ABSTRACT
In the United Kingdom a number of local government authorities have recently adopted what have been termed 'community' approaches in determining effective policies for the provision of sport and physical recreation. In all community sport and recreation initiatives, management processes have been subject to considerable scrutiny and reformulation. This chapter suggests a more radical critique of what community sport and physical recreation may imply and involve. A model of the nature and structures of sport forms is outlined as a heuristic device to illustrate that sports, the content of community programmes, are manifestly diverse. In 1986 the community recreation approach of Leicester's Recreation and Arts Department was highlighted as a exemplar of 'best practice' in recreation management by the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management. In Leicester, Sheffield, and Bradford, the community recreation approach is characterized by a shift in management structures and processes from a facility-based provider-orientation to a consultation-based client-orientation.
