Sport Development Quotes

I feel like I have grown with the sport.

As we know, all sports evolve tremendously, and our sport is no different. It's really not the same thing at all as it was in 1972. It's a different type of horse we're using. The style of riding is quite evolved, the way the courses are built, the materials used... it's virtually unrecognizable.

Football develops, it becomes quicker, players develop as athletes.

Nobody thought that I could become a professional. I was not that good. It was really just one thing I had fun doing. But it was never realistic for me to become a professional until I became 17 or maybe 18.

It's an amazing feeling: tennis is growing very quickly in Canada, and to be a big part of it is an honour.

Even if I am French, I have African roots. Helping African sport to develop is something that is very important to me. If I can use my reputation or other means to help, then I will.

I am very proud of what we have built in Spain, because it is not a traditional Formula 1 country. I think we have found passionate fans, and built up a strong culture for the sport - and things are improving every day, with more and more people getting interested.

That's a goal of mine and the sport. To become more diverse and change the demographic, bring in a new face.

I think if people were to look at badminton and tennis, they'd see they're actually very similar; the profile would increase, and we might be in a better position as a sport.

I think sport can play a really positive role in young girls' lives and be great to see as many of them playing sport as possible.

For players from every age and every ability, the USTA National Campus will raise the bar on how we deliver tennis with the goal of making our great sport more accessible to more people than ever before.

In order to keep up with the rapid evolution of the sport, you've got to keep an open mind.

I think USA Cycling really needs to ride this wave and start looking at growing the sport. It's a tough one because cycling is such an endurance sport.

We talk about players of yesteryear, guys who could play or couldn't play, and I think it's ridiculous to try to even compare people... The things that you can do in basketball today that you couldn't even do then... you can carry the ball; you walk all over the place.

I've been in sport for 15 years now and I'm actually shocked at the changes. We had all these things, but we couldn't utilize them. They were not accessible to us. They're actually accessible right now.

BMX is still a young sport in Olympic terms. So the sport science behind it is also relatively new. As a program, it's only going to get better as the sport gets bigger and more extreme.

A new sport is being created every day in the U.S.

Tennis is a traditional game. A big sport like tennis does not need too many changes. The game has become too fast, there are hardly any long, interesting rallies these days. So maybe slowing down the courts could help. But you can't really stop a sport from evolving.

There are always late bloomers [in sport], no matter size, although big men are more often late bloomers.

I'll do whatever I need to do to bring more athletes to the sport.

The evolution of the sport is so fast, if you slow down for a second, you're past.

As Culture Secretary, I realised how you can use sport to do so many other good things for society.

When I first started out in cycling, if there were two girls there, that was successful; but now, if there are 20 girls there, it's just unbelievable. The growth of the sport is just incredible.

When you see athletes like me win gold medals, you only see the finished product, you dont see the real effort that the likes of Ron have put into making that product. Without the Ron Roddans of this world, you would have no sport.

I think the sport needs the help to continue to motivate athletes.