In pursuit of its high performance objectives, UK sport is seeking the public’s views. British Rowing sent its members an email inviting us to take part.
For the first time, UK Sport has opened an online consultation process with the British public for their view of how UK Sport should fund high performance sport. The questions are:
Should the primary focus of our investment policy continue to be delivering medal success as the key outcome?
Should our investment approach continue to focus solely on Olympic and Paralympic sports, or not? If not, should the approach be broadened to include other UK-level sports or disciplines? What might be included and why?’
In your view what factors (besides medals and medallists) can or do demonstrate ‘success’ in high performance sport, and how would you like to see UK Sport incorporate these into our strategy?
Should UK Sport consider investing in or supporting sports or athletes who are further down the performance pathway i.e. those who are more than 8 years away from winning a medal, or not? If so, on what basis could UK Sport invest or provide support?
In the context of having finite resources, how would you suggest that UK Sport prioritises its future investments? What should be our top investment priority following Rio?
Do you have any further ideas or views on what we might do improve our investment approach in high performance sport?
But then they got all partisan and hammered home the facts that UK Sport only funds high performance, not grass roots, points out that Rowing is the highest recipient of funding from UK Sport and listing all the Olympic and Paralympic successes rowing has achieved. They just stop short of actually asking us all to take part and vote for a continuation of ‘business as usual’ in the survey. A list of carefully chosen statistics about increased participation and the growth of women in the Start talent ID programme follows.
And the email signed by Annamarie Phelps, wraps up with
British Rowing’s talent identification programme, Start, delivered Team GB’s first gold medal in London 2012, through Helen Glover. Prior to 2012 the uptake for Start had a male to female ratio of 4:1. Since 2012, following a huge growth in female uptake, that ratio is now almost equal.
The single most important ingredient for the success of the GB Rowing Team and the inspiration and impact it provides is funding from the National Lottery via UK Sport.
So Have your Say at the UK Sport Strategic Policy Review Consultation. The full text of the email follows below
- UK Sport is reviewing its funding policy for Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- This may impact on future funding for the GB Rowing Team and other Team GB sports
- The GB Rowing Team produced 33 medallists at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- An online consultation is open to the British public
- UK Sport wants your view on whether funding should remain focused on Olympic and Paralympic medal success
- Click here and have your say – www.uksport.gov.uk/consultation
Deadline: Wednesday 10 December 2014
Dear Rebecca,
UK Sport, the body responsible for allocating funds to British Olympic and Paralympic sports like British Rowing, has recently announced a review of its funding policy. This review will inform UK Sport’s big investment decisions for 2017-21, so it is a review that may determine how much funding British Rowing will have to support performance training and preparation for the GB Rowing Team for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020. It is an important process for British Rowing and may impact the future of the GB Rowing Team and our sport.
UK Sport Funding – Olympic and Paralympic success model
UK Sport’s funding policy is currently focused on delivering medal success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, channelling resources to those most likely to win medals. Through this policy, and following the record success for rowing at London 2012, UK Sport, funded primarily by the National Lottery, delivers more funding to British Rowing than any other sport for Rio 2016. This funding sustains the ‘excellence as standard’ high performance model of the GB Rowing Team, one that has delivered 26 Olympic and Paralympic rowing medals since Sydney 2000.
You can get involved
For the first time, UK Sport has opened an online consultation process with the British public for their view of how UK Sport should fund high performance sport. The questions are:
Should the primary focus of our investment policy continue to be delivering medal success as the key outcome?
Should our investment approach continue to focus solely on Olympic and Paralympic sports, or not? If not, should the approach be broadened to include other UK-level sports or disciplines? What might be included and why?’
In your view what factors (besides medals and medallists) can or do demonstrate ‘success’ in high performance sport, and how would you like to see UK Sport incorporate these into our strategy?
Should UK Sport consider investing in or supporting sports or athletes who are further down the performance pathway i.e. those who are more than 8 years away from winning a medal, or not? If so, on what basis could UK Sport invest or provide support?
In the context of having finite resources, how would you suggest that UK Sport prioritises its future investments? What should be our top investment priority following Rio?
Do you have any further ideas or views on what we might do improve our investment approach in high performance sport?
We encourage you to take part
We at British Rowing are keen to encourage your participation. The current UK Sport policy has allowed rowing to remain at the forefront of British sporting achievement. This is a legacy which the GB Rowing Team constantly strives to sustain and improve. A reduction in our funding would inevitably represent a risk to our ability to deliver Olympic and Paralympic success and for rowing to remain a gold standard sport in the eyes of the British public. We absolutely support UK Sport sustaining its current investment policy and continuing to focus funding on British medal success.
UK Sport is responsible for high performance sport only
To be clear, UK Sport has no remit to fund grassroots sport or fund participation. That is the remit of Sport England. This UK Sport review will not change any central funding for the grassroots or participation for rowing or any sport.
How to take part
Please take part in the consultation. Please encourage others who value British Olympic and Paralympic success and medals for Team GB to take part in the consultation and support future British success in rowing and other sports at the Games.
Log on here to take part in UK Sport’s consultation: www.uksport.gov.uk/consultation
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the form and answer the questions. Please send your completed form back to the UK Sport email address provided.
The deadline is Wednesday 10 December 2014.
British Rowing – A history of Olympic and Paralympic success
Rowing is one of the most successful British Olympic sports of all time. Rowing is the only British sport to have won gold at every Olympic Games since 1984. It is an achievement of which British Rowing and those throughout the sport across the UK are rightly proud. Rowing delivered a record nine medals for Team GB at London 2012, four gold, two silver and three bronze, making Great Britain the leading rowing nation for the second successive Olympic Games. The Paralympic rowers added to the tally of three medals at Beijing, winning gold in London in the mixed coxed four.
The GB Rowing Team is synonymous with inspiration and the sport applauds them for their achievements on the water, their commitment to excellence and as ambassadors for sport and the nation as a whole.
Rowing’s record success at London 2012 made a significant contribution to what was an outstanding achievement for Team GB at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In all 65 medals were won at the Olympic Games, with 29 golds, placing Team GB third on the medal table, surpassing the target of 48 medals set by UK Sport. In terms of medal tally it was our greatest Games since 1908. At the Paralympic Games Team GB also finished third in the medal table, winning 120 medals with 34 golds.
Inspiring a generation
The impact and legacy of London 2012 for British Rowing alone is significant, and the facts support the argument that British Olympic and Paralympic success ‘inspired a generation’. Not just for those who want to emulate the heroes of 2012 and become high-performance athletes, but for those who aspire to be fit, healthy and to become involved in sport to achieve that, as well as those who aspire to achieve in other ways too.
