Funding changes announced
British medal hopes are expected to be boosted at the London 2012 Olympics by changes to funding packages hit by the recession.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 08/02/10 10:39am
British medal hopes are expected to be boosted at the London 2012 Olympics by changes to funding packages hit by the recession.
UK Sport, the elite sports agency, has £6.5million of new funds from the successful Team 2012 sponsorship scheme, which announced Visa as a sponsor in September.
A further £6.5m has been made available by UK Sport adjusting the inflation level in all previously-made awards to 1.5% in its funding review, which was begun in the light of changed economic conditions.
UK Sport chief executive John Steele said the agency believe the changes to be "the best use of the resources from a performance perspective".
The awards are based on pragmatic medal prospects, meaning that the less successful disciplines missed out.
The Visa sponsorship has helped to plug a £50m funding gap which saw eight Olympic sports - water polo, weightlifting, table tennis, wrestling, fencing, shooting, handball and volleyball - forced to share a £12.5m funding package between them and in doubt over their chances of competing in 2012.
With less than 1,000 days to go until the London Games, UK Sport felt they could not afford to wait any longer to make the changes, which will also take into account the inclusion of new Olympic events, such as women's boxing.
Key decisions
"While future funding can never be guaranteed, especially in such a difficult economic climate, they help to draw a line in the sand around issues of funding and give sports a clear line of sight through to 2012," said Steele.
"Over the past year it has become clear to UK Sport that key decisions relating to 2012, such as selection criteria and competition schedules, could not wait until the proposed confirmation at the 'mid cycle review' in Autumn 2010.
"So decisions have been brought forward now that maximise stability without impacting on our medal targets, and we can move into 2010 without the burden of a major mid-cycle review."
The changes will also see increased funding being given to sports which only received basic level support, with a total 11 out of the 12 basic funded sports receiving a doubling of their existing funding, based on clear evidence that they are performing well on this level of investment and merit the opportunity to continue with more assurance.
"By doing this we know that relative to each other, every sport now has the investment they need to meet our performance aspirations for London 2012, which remain unchanged," added Steele.
