AO3

Describe the role of the private, public

and voluntary sectors in providing local
sporting opportunities and facilities
 The Public Sector
• Public sector sports facilities include parks, sports centres,
community halls and swimming pools. The costs of these
facilities are met by central and local government through
a system of national and local taxation. The money that
members of the public pay to go swimming only partially
goes some way to covering the pool’s running cost.

• Local authority sports facilities are provided on a

discretionary basis, which means that the council does not
have to provide them in the same way that it has a legal
obligation to provide schools and hospitals.
• Public sector organisations do not have to make a
profit like the private sector but they usually break even.
This means that the running costs they incur must be
equal to the amount of income they receive from
subsidies and admission charges. At very least, they
must be seen to be giving value for money.
• The main objective of public sector facilities is not,
therefore, financial but to provide sports facilities but to
provide sports facilities for the whole community. They
provide opportunities for sport for people on low incomes
by reducing admission costs. The aim is to present a
programme of activities that caters for as many
communities groups as possible.
• There must also be a balance achieved between casual
use and club sessions. Some people do not want to
belong to a club and thus play a particular sport on a
regular basis, but would still like to play occasionally. If a
sports centre did not allocate time to such people, it
would be discriminating against them.

• The public sector also aims to extend the use of its

facilities as much as possible. This means a centre will
be open for as long as possible and will offer a range of
other activities, such as fundraising marathons and
classes for children during the school holidays. The
ultimate objective is to provide as many sports and as
many opportunities for leisure activities as possible for
the local population
 Local Authorities in the Public
Sector
• Local authorities should work closely with clubs
to encourage participation in those clubs, rather
than seeking to provide sports opportunities
themselves, which may be opposition to the
service provided at club level.
 The Private Sector
• The private sector is concerned with making money from
the products or services it provides. Any profits that are
made from the business are shared between those
people who invested the money in the first place or are
used to develop the business further. Private sector
provision is therefore often said to be demand led. This
means that private sector organisations will only provide
sports activities when there is a profit to be made.
• Health and fitness clubs provide for increasing demand
among the public for fitness equipment and fitness
classes. The membership fees for such clubs, however,
can be expensive, and this may deter some people from
joining. Facilities in the private sector therefore unlikely
to provide opportunities for minority sports or to subside
the cost of participation.

• The private sector is becoming a major player in the

provision of sport. However, they are selective as to
which activities to be involved with (only those that are
profitable), and their pricing structure means that some
sectors of the community can not afford the charges.
• Private sector businesses are involved in a wide range of
sporting activities. These include sports retail, gambling,
spectator sports and sports you can participate in. They
also come in many forms. A private sector business that
is owned and operated by one person is known as a sole
trader. A sole trader might be a freelance sports coach
who is self employed and who work in a number of
different organisations.
 Voluntary Sector
• Voluntary sector organisations usually exist to meet a local
need, and thus they vary greatly in terms of size and aims.
Often, people with a shared interest form clubs or
societies. Committees are sometimes elected by the club’s
members so that a more formal structure is established.

• Clubs may be run by unpaid volunteers, although

sometimes people are paid expenses. In contrast, some
voluntary organisations, such as the YMCA, employ paid
staff and have budgets of millions of pounds. Voluntary
clubs often hire facilities rather than owning their own.
• Voluntary sports clubs are very important to sport in the
UK. People who can not afford the fees charged by
private clubs might join a local club run by volunteers.
This promotes sports inclusion and is one of UK Sport’s
key aims. Clubs are also the grass roots for reaching
elite levels of many sports.
• NGBs provide support, advice, guidance and
encouragement but do not dictate what the club
should do.
• Many Grant initiatives reward voluntary bodies if
they do more work because some are in clear
need of urgent support.
• Non-Profit making sports clubs are sustained
and developed through voluntary effort,
administered at little or no cost to the public
purse but are penalised financially because they
are included as a ‘business’ for the payment of
rates and suffer many other tax burdens in which
charities are exempt.
 Partnerships between private, public and
voluntary sectors
• These three sectors are related in a number of ways. Private
companies frequently manage public facilities. This means
that councils will invite companies to submit a tender to run
facilities, the company offering the lowest figure will normally
win the contract, providing it can meet certain criteria.
• Two sources of funding open to voluntary sector
organisations are local grants provided by local authority and
National Lottery grants provided by the central government.
Voluntary sports clubs are also unlikely to be able to afford
their own facilities and will therefore hire facilities from the
public sector. For example Gowerton F.C. hire the Elba to
play and train.
• The voluntary and public sectors sometimes receive
sponsorship from private sector organisations. This is a
very important source of income as, without this money,
many clubs would struggle to survive.

• One form of co-operation that exists within the same

sector is the provision of dual-use facilities. A sports
facility built part of a school will be run by the public
sector and work with the local council to provide a facility
for the school to use during the day and the public during
evening or weekends.
 The LC2 Swansea
• The LC is a leisure centre located in the city centre of
Swansea, Wales, UK. It received a £32 million makeover
from the government to provide an affordable leisure
facility for all the community to use.
 Swimming
During School Terms Adults: £7
(£6 for Swansea Resident card
Monday – Friday: 4.00pm – 9.00pm holders)

Saturday – Sunday: 9.00am – 8.00pm Children (4-15yrs): £4

Children (3 & under): FREE

School and Bank Holidays:
Senior Citizens/PTL card
Monday – Sunday: 9.00am – 8.00pm holders: £3

Local school inset days: Students: £4

11.00am – 8.00pm (with valid student I.D.)

(The Waterpark experience is a

2 hour session)
 Other Facilities
• There are climbing, playing, gym classes and spa
facilities and surf machines!
• All of these facilities are of excellent standard yet are all
under £10 throughout the day to maximise use from the
public seven days a week.
• All of the facilities work through bank holidays excluding
Christmas and Boxing day.

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 CrossFit Velocity
• CrossFit Velocity is a strength and conditioning facility
that develops individuals, athletes and teams to reach
elite levels of fitness through constantly varied functional
movements performed at high intensity. CrossFit
Velocity are located at Unit 4 Celtic Trade, Fforestfach,
Swansea in a 6,000 square foot warehouse gym.

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 Class Prices
• Fundamentals Class £30 • Unlimited £50
• Fundamentals Fast Track 90
minutes £55 • Unlimited (Full Time
• Drop In (Non Member) £7 Student) £35
• Monthly Membership: • Emergency Services
• Twice a Week £35 Unlimited £45
• Twice a Week (Full Time
Student) £30 • Personal Training £30
• Emergency Services Twice a
Week £30 • Team / Facility Hire
£50 per hour
 Class Times
Monday-Thursday Group Classes Saturday Group Class
5.30 – 6.30
10.00 - 11.00am
6.30 – 7.30

Open Gym Times

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday:
4.30 – 5.30
Friday 4.00 – 6.00
Saturday 9.00 -10.00

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 • CrossFit Velocity is also working with Sport Wales to
develop Olympic Weightlifting in Wales for young athletes
and for adults. They have been giving a grant of £10,000
for new weightlifting equipment and platforms and will be
the host for the Welsh Weightlifting Championships and
Junior Championships.

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 Dunvant R.F.C.
• Dunvant R.F.C. are a popular rugby club in Swansea,
they have youth teams from under 7 to under 16, two
senior teams as well as a youth team which has players
from under 17 to under 19. These youth teams are run
by coaches who volunteer to coach the team, they tend
to be fathers or mothers of players in the team.

• Money is raised by the junior section through each

player paying subs for the year to play for the team.
Each team also has the chance to hold raffles, car boot
sales, quiz nights and food sales.
• One of the most influential fundraising events for Dunvant
R.F.C. is the annual carnival held by the under 15 team.
The team sells programmes and tickets prior to the
carnival to get all the community involved. The 2010
carnival raised approximately £3000 which went towards
the teams under 16 tour.

• The Dunvant under 16 team also receive many sponsors

for a companies logo to be on their shirts. Currently,
Heritage Flooring, Hopkins Painting and Decorating and
Neat Teeth sponsor the team. The money funded from
these sponsors go towards kit costs.

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