EXCLUSIVE Judy Murray accuses Scottish government of failing to make sport a priority in schools ... and fears it's becoming increasingly for the 'haves' rather than 'have nots'

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Judy Murray has accused the Scottish government of continuing to fail sport in this country, revealing her fears that it is becoming a two-tier system of the 'haves' and 'have nots' in schools.
The mother of tennis legends Andy and Jamie also claims that, despite multiple warnings, Scotland has failed to build on her sons' legacy.
Judy told Mail Sport that she believes children are missing out because of a lack of opportunities to pursue sport in schools and the costs involved for parents - and is adamant this will have an impact on Olympic talents of the future.
'I've always felt schools are the place for children to try out any number of things, particularly in sport,' she said.
'School team sports were always the first stepping stone for me in terms of what could become a pathway through sport - at whatever level.
'It's very sad that nowadays there are so few schools that are able to offer team sport and that are able to have decent quality PE sessions within their curriculum. Where do you get started now?
Judy was a key player in son Andy becoming Wimbledon champion for the first time in 2013
'The onus now is on parents to find sports clubs which obviously have to be researched, paid for and so on. I feel like sport is becoming more about the 'haves' and much less about the 'have-nots'.
'I feel very strongly about sport, but sadly it doesn't appear to be a priority for this government.
'You then ask yourself: 'Where do your Olympians get started'? Most of them across all Olympic sports, apart from those that require expensive equipment, start off in schools.
'Their love of sport is often fostered by the first teacher who spots their talent and points them in the direction of a local sports club. I've heard that so many times.
'If school sport is not prioritised or not given the value, or opportunities are not created through the school curriculum, how do we get kids started on whatever pathway? How do we even spot the talent?'
Judy - who has now created 'Learn To Lead', a new leadership and empowerment programme for girls in primary school - has long been critical of the lack of access to indoor tennis courts in Scotland, which allow people to play tennis all year round.
She told Mail Sport she remained 'disappointed' that the country appears not to have 'taken advantage' of her sons' period of success - and maintained that the volume of players now coming through the ranks was 'very tough to swallow'.
'I will always be disappointed Scotland didn't take advantage of the huge opportunity they had for many years when Jamie and Andy were at the top of the world game,' said Judy.
'They were both Grand Slam champions, they were both world No 1s. They were front page and back page news.
'Their success developed an enormous fan base for tennis in Scotland because the country had two of its own to follow in the major events. With all that going on, we should have been able to take that profile and that fan engagement and bring in sponsors and create opportunities with programmes and facilities.
'What I tried to do when the boys were at the top of the game was (set up) my own 'Tennis On The Road' programme, and my own foundation.
'Tennis On The Road was about taking tennis into rural and disadvantaged areas across Scotland and building workforces around parents and volunteers.
'It was investing in adults to grow the game, but it was also very much about showing them what space they had, what courts they had, and making it accessible and affordable in those areas. Taking it into places where tennis didn't exist or where there was limited activity.
It was Murray's sheer dedication as a young parent that helped her boys Jamie and Andy get on the ladder to enormous success
'That was a huge, huge part of what I did, the length and breadth of the country.
'It wasn't for me to build facilities or put courts in schools - that's more down to governing bodies - but I think there has been very little increase in the way of indoor facilities since the boys started in 2006.
'You still have huge gaps and big cities that have nothing - like Perth, Dundee, Inverness, and so on. Even with the best of intentions, if you identified some potentially great talented kids in Inverness, who's going to teach them?
'If you don't have indoor facilities, people can't earn a living from coaching tennis, because you can't coach all year round, the weather is too bad through the winter months. It will continue to disappoint me, the lack of progress. It has been really disappointing.'
Tennis Scotland, meanwhile, insisted that 'more courts than ever' were now being created across Scotland.
A spokesperson told Mail Sport: 'We now have 151 indoor courts in Scotland - including five currently under construction - which is 39 more since Sir Andy Murray won Wimbledon in 2016.
'Talks are ongoing with various partners over more indoor centres, which we hope to announce soon.
'In the past three years, we have also refurbished 163 public courts in parks around Scotland, at a cost of £2.5million in partnership with the LTA and UK Government.'