After the holiday break I have come back to a reply from my centre coordinator surrounding my first project proposal. I am very happy with it because there is little I have to change it is simply more about my proposal and the fact that I wasn't clear enough about specific points. It does suggest that I need to approach certain academic values surrounding my topic which is actually a good idea to add to my documentary, using such things as experiments on injuries since the game became professional and physique since they began to get paid etc.
In addition, I have only received one reply from the 16/17 players I sent letters to about their opinion on the matter and I am beginning to get anxious. I will wait another fortnight for replies and then I will have to take matters to a more personal front and get voice recordings of less famous players that have experienced a change. I can do this by going down to my local club or other clubs and ask about any changes to the youth system or if they'd noticed any change in the competitiveness of the game.
I have also filled in an update of my planning and have taken on board comments that my advisor suggested I should follow, such as going more in depth on rugby league players, looking at how they may have switched to European rugby since it became professional and also how some southern hemisphere players may have done the same. This is a potential task for the future but for now I am going to begin setting out a structure for my essay and vaguely writing down topics I need to cover in my documentary... and continuing to get hold of Mr. Condliffe.