
And,
if we get this right, it’s not just the athletes with medals round their necks
who’ll be winners.
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