Help change time for sport
The Sport and Recreation Alliance needs your help to support its Lighter Later campaign – which aims to encourage more people to take up sport by moving the clocks forward by one hour throughout the year.
The SRA believes that more sunlight in the evenings would see more people engaging in sport and recreational activities in the lighter evenings, and is asking for increased support as the Bill approaches its third reading on 20 January 2012.
‘If passed, it is likely that the Bill will gain Royal Assent and the Government will be committed to researching the effect of aligning our waking hours to the hours of daylight by shifting the clocks forward by one hour throughout the year.
‘The change would have clear potential benefits for sport and recreation, especially in the winter, by extending the opportunity for more activity in the evening, after school and after work:
• An extra hour of daylight in the afternoon and evening is equivalent to a 20% increase in after work/school capacity of community clubs due to the potential increase in evening use (the most popular part of the day for most activities)
• The extra hour in the evening would reduce energy costs for clubs with floodlights and reduce unmet demand for these facilities from activities which could, after the clock change, take place in daylight (the average cost of erecting a set of floodlights is £25,000)
• The additional hour of daylight in the evening would make travel to our sports and recreation clubs and facilities safer for everyone.’
On 20 January 2012, the Bill will be voted on at its third reading, with a majority required and at least 100 MPs present for the Bill to pass.
SRA needs your help to ensure that MPs attend and vote for this once-in-a-generation opportunity, by publicising the campaign in the following ways:
• Ask your local MP to support the campaign using this online tool.
• Tweet your support for the campaign, using #LighterLater or sharing this link: http://action.lighterlater.org/project/get-lobbying.
Sport and recreation is at the forefront of the campaign to shift the clocks forward, and this is the perfect opportunity for a tangible, positive change to promote outdoor activities.
For more information, please visit www.lighterlater.org.
