The reaction to the Anglers Say national angling survey on funding professional governing bodies primarily through angler’s contributions has stimulated the sort of response that comes only too rarely from the cloisters in which our sport’s leaders congregate.
For this openness we should rejoice. For too long, anglers have received a series of plans heralding a new dawn for the governance of our sport that have only seen the light of day following a degree of sanitization that would be creditable if it were not so sad.
For it took a simple question from top angling pundit Keith Arthur of Sky TV posed to the Anglers Say audience to unlock the admission that the majority of anglers questioned would be prepared to pay a little extra for a better service…..
We should not be surprised that the suggestion of increased funding for our largely cash-strapped governing bodies should illicit from them talk of a better and more professional service. However, the more significant revelation is the open acceptance by some of our leaders that this new and adequately funded organization should, whereever possible, manage those aspects of our sport that cross the boundaries between the three disciplines of Game, Sea and Coarse.
Now, before we fall into the ‘Jardine trap’ of claiming our sudden intervention has made all the difference, we should remind ourselves of the progress made in reforming the way our sport is managed. The new ruling ‘junta’ led by Terry Fell at coarse angling’s National Federation of Anglers freely admitted in an interview for Anglers Say “Our discussions are focused on creating a broad based national body which can represent all anglers, from all disciplines, on matters of common interest.” This announcement was quickly supported by the leaders of the Specialist Anglers’ Alliance who conceded they had been ‘banging the unification drum’ for the last two years.
So, as ever the devil is in the detail. If we can accept that without significant long-term funding little will change, we need then to address the sources from which this funding can be found. When questioned on Anglers Say the Internet polling booth, the positive vote of more than 3 to 1 in favour from over 3000 anglers for this funding to be taken from our rod licence fees seems hard to ignore. However, this will need a change to the legislation that governs this tax on anglers and whilst our sport is benefiting from the improved relationship between anglers and the government such legislative change will certainly be some time in coming.
In the interim, the primary funding for change may need to come from the body specifically set up by government to fill this role – Sport England.
Currently, Sport England provides funding of around £ 150,000 spread across our three Governing Bodies which is woefully inadequate to fund modernisation. Thankfully, Sport England’s new mantra calling for whole-sport plans is their new way of directing funding and resources to the 30 chosen national governing bodies. Happily, this would include angling’s new baby.
So now the way seems a little clearer, angling’s leader’s need to listen harder to the views of those they choose to represent, carry this confidence with them to the doors of Sport England and negotiate sufficient funding for modern whole-sport representation.
We need to consult those with crystal balls to predict if the million plus anglers currently buying their licence would welcome their new stakeholder status as primary funders of angling governance.
