Blog: Tanni Grey-Thompson ‘My Day at the Senedd’

I love telling people about the power and benefits of sport and physical activity; and one of the best places in Wales to do that is at the Senedd.

Even the train played ball and I was in Cardiff bright and early to make the trip to Cardiff Bay this week with our CEO Brian Davies. As we’re both still (relatively) new to our roles it was our first chance to speak together with Members of the Senedd about the ongoing work of the organisation, talk about further priorities and highlight some key areas that we want to see focus given to. 

The event – sponsored by Delyth Jewell, the Plaid Cymru member of the Senedd (MS) for the South Wales East region and also the chair of the ‘Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations’ (CCWLSIR)Committee’ - was a great success and saw us engage with nearly half of the elected members. I was really grateful to them all for giving their time.

So, what were the main topics of conversation?

1. Alongside the policy team, we produced specific case studies for each member highlighting some of the success stories from the Be Active Wales Fund. The Fund helps clubs to grow, tackle inequalities and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be active in Wales. I was particularly pleased to hear how enthused many of the members were to visit the clubs and see the positive developments for themselves.
2. Some of the key messages we shared with members involved explaining how we are making a difference in each of our *7 business plan priorities. Each one is helping us move closer to delivering the Vision for Sport in Wales. We wanted to speak to Senedd Members and impress upon them that sport has the potential to alleviate some of the greatest pressures on our nation if only we think a little differently about how we deliver certain policies. For example, how preventative health initiatives can use sport and physical activity to improve and bolster people's resilience to take pressure of health services.
3. There was, naturally, real interest in how sporting projects and programmes work and could be taken forward by members locally. Things like facilities, pitches, Parkrun and sport partnerships were topics of interest that we’re keen to follow up on.

After a great event and some key connections made, my colleagues and I will continue to build these relationships and engage proactively over the rest of this Welsh Parliament. The next time we will be at the Senedd will be a much more formal affair as the CCWLSIR Committee conducts its regular scrutiny session of Sport Wales in early November.

Yours

Tanni

*The seven Sport Wales Business Plan Priorities:

1. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
2. Education
3. Health and Wellbeing
4. Inclusive Sport System
5. Sport Partnerships
6. Sustainability and Decarbonisation
7. Investments