Observatory for Sport in Scotland

30/06/2023

News from the OSS Board.

After four and a half years developing the Observatory for Sport in Scotland, our CEO David Ferguson and Research Manager Ryan Brown are stepping down at the end of June, David to return to the journalism world and Ryan to pursue other opportunities.
David commented: "On behalf of Ryan and myself I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported us through the OSS adventure, and send our best wishes to all who continue to drive the charity forward. It remains a valuable part of Scotland's and the global sport research landscape, and is worth listening to."
Full story - https://oss.scot/oss-pays-tribute-to-chief-executive-and-research-manager/

10/05/2023

OSS News - https://mailchi.mp/05c93c5fcf05/oss-news-bulletin-20284300 Would you like to join the OSS and play a part in shaping routes to increasing and widening sport participation? Read the OSS Board Chair Geoff Aberdein's message.

The figures speak for themselves – Scotland’s adult sport participation levels are now among the worst in Europe. Around half of Scotland’s population have no engagement in any form of regular sport activity - with a major gap related to poverty and inequalities - over 65% of Scotland’s adul...

18/04/2023

SPORT FOR GOOD.
Being born with not one but four holes in the heart, and later diagnosed with autism and other conditions, meant life had many challenges for Rhys McCole. In this article, the OSS Ambassador explains how boxing provided him with a way to engage with society, and how, inspired by a Maths teacher and coach, the 22-year-old is now using it as a tool to work with teenagers to address alcohol and drug abuse, and crime - and even now has teachers buying each other boxing gloves! A fascinating 3-min read.

By RHYS McCOLE THE SWEET SCIENCE. That is how the sport of boxing is known within the sport’s fraternity, but what does that mean and what is the science of boxing? I have being considering this recently as I work with children and young people in different schools, where the conversations are abo...

13/04/2023

Can you help the Observatory for Sport in Scotland, Abertay University and Data for Children Collaborative in their efforts to understand sports activity in Scotland through data and mapping how Covid-19 impacted access to sport?

As a part of a collaborative, nationwide project the researchers at Abertay University are conducting a study, capturing a real-life experience of sport and physical activity of children and families and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted that.

The team is looking for parents and guardians of children in Scotland ages 5-18 who can spare 10mins to fill in an online survey aimed at their experience of physical and sports activities and how the Covid-19 pandemic affected it.

The research is part of a wider project which aims to identify barriers to accessing recreational sports and provide practical solutions to promote participation and support policymakers and highlight data gaps and solutions to address them.

Link to the survey: http://ow.ly/YblI50NHVPr

NOTE: You must be over 18 years old to participate.

22/03/2023

The Observatory for Sport in Scotland Ambassadors support the ethos and aims of the OSS, and are passionate about the life benefits of community sport for all ages and abilities. Each month, we are featuring an article from one of our ambassadors, sharing their story, and how they are working to rem...

22/03/2023

Have you played badminton? Did you play and then gave up? Or have you never had the opportunity?
OSS Ambassador Kirsty Gilmour acknowledges she was a lucky one, growing up in a sporting family, but now she is investigating why many Scots have never held a badminton racquet, and has launched a company seeking to remove barriers at grassroots level and welcome new people to her sport. And she is bringing her trademark smashing passion to it - click link for short read.

The Observatory for Sport in Scotland Ambassadors support the ethos and aims of the OSS, and are passionate about the life benefits of community sport for all ages and abilities. Each month, we are featuring an article from one of our ambassadors, sharing their story, and how they are working to rem...

09/03/2023

09/02/2023

21/12/2022

Final newsletter of 2022! Catch up on all the recent news from OSS, and look forward to 2023 with us, where in June, we will host our 2nd National Summit - looking at the paths to improving Scotland’s wellbeing. Best wishes to all - http://ow.ly/JPh150M9FoI

27/11/2022

The Observatory for Sport in Scotland pays tribute to a guiding light.

24/11/2022

Very insightful afternoon with the Cross Party Group on Sport discussing the challenges to sport of the cost of living crisis and then members of the OSS Research Network, where researchers shared latest work, knowledge gaps in Scotland and opportunities for collaboration.
We discussed a wide range of areas in both, as is typical, with the researchers looking at areas from health and wellbeing in golf, safe coaching in gymnastics, training in combat sports and children's sport activity levels, to injury prevention in youth and community sport, Covid impact on volunteering in sport, Covid deconditioning and movement in older people, and physical activity's value to women going through the menopause. And there was still time for cycling, physical education, and how we measure and monitor improvements and success in physical activity and sport.
Really helpful to have The Scottish Government Active Scotland Head of Strategy Jennifer Love with us, hearing from researchers on key issues and sharing insight to government's development of research and data around physical activity and sport, and, similarly, thoughts of Flora Jackson from Public Health Scotland on national priorities.
Thank you all for your time and input.
We will be following up on all the issues raised and feed them into the OSS Research Advisory Group's planning of the research strategy and the National Sport Summit in June, 2023, where all of these topics and more will be discussed and debated, as part of the OSS focus to inform, connect and challenge.
If you have research and evidence to share, or would like to join the OSS Research Network, contact Ryan Brown - [email protected].