INTERVIEW Sports that excelled at London,


such as boxing, had their funding increased for the Rio 2016 cycle


and do all this ‘stuff’ before they can ac- tually start taking part and help out. Everyone agrees that safety comes


first and we should never allow un- suitable people to be in touch with youngsters, so it is clear that CRB checks have their place and everybody should be trained in the safety aspects of their sport. They should also have a reason- able amount of technical competence, but I can’t see any reason why we should try to turn every coach into a semi-pro- fessional or a county level trainer and push them up the ladder if all they want to do is help out at their local club.” Carr adds that in an ideal world each


coach would get help in identifying the minimum, ideal and maximum level of training they need to be successful at their intended level. “We shouldn’t de- sign a coaching programme that assumes everybody’s going to go up the ladder – because the truth is that most people won’t. Most coaches will be working in community sport, so it’s important that perspective is kept. Forcing them to do a lot of training and give up valuable free time to acquire lots of qualifica- tions before allowing them to even start coaching can be counterproductive.”


HOW AND WHO TO FUND While UK Sport isn’t responsible for set- ting out coaching programmes, it does have the power to decide which elite athletes and NGBs receive funding (and how much) during the four-year Olym- pic cycles. Athletes on UK Sport’s World Class Performance Programme receive financial support for their Olympic or


The best way to describe us is as an investment


bank for sport. For us to invest in a sport, we have to be able to see the NGB’s plans for success


Paralympic campaign via two channels – UK Sport provides sports governing bodies with direct funding in order for the NGBs to supply elite athletes with a support structure, while all athletes are also entitled to apply for individual Ath- lete Personal Awards (APA). Each sport’s performance programme


is overseen by a performance director, whose job it is to coordinate the set-up that athletes require – including coach- ing, training facilities, international competition and sports science and medi- cine. Meanwhile, the size of the APA an athlete receives is dependent on a means testing exercise. According to Carr, the way UK Sport decides on funding matters is highly knowledge-based yet practical. “The best way to describe us is as an


investment bank for sport,” he says. “An NGB wanting funding from us needs to have two things. The first is a track record. For us to invest sub- stantial amounts of public money will require more than a sports governing body being good at giving PowerPoint presentations. An NGB will have to dem- onstrate that it’s able to take talented people and develop them into winners. “The second thing you’ve got to have


is a clear plan on how to achieve those medals. We’ve got to be able to see the plan and determine how you’ll go about


24 Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital


completing it. So you can’t just wing it or say that ‘we’re OK because Dave’s bril- liant and he’ll win us a medal’”. The latest four-year funding cycle was


made public in December 2012, with ad- ditional money announced a few months later. Overall, UK Sport will invest £355m in Team GB during the run up to Rio 2016 – the largest ever total and a 15 per cent increase on London 2012. Despite the increase, five sports


suffered cuts in funding and three – handball, table tennis and wrestling were left entirely without grants. The most successful sports at London


2012 – athletics, rowing, cycling and box- ing – received increases in their funding. When asked to identify the sports


where improvements could be made on the London 2012 performances in order to achieve the goal set for Rio, Carr says it’s too early to say – but that the fund- ing decisions are a good indicator. “We’ve got sports that consistently


produce medals at major competitions and others that occasionally make it onto the podium – but should do more often. “Elite Sport is all about margins: the


difference between coming in at fourth place and winning a medal is often min- iscule. Our role is to give the support which enables our sportspeople to make those vital small gains.” l


Issue 2 2013 © cybertrek 2013


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