British Wrestling is set to receive guidance, support and an investment of £1.3 million of Government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver the ambitions of its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy, as part of a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.
The award is set to cover a five-year period to provide systemic and governance services and talent pathway development for three years, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2027.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups are more likely to be inactive. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”
The funding will enable British Wrestling to deliver our key priorities from our strategy including coach and official development, competition and ensuring we have an inclusive and aligned talent pathway for the sport. This represents an increase in funding compared to the previous four-year agreement and will enable British Wrestling to improve our support for clubs and communities through the recruitment of the new Development Manager position as well as focus on increasing female participation and improving access to competitions.
Craig Anthony, CEO of British Wrestling, said: “This five-year funding agreement is central to the continued growth and development of the sport of wrestling across the country. The increase in funding recognises the diversity of our sport and the important role we can play in Uniting the Movement. This funding comes at an exciting time with the Commonwealth Games fast approaching giving us an opportunity to amplify the impressive bounceback we have had since the pandemic with club numbers continuing to grow and competitions consistently oversubscribed.”
Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners including British Wrestling receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic.
All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of, no matter how big or small. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active.
