| Description | This study was commissioned to assess the current contribution, impact and future potential of Scottish indigenous sports that currently have no established regime or existing public sector funding, and have relatively low participation. |
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| ISBN | (Web Only) |
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| Official Print Publication Date | |
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| Website Publication Date | April 02, 2007 |
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Conclusions
There are significant data limitations when establishing participation, costs and benefits of indigenous sports. Official statistics are not available, and much of this research relies on the data provided by local organising committees, supplemented with secondary data sources to verify anecdotal evidence.
Indigenous sports are relatively limited, due to their low participation figures, in what they can contribute to the Executive's TCS (Tourism, Culture and Sport) sport objectives of participation and excellence. Despite these restrictions, the research has demonstrated that there are benefits of indigenous sports which span a number of policy areas, such as sport, tourism and culture, as well as health and community development. In addition, it has been shown that the Highland Games have a real impact on the economy, albeit in light of the very limited data, it is difficult to be definitive about the exact figures.
Direct financial support is not recommended for indigenous sports at this stage. However, access to central expertises such as management and marketing, as well as recognition, could promote sustainability of these sports at a relatively low cost.