Montell Douglas (Image: Getty)
Gladiators and Strictly star Montell Douglas has warned that “the distractions of a digital age” are depriving some children of the chance to take part in sports.
The athlete, who represented Team GB at both summer and winter Olympics, also warned that opportunities for young people fell after the pandemic.
She spoke to MPs who are investigating concerns that children are failing to get enough exercise, damaging not just their physical fitness but also their mental health and academic development.
Research by charity the Youth Sport Trust found that fewer than half of children are completing 60 minutes of exercise per day, as recommended by the UK Chief Medical Officers, while 41,000 fewer hours of PE were taught in 2023-24 compared to 2011-12.
Recalling her own childhood, Ms Douglas told a House of Commons committee: “Thirty years ago, for me, the choices were vast because there weren’t the distractions of a digital age.
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“I was getting bruises. I was climbing around, I was very active.
“This generation is very different. They have a lot of challenges with choice and access, and also with confidence.”
She said some children today were reluctant to take part in sports because they were scared of failing.
“There was no judgement. I didn’t feel I was being pressured to succeed in something.”
The athlete, who visits schools to encourage children to take part in sports, also said there had been a move away from physical exercise during the pandemic. “Teachers were expressing their concerns to me,” she said.
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Ms Douglas competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics as a sprinter and was part of the Great Britain bobsleigh team in 2022. She is one of the two female athletes, the other being Jaqueline Mourão, who participated in both of the Olympic Games hosted by Beijing.
She went on to appear as “Fire” in the 2024 One reboot of Gladiators, and was a contestant on .
Also speaking to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee was Ali Oliver, chief executive of the Youth Sports Trust. She told the inquiry: “Children today have on average 20 minutes less playtime at school than they did 30 years ago, and that has a consequence on all manner of things.”
The Football Association told the inquiry there is an urgent need for more football pitches. It said two in three grass pitches are in a “poor” condition and told MPs in a written submission: “Lack of access to facilities remains a significant issue for local communities and is regularly cited as the number one issue in grassroots football.
“The shortfall in facilities stifles growth in participation, particularly amongst our rapidly growing women and girls’ game and other under-represented groups.”
MPs will publish a report on their findings later this year.