The survey’s now been running for 11 years. It’s one of the world’s biggest surveys of young people and the data gleaned from it has always informed decision-making and has helped shape the future of sport. 

But we are now going one step further and we are letting the voices of our children lead our investment approach - how we invest in national governing bodies and local authorities. And at the very heart of everything we do will be enjoyment and wellbeing.

It's a big move and pretty unique - I don’t know any other nation choosing how to invest as a result of being led directly by the views of young people - but for us, in Wales, it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s in line with the Welsh Government who are set to launch a new curriculum from September 2022 that is pupil-led.

Wales is also the only nation in the world to have passed a Future Generations Act and appoint a Future Generations Commissioner. It means that we’re the only country (so far, that we are aware of) to have legislated to protect the interests of future generations.

The Act is one of the reasons we are changing the way we invest. You could say it’s given us confidence to do what we know feels right. And while the short-term results may vary, we certainly believe it will pay off in the long-term.

We believe that putting enjoyment of sport at the very heart of our systems will benefit everyone. We believe people will foster a life-long enjoyment of sport, that we’ll be able to better tackle inequalities and that it will also have a knock on effect in terms of how Wales performs on the world stage.

Of course, placing enjoyment first isn’t new. Norway adopted a radically different approach to sport after it floundered at the Calgary Olympics in 1988. Ever since then, children have been encouraged to choose and try a wide range of sports. And as opposed to the drop off and pick up culture we see here in the UK, families tend to enjoy sports together.

There is even a 12-page document – Norway’s "Children’s Rights in Sport" which underlines that "children should receive a positive experience every time they participate in sport."

That is certainly something that has long resonated with us. Whether you are three, 33 or 103 - you should enjoy what you are doing. You should feel welcome, you should feel safe, comfortable and confident. Whether you end up competing at an Olympics, a Paralympics or a World Cup really doesn’t matter.

It comes down to your own personal best or personal podium. For some, that might be a Commonwealth Games gold medal. And for others? Well, it might be doing your first forward roll at age 40 at an adult gymnastics club.

In 2019, New Zealand unveiled its first wellbeing budget. It was based on a move away from measuring growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and more in terms of quality of life. Its Finance Minister Grant Robertson said: "Success is about making New Zealand both a great place to make a living, and a great place to make a life."

And I guess that’s what we’re trying to shift towards in Wales in terms of sport. It’s not all about numbers. Yes, we want as many people to be taking part as possible - but are they enjoying it? Are they having a good time? Because if the answer is no, those numbers are just not sustainable.

We know there tends to be a drop out of sport - particularly with girls as they move to secondary school. But we are hoping that a change in focus means the drop out rate is reduced. And for those that still do drop out, they will return to it later on because they remember having fun and creating those early positive relationships playing sport.

All too often, people who don’t consider themselves sporty share their negative stories from PE. Maybe they were forced to play just a handful of sports they really didn’t enjoy. That’s obviously going to lead to a disconnect with sport and being active. 

So lets make sure we have the choice in schools and at our community clubs. Let’s listen to what children want. It’s absolutely crucial we get this right as our formative years can make or break a relationship with sport.

We also want to see a move towards multisport environments without specialising too early. There are lots of sports who are keen to get hold of someone with talent early on but we see so many amazing examples of people who have experienced lots of different sports in childhood.

When Welsh rugby’s Aaron Wainwright burst onto the scene in 2018, he did so having switched from a promising football career. Roger Federer had enjoyed a broad range of sports as a child. 

Welsh Olympic boxing hero Lauren Price has kickboxing, netball and football honours on her resume, whilst two-time Olympic gold medallist and professional boxing world champion Vasyl Lomachenko credits years of Ukrainian dance classes for his footwork development.

Of course, we could go after the low hanging fruit - getting more boys from relatively affluent areas playing sports - and shout about our success. Supporting that group’s development is still really important, but systematic change is about ensuring everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy sport.

The survey is the foundation for how we get that right and why we are making the voice of young people the loudest in the room when decisions are being made.

The School Sport Survey will be open from March 28 to July 22 2022 and is aimed at children and young people aged from 7 to 16 (school years 3 to 11). The results will be published in the autumn.

For further information about the survey, click here