The Board of UK Sport, the nation’s high performance sports agency, has undertaken a strategic review of its performance investment policy to begin to determine the way the organisation will invest in sports beyond Rio 2016.
The UK Sport Board was asked to consider the findings of an extensive stakeholder and public consultation, facilitated by independent market and opinion research consultancy ComRes, to determine the best way to build on the success of the UK high performance system to date.
The strategic review, and public consultation, focused on exploring a set of key principles which sit at the heart of UK Sport’s investment policy.
The findings and outcomes of the consultation are:
- Consultation reveals 86% of sport/partner and 70% of public respondents endorse UK Sport continuing to focus on Olympic and Paralympic medal success as a key goal
- UK Sport will also explore wider impact factors (beyond medals) including number of medallists and participation levels in its measures of success if required to make investment decisions around sports of equal medal potential
- UK Sport will continue to invest in an eight-year pathway, but will consider investing for a longer period of time where there is a performance need if finances allow
- UK Sport will look to collaborate further across all of the Home Country Sports Councils to better align the high performance system and develop a common investment policy at the Performance Foundation level.
Since its inception in 1997 UK Sport has, with National Lottery funding, helped Great Britain move from 36th on the Olympic medal table at the Atlanta Games in 1996 to third in both the Olympic and Paralympic medal tables at London 2012.
Likewise, at the Sochi Winter Games last year, Great Britain equalled its best ever performance in the winter Olympics and delivered its best in 30 years in the winter Paralympics, creating 21 medal winners overall.
Commenting on the announcement, Sport and Recreation Alliance CEO, Emma Boggis said:
"It’s encouraging that UK Sport is listening to the sector and considering new ways of delivering its remit.
"Our submission to the consultation contained many of the points which UK Sport today acknowledges, including that there is more that can be done to support team sports and that other factors, beyond medal potential, should be considered when making funding decisions.
"We will now keep a close eye on how these proposals evolve. Some of them are dependent on finances but the Alliance will continue its conversations with UK Sport to ensure that the best interests of our members and the wider public are reflected in its funding strategy."
UK Sport Chair, Rod Carr, said: "The Board was impressed by the level and quality of engagement with UK Sport’s strategic review from both the public and our sector partners. It demonstrated that UK Sport’s role in delivering medal success is valued highly by our stakeholders and the British public, and that they’d like to see our investment reach even more aspiring athletes."
UK Sport CEO, Liz Nicholl, said: "UK Sport has proven its ability to deliver Olympic and Paralympic medal success over a period of 18 years, and it is essential that we continue to refine our investment policy to ensure we remain competitive on the world stage and deliver the best possible return on our investment while continuing to build on the system that helps our talented athletes achieve medal success."
"We will always have to operate within finite resources, but we understand the desire from sports and partners in the sector, as well as the public, for us to be able to extend the impact of our investment into more sports. We will now work to develop a clear, prioritised and costed plan, in line with our Board’s direction, and in collaboration with Government, to ensure we are ready to implement our new policy in time for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic investment cycle."
“While planning for Tokyo 2020, we will continue to provide our very best support to every potential medallist preparing for Rio, giving them the best possible chance to succeed and make the nation proud again next summer.”
Minister for Sport Helen Grant said: "UK Sport has played a vital role in Britain's medal success over the years, backed by significant investment from the Government and the National Lottery. But it is right that it looks at what more it can do to help maintain that success. I welcome UK Sport continuing to focus on medals and medallists to help Britain succeed in future Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to keep up the momentum from London 2012 and Sochi. But I am also pleased that it is open to taking the broader value of its investment into account in its funding decisions."
Read the full ComRes consultation report here.
