Great Britain's potential Olympic medallists are now limbering up for Rio 2016, hopeful of another record-breaking haul to further fuel the lingering euphoria of London 2012. 

That's fine. It's all looking good. But what about the Tokyo Games of 2020 and beyond?

Where will the talent come from then? That is a major concern as evidence grows of a serious decline in fitness of a nation where traditionally our sporting excellence has been honed initially in schools.

Now the fear is that an alarming reduction in the physical education of our young bodes ill for the future continuation of the production line of British sporting champions.

The current physical inactivity levels of young people is described as "bleak and worrying" by Baroness Sue Campbell, chair of the Youth Sports Trust, whose manifesto on the need for a re-think of PE and schools sport by a future government, whatever the colour, will be launched at the House of Lords this Wednesday.

The promised presence of political heavyweights Sir Hugh Robertson, ex-Conservative Olympics and Sports Minister, and Andy Burnham, Labour's Shadow Health Minister, encouragingly suggests prospective cross-party support.

Former Sports Minister Sir Hugh Robertson is expected to be in attendance when the Youth Sports Trust 'Unlocking Potential' manifesto is launched this week ©Getty Images



The YST's 'Unlocking Potential' manifesto will call for emphasis on more physical education and competitive sport to be implemented by whoever is in Government after the May General Election.

"It is in no sense political," Baroness Campbell, the left-leaning peer who for 10 years was arguably the most influential female administrator in British sport-and certainly the most formidable, told insidethegames.

"Reversing the growing levels of physical inactivity among young people is a seismic challenge and one that we hope the next Government will make a priority because it is an opportunity to improve the nation's health, education and sporting prospects.

"It is an attempt to get cross-party, and cross-departmental agreement on the big issues in schools sports.

"There is a huge question here not only for the physical well-being of our young people but also a very emotional one.

"Every day we hear about more self-harming or massive emotional traumas and while I am not stupid enough to think more PE and sporting activity can solve everything, I do believe that if we don't get it right we undermine the health and education of our kids and the sporting future of the nation.

"With one in three children leaving primary school obese or overweight, and less than one in five meeting the minimum recommended guidelines for physical activity, it is clearly a bleak and worrying picture.

"One of the things that made us so successful in 2012 at the elite end is that we had a ten year run at it. While I was at UK Sport [from 2003 to 2013] we had a very consistent strategy [labelled as 'no compromise' over elite funding]. Whether you agreed with it or not it allowed us to create real change. Now we need another ten year run."

Whether this can happen clearly depends on how important any incoming Government sees sport in schools, not least as a means to an end in Britain's success in international competition.

Team GB will be aiming to build on their success at London 2012 when the Games go to Rio next year ©Rio 2016



"Every few years the policy changes. It is really tough for schools. This is not about investing a lot more money but rather using the money effectively," Baroness Campbell added.

"In terms of post-Olympic legacy there are welcome programmes of investment going into primary schools but it also makes sense to invest in secondary schools sport. What happens if the next Government doesn't want to do that?"

I understand that in their manifesto the YST will call for more time for high quality PE, physical activity opportunities be embedded in every school day, and sustained competitive sport.

"We have to set out where we believe any future Government should focus its efforts if we are to stand any real chance of reversing the trends that are leading to increasingly sedentary lifestyles among young people," she said.

In other words, the battle is now on between between the PlayStation and the playing field.

Encouraging more sporting emphasis, she says, is not something that should be regarded by head teachers as something "nice" to do. "This is something they need to do."

She adds that one of the most vital aspects of the manifesto seeks a joined-up, three-pronged approach between the Government Departments responsible for education, health and sport.

London 2012 heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill owes a lot of her success to being inspired by sport at school at a young age ©Getty Images



"If every time a new Government comes in we get rid of the old initiatives and have to start all over again it will be impossible to build any meaningful long-term strategy.

"There are politicians on both sides of parliament, like Andy Burnham and Hugh Robertson, who are committed and passionate about sport, which is why we have invited them along. But this can't be a political football."

The newly ennobled Sir Hugh, who was one of the most able and constructive of Britain's long line of Sports Ministers, agrees. "This must not be turned into a political argument," he tells us.

"Schools sport is a major part of building a sports career and at a time when further cuts are on the way. Whoever wins the election it is vital we build a cross-party consensus."

As Baroness Campbell points out, if you ask our sporting champions - like Dame Kelly Holmes, Jessica Ennis-Hill or even Sebastian Coe - who first motivated them and ignited their enthusiasm for sport the answer in most cases would be their PE teacher.

"To sustain our sporting success we need to be building a group of young who enjoy sport and can excel at it," she said.

"This is an opportunity to improve the nation's health, shape the character of our kids and provide a platform for Britain's sporting excellence."

Let's hope our political masters are listening.

Alan Hubbard is a sports columnist for the Independent on Sunday and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.