Where's the fun? Why we need to make sure play has a bigger role in sport ...for kids and adults

A "Commission on Play" has been launched this month by the social entrepreneur Paul Lindley, partnered with the Centre for Young Lives.

- Cath Bishop

Set up to stimulate a national conversation about how to support children to play more, it will explore the impact of technology, access to outdoor space and parental attitudes. But in the brief, other than a glancing reference to the "no ball games" culture, there's no mention of sport as we understand it. This in itself shows how a child's experience of play has become disconnected from sport.

Now I don't think sport should be front and centre; this is a huge topic about the way we live our lives across society. But this commission offers a sharp prod up the backside of the sports world to ask itself about its contribution to the diminishing experiences of play in children's lives over recent decades.

The reality is that too much of youth sport is distanced from what children really need from sport. There can be an insufficient understanding of how sport could contribute to developing creativity, freedom and joy rather than reaching the next "level" of narrow technical skills. Or there are aims to boost participation figures short term rather than working out how to foster lifelong allegiance. Hours of activity, free play and obesity have all gone in the wrong direction over the last decade. Sport has a role to play.