Pioneering Wellness in the UK

During the previous decade or so, a number of universities had developed courses in the new field of sports science. Bristol had been left behind and our facilities and programmes were not what they needed to be if they were to compete.

I was aware that in the USA, there was a growing interest in the effects of exercise on health. Many American universities were establishing courses in Exercise and Health Science, and companies were running ‘Wellness’ programmes for their employees – none of which was happening in the UK.

Thus it was that, in 1987, I successfully applied for a Churchill Fellowship to the USA to explore what was going on in this field. I managed to take two separate trips, so as not to interfere with my university work, and spent three months in total travelling the USA. It was clear that in education and in business, people were taking exercise for health seriously, both in life and in academia.

I stayed with many leaders in the field, including Kenneth Cooper, the man who created the word ‘aerobics’. His aerobics institute in Dallas was at the forefront in research and publicity regarding this new field. It was amazing to see so many facilities around the country for healthy organised exercise, both in universities and in many companies.

On my return, I put forward a proposal that Bristol University should start a Wellness programme for students and staff, the sort of thing I had seen in many institutions in the USA. This was turned down because it sounded too ‘American’. So, it started as a plain-sounding ‘Fitness and Health Enhancement’ programme for students and staff. Within a year or so, I sneaked in ‘Wellness’ and think we were the first in the country to use the term.

I then set about introducing a master’s programme in Exercise and Health Science. At the time, there was no such course in the UK, and Bristol, perhaps surprisingly, went for it. It was up and running within a year and has gone on to be a huge success. There are now more than 20 similar courses in the UK, and the growth has been extraordinary. Bristol remains a leader in the field.

I like to think that we were pioneers in the UK in the development of the academic study of exercise and health, as well as the Wellness movement. For this, we owe a great deal to the support of the Churchill Fellowship.

My post changed to become Director of Sport, Exercise and Health, and in due course I became very interested in Leadership and its development. It became clear that, in and around sport, there was little being done to develop leaders. Indeed, most people said, ‘Leaders are born, not made’.

I did not agree, and not long before I retired, I established a small charity, the Foundation for Leadership through Sport. We became involved in the consideration of leadership in, of, and through sport – three rather different things. ‘Through’ sport, for example, relates to how leadership qualities developed in sport can be applied through life in the work environment. We have organised workshops and conferences involving leaders from sport, business and the military.

It all adds up to something quite different to my university work, but it is a wonderful and worthwhile activity in retirement!