The rising cost of living is forcing people across the UK to make tough decisions.
For some, that means choosing between turning on the heating or feeding the family.
For others, it means savings in other areas, such as having to limit exercise classes for themselves and their children.
BBC Sport visited the Mansfield School of Boxing to hear how families are making choices to balance the rising cost of living. He also spoke to swimmers at his leisure centre, Rye in Sussex, where the pool will be closed until spring 2023, at least.
Eleven-year-old Paul has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Since he started attending Mansfield’s gym, his mother, Sarah, has noticed that his behavior has “quite calmed down.”
“He has mental health issues, so coming to boxing is a relief for him,” she told BBC Sports News correspondent Laura Scott.
“We need to tighten our belts so we can afford to bring him here.”
She says Paul pays just under £10 a week to attend classes, but it gets harder during the winter.
“Because of my disability, I have to turn on the heat a little more, and it’s going to be difficult to get him here with how tight money is,” she said.
“We’ll do our best to keep him here, but we have to think about what’s more important: heat, food, electricity, and keep him away or cut back. keep him going?
“[If he stops] His mental health drops again, his energy rises and he has ups and downs.It’s a very difficult decision for parents. “
In a recent survey commissioned by UKactive, a non-profit organization, 43% of 2,002 respondents said the rising cost of living had a negative impact on their ability to participate in sport and exercise.
For Ilo, whose 13-year-old son Emils goes to the gym twice a week, the decision is simple but tough.
“Sure, sport comes first. If you have to choose between food and sport, you eat less,” he said.
“Sports will be the last thing we separate from our families.”
Marcellus Baz, who founded the club for the charity Switch Up, says he “can’t sleep at night” because he fears people struggling with rising costs are slipping through the cracks.
Donations from local businesses have allowed gyms to keep people who can’t afford to pay, but Baz says more needs to be done.
“People are really suffering and not recovering after the pandemic, and then there are cuts everywhere,” he said.
“The cost of living crisis is the last one. Fuel has gone up, food has gone up, utility bills have gone up. People are really suffering and don’t know what to do.”
A survey of utilities conducted by UKactive showed that:
- Leisure services are expected to be reduced or completely lost in 40% of municipalities by the end of March 2023.
- Leisure services will be at risk in 74% of cities by the end of March 2024
UKactive chief executive Huw Edwards says the cost of living crisis is far reaching, adding to the economic fallout from the coronavirus lockdown.
“The stories we are hearing now are of people who have lost the facilities they loved and supported their physical and mental health.
“I am concerned that if solutions are not found within the next few weeks to support these facilities during the winter, there could be a serious physical and mental health crisis in this country. I have.”
In September, the government Announcing a 6-month package Energy prices could surge again in April to help home and business customers.
“The price is the loss of these critical facilities will result in worsening health for the nation,” Edwards said.
“This is about health, this is about family, community and nation health.”
Pool at Rye Sports Centre, Sussex, Tuesday temporary closed, The operator says it cannot “absorb” the £92,000 annual cost of maintaining the pool.
Non-profit Freedom Leisure – which runs 19 leisure centers with swimming pools on behalf of the South East Council – says it’s “amazingly fast” to increase annual energy bills nationwide from £8m to £20m said to be increasing in It had already recently lowered the temperature of the pool.
The Rye University emotional swimmer told BBC Sport they were missing a “social community” and instructor Zara Riseborough said she was “completely devastated and really angry with them all”. said. “This has been an important lifeline for many, both physically and mentally.”
Swim England warns that this is not an isolated case and more than 100 pools could be threatened in the next six months.
British two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Rebecca Adlington told BBC Breakfast:
“The number of drowning deaths is rising, obesity is on the rise. There is so much more to swimming. Swimming should be seen as a life skill. .
“People are thinking about what they can cut. We’re not going to cut food or heat our homes. The first thing we lose is for mental or physical health.”
BBC Sport News correspondent Laura Scott
Over the past week, we’ve seen up close two very strong examples of how the cost of living crisis is already having a profound impact on sports participation.
Swimmers at Rye Sports Center had raw feelings about the loss of a beloved facility.
And the Mansfield Boxing School family has been outspoken about where they’ll be active on the budget dilemma this winter.
Warnings from authorities are that these stories will be replicated across the UK as many call the sector in a more dangerous position than the pandemic.
While it will take time to see the impact on participation levels, it is no surprise that this is exacerbating the physical inactivity crisis and deepening inequalities across the UK.
Baz added: “Now we are looking for a solution and the solution we got is what the business gets from us, whether it’s fundraising, regular donations, or payments for their support. This is a donation.
“Sometimes I come home and I can’t sleep and suffer, thinking that I can’t let down people who are suffering, who have no need, who have no help, and no hope.
“Everyone has to look forward and see the glimmer of light. This community hub was founded to give people hope, reason to believe and support them to be in a better place. “
The Youth Sports Trust (YST) wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to prioritize the “national crisis” of youth inactivity.
The YST board wrote:
“We are writing to ask the government to make it a priority to protect funds to address the youth inactivity crisis and improve physical education and school sport.”
