ABSTRACT
Sport has been an integral part of British society for centuries. Its integration into government policy has grown steadily since the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1960. Of particular interest has been government intervention into and funding of elite sport policy, since the mid-1990s. This chapter reviews this shift in policy development and proposes that there have been two "ownership" consequences to this:
Some (generally younger non-elite) athletes on the pathway are directed where/when to play/train and have lost ownership of their participation.
Communities and participants have lost the link to their local facilities due to the application of neo-liberal driven policy which has cut funding whilst increasing it to elite sport.
A continuum of ownership is proposed that enables participants at all levels to assess their ownership of their sporting experience.
