UK Athletics (UKA) today welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to make sport part of every child’s day and give all children the opportunity to do five hours of sport a week.

UK Athletics Chief Executive Niels de Vos commented: “Athletics forms the foundation of all other sports and is the first sport via running, jumping and throwing that our children will experience. By giving children more opportunities to do sport and specifically athletics, we can enhance their physical literacy which will not only benefit the health of the nation, but also a whole range of other sports like football, rugby and cricket that rely upon strong core athletics skills.

“Today’s announcement is fantastic news for children and sport in the UK and what is particularly encouraging is the government’s commitment to getting more young adults involved in sport. It is so easy for teenagers to drop out of sport at sixteen and anything that can be done to encourage them to continue is welcomed.