Memorandam submitted by UK Sport
SUMMARY
— UK Sport is the Government's lead
strategic agency for high performance sport, investing around
£100 million per year in our Olympic and Paralympic ambitions.
— The past two years have seen significant
positive change to the high performance landscape in the UK, and
results are improving fast: 41 Olympic discipline medals, 11 of
them gold, won in this year's World Championships. 46 medals won
in equivalent Paralympic events.
— We therefore believe that standards
of performance are improving, but there is still much to be done.
UK Sport has this year launched "Mission 2012", its
major new monitoring and evaluation system, to ensure that we
and our partners remain on track to achieve our collective ambitions
in 2008 and 2012.
— What is needed now is a period of
continued stability and clarity of roles and responsibilities,
to ensure that every opportunity from our significant public investment
in Olympic and Paralympic sport is maximised.
ABOUT UK SPORT
UK Sport is the agency charged by the Government
with "leading sport in the UK to world class success".
Principally this means working with the Olympic and Paralympic
National Governing Bodies, and other partner sporting bodies,
to deliver success at European and World Championships and the
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
UK Sport also has responsibility for those activities
best delivered at a UK level—such as the nation's Anti-Doping
programme; bidding for and staging World Class Sporting Events;
and increasing our sporting activity and influence overseas.
Our strategic lead role in high performance
is based around our investment of both Exchequer and National
Lottery funding, supported by expert advice and the delivery of
services such as our Elite Coach, Talent Identification and Research
and Innovation programmes. Following the additional funding for
2012 secured by UK Sport in the March 2006 Budget, we are now
planning to invest an average of £100 million every year
between 2006 and 2012 in the UK's Olympic and Paralympic ambitions.
£216.4 million of this is currently being invested in the
"Beijing Cycle"—supporting approximately 1,500
athletes across 24 Summer Olympic and 20 Summer Paralympic sports.
UK Sport maximises the impact of its investment
through a "no compromise" strategy, targeting resources
and activity primarily at those sports and athletes capable of
delivering medal-winning performances. Individual sports are allocated
funding through the World Class Performance Programme, the amount
determined by a formula that includes results from the last Games
and current rankings as well as future medal potential.
This investment is complemented by Athlete Personal
Awards, supporting directly our elite athletes in their sporting
and personal living costs from the moment their talent is identified
and confirmed through to the Podium.
As the strategic lead body for high performance
success, UK Sport recognises it cannot deliver alone. Key partnerships
are with the National Governing Bodies of the Olympic and Paralympic
sports, as well as with the Home Country Sports Councils and Sports
Institutes and organisations such as sportscoachUK and the British
Athletes Commission. As we move towards Games time in 2008 and
2012, the partnership with the British Olympic Association and
British Paralympic Association becomes central, as those two organisations
are responsible for the final preparation and delivery of the
athletes in the Games environment.
THE CURRENT
SITUATION
The past two years have seen considerable positive
change to the high performance landscape in the UK. Following
the "Transfer of Responsibilities" announced by the
Government in 2005, UK Sport is now responsible for all Olympic
and Paralympic high performance funding in England and the UK,
as well as for the strategic direction of the English Institute
of Sport and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme. This has
led to a significant clarification in terms of funding, and improved
our ability to deliver meaningful support to athletes.
Alongside this our successful submission to
the Treasury in 2005 led to the announcement of a further £300
million for our Olympic and Paralympic ambitions (£200 million
exchequer, with a further £100 million to be raised by Government
from private investment). As a result. UK Sport has a planned
total of £600 million to invest through to March 2013.
Following the success of Sydney 2000 and Athens
2004, where the British teams finished 10th in the medal table
in the Olympics and 2nd in the Paralympics, UK Sport is now targeting
8th place in Beijing for the Olympics and the retention of second
place in the Paralympics. Eighth place in the Olympics is likely
to require a total of around 35 medals, 12 gold (based on detailed
analysis of previous Olympic Medals Tables).
For London 2012, UK Sport achieved the additional
funding on the basis of an ambition of reaching 4th in the medal
table for the Olympics, and maintaining 2nd in the Paralympics
whilst aiming for the top spot. Fourth in the 2012 Olympic Medal
Table will require around 60 medals, around 16-18 gold. These
ambitions do not constitute formal targets and will be reviewed
after Beijing. Formal medal targets for 2012 will be set in the
year preceding the Games.
To achieve these ambitions will require a step
change in performance from our sports and athletes. The evidence
is that this is already starting to occur. Olympic and Paralympic
sports have grasped the unique opportunity that the challenge
of a home games presents and this, together with the increased
funding and support they are receiving, is starting already to
pay dividends.
ATHLETE PERFORMANCE
Britain's athletes have had a very good year
in 2007:
— A total of 41 medals have been won
in Olympic disciplines at World Championships. Eleven of these
have been gold (excluding that won by Christine Ohuruogu, as she
currently does not qualify for Olympic competition). The most
recent of these was won by Boxer Frankie Gavin, the first ever
British gold medal at this level. Gavin has said that UK Sport's
funding and support was a big factor in his success.
— While much of the success has been
achieved by our traditional high performing sports—cycling,
sailing, rowing—the year has been notable for the results
achieved by some newer emerging sports, eg: Boxing (one gold,
two bronze) Archery (silver and two bronze) and those returning
after a period without success, eg: Judo (one silver, one bronze).
— Many more medals have been won by
"class of 2012" at World and European youth and junior
events, and a number of young athletes performed highly creditably
at World senior level.
— In addition there has been greatly
encouraging performances from sports either achieving early 2008
Olympic qualification—such as Women's Hockey—or making
huge strides towards qualification for London 2012—such
as men's and women's Basketball and Water Polo.
— In a year in which many major Paralympic
sports do not have a World Championship, British athletes have
still won 46 medals. Example of Paralympic success include Cycling,
with 17 medals, and Equestrian, with 13.
— This summer of success in 2007 built
on previous good performances the year before. In 2006, eight
of the ten sports competing in World Championships won medals
in Olympic disciplines, seven of them gold, while our Paralympic
sports won over 100 medals, the highlight being the 52 won by
the Paralympic swimmers as they topped the World Championship
medal table (24 gold).
DRIVING STANDARDS
OF PERFORMANCE—"MISSION
2012"
We believe that the improved results highlighted
above are evidence that the high performance system in this country
is improving. UK Sport's goal is to ensure that in addition to
winning medals, we achieve lasting, sustainable change to this
system, meaning our athletes will continue to win medals and succeed
on the world stage well beyond London 2012.
To drive this process, and ensure there is no
complacency, UK Sport is currently introducing a major new Monitoring
and Evaluation programme designed to help sports analyse their
performance on a quarterly basis, and capture the most accurate
picture available of the challenges faced and any barriers to
success.
Mission 2012 seeks to evaluate that progress
in three dimensions:
The Athletes—their performance, development,
health and wellbeing.
The System—the places, structures, processes,
people and expertise that deliver the programme.
The Climate—the feel, functionality and
culture experienced by athletes and staff.
Sports will allocate an overall "traffic
light" colour status for their World Class programme that
most accurately reflects the conclusions drawn from the three
dimensions, and will develop an action plan for dealing with any
issues that threaten their ability to deliver. Each quarter their
report will be analysed by UK Sport, and any issues or disagreements
will be flagged up to the Mission 2012 Expert Performance Panels
for Olympic and Paralympic sport. These are Chaired by John Steele,
UK Sport CEO, and include Steve Cram, Sir Clive Woodward and Rod
Carr (CEO, RYA) on the Olympic side, and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson,
Sue Wolstenholme (Disability Tennis) and Chris Holmes (GB's most
successful ever Paralympic swimmer) on the Paralympic. The Panels
will determine the final traffic light outcome for each sport.
These will be placed on a dedicated Mission 2012 Tracker Board
so that progress can be analysed in an immediate and visual way.
Launched in May 2008, "Mission 2012"
represents a step change for British Olympic and Paralympic support,
and cultural shift for an organisation like UK Sport. It is dedicated
not just to ensuring public accountability for our significant
public investment, but also driving up standards across the board.
Where a sport is performing well, UK Sport will operate a light
touch. But we are not afraid actively to intervene if we think
significant change is necessary to protect our investment.
A good example of this is Basketball, where
UK Sport refused to invest in existing NGB structures until the
sport was united behind the goal and they could demonstrate they
are "fit for purpose" at elite level. Instead UK Sport
created its own temporary organisation—British Performance
Basketball—to kick-start the high performance programme.
The result has been startling, with both the men's and women's
teams being promoted to the top division of the "Eurobasket"
league at the first attempt, significantly improving their chances
of Olympic qualification. UK Sport is now considering ways in
which to hand back this programme to the sport's Governing Body,
without compromising success.
A fuller explanation of what Mission 2012 involves
is contained within a three page document attached as Annex A.[2]
DRIVING STANDARDS
OF PERFORMANCE—OTHER
INITIATIVES
In addition to Mission 2012, UK Sport is also
seeking to facilitate the development of a network of "Elite
Training Centres" across the UK. The concept reflects the
conclusion that the UK's athletes need to have a clearer sense
of location for their world class ambitions than is often currently
the case. Such Centres will offer an environment in which athletes
can experience a seamless integration of world-class coaching
and training in appropriate facilities together with scientific
and medical support, all backed-up with lifestyle and educational
support systems that ensure their wider development. A full explanation
of what the Elite Training Centre concept involves is contained
within a two page document attached as Annex B.[3]
UK Sport also continues to operate dedicated
programmes to support its World Class Performance Programme investment.
Three examples are:
Elite Coach
A major initiative designed to ensure that a
new generation of world-class British coaches will be available
to pick up the baton and ensure long term success for our athletes
post-London. The scheme provides dedicated programme support to
up to a total of 50 coaches over a three year programme, helping
them to develop their technical skills and understanding through
both residential and individual learnings. There are currently
34 coaches on the programme across 18 sports, with the first year
graduating at the UK Sport World Class Coaching Conference on
12-15 November 2007.
Talent Identification
In partnership with NGBs and the English Institute
of Sport, UK Sport runs a number of successful Talent Identification
programmes for Olympic sport. For example in March 2007 it launched
the "Sporting Giants" campaign, seeking to unearth tall
young athletes for the newly funded sports of Handball and Volleyball,
as well as potential athletes for Rowing. The programme's high
profile media launch received nearly 5,000 applications from tall
16-25 year olds across the country, and a series of dedicated
sessions has whittled that down to those most likely to become
involved.
Handball now has a pool of over 40 new talented
players, Volleyball is currently testing around 165 men and women,
while Rowing has tested around 2,000 potential future Olympic
rowers across five weekends. Peter Shakespear, Manager of the
GB Rowing World Class Start Scheme, said: "If the early indications
of the standard of athletes are accurate, then this could be the
most powerful single identification tool any country has ever
seen to recruit outstanding rowers".
Research and Innovation
UK Sport currently runs a Technology Research
and Innovation programme to help sports develop cutting-edge research
solutions to support their medal ambitions. It works with partners
in the industrial and academic world to deliver programmes that
can maximise athlete performance and find fractional improvements
that can make the difference between first and second. The programme
has been running since 2004 with a budget of £1.5 million
per year. It has already proved to be very successful with a number
of equipment-based sports, including Sailing, Cycling, Rowing,
Canoeing and Bob Skeleton.
CONCLUSION
Overall therefore, UK Sport believes that major
progress is being made in terms of the standards of performance
of our Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. Sports have grasped the
opportunity presented by this unique event, and the increased
funding available, coupled to a more focused and integrated high
performance system, is having real effect. UK Sport believes that
Mission 2012 is a critical further piece of the jigsaw, a truly
athlete-centred means to ensure public investment is maximised.
As it rolls out over the coming months and years,
it is vital that British sport enjoys a period of stability and
clarity and that we see purposeful improvement rather than upheaval
in the way programmes are delivered. We are seeking not just medal
success but the true transformation of the system, so that success
is maintained and even enhanced.
We believe we owe it to the potential champions
of Beijing and London, and beyond, to ensure everything is in
place to deliver it.
November 2007
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