U.K. Encouraging Sport

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30804, 16 July 1965, Page 11

U.K. Encouraging Sport

(N.Z P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) LONDON, July 15. The British Government is to give every possible encouragement to sport. Mr Denis Howell, officially the joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Education and Science, but in short the Minister of Sport, yesterday announced that the Government was out to give the youth of the country every chance to take part in all forms of sport.

It was going to help the local authorities throughout the country not only to provide sport and recreational facilities for the youngsters but to give them coaching and advice. At a higher level it was eager to meet the various governing bodies to see how it could help raise the standard internationally in the sport concerned. It had already initiated discussions with the lawn-tennis, tabletennis, cycling, athletics, swimming, basketball and women’s lacrosse associations, Mr Howell said. He said the Government hoped to get together with all the other sports and wanted to give all the help, financial and otherwise, in their power It realised that the top athletes in all sports in this country needed competition at home as well as abroad from the best, so in future it

was prepared to subsidise sports meetings in this country as well as providing money for them to compete abroad. Grants were being given to national school sports organisations and scholarships were to be awarded for research workers in physiology. The Government was so interested in the project of the British Olympic Association to send, a team of doctors and athletes to Mexico City to study the effects of altitude that it was prepared to pay half the costs.