UK Sport Consultation

08/12/2014

UK Sport’s consultation on its funding distribution strategy ends December 10th.

The views and ideas gathered will help the UK Sport Board set the direction of travel for the 2017-21 Tokyo Cycle ensuring maximum impact from National Lottery and exchequer investment.

You can read further background on the consultation here

If you are passionate about the future of sport in the UK, and would like to help UK Sport shape its thinking, then they want to hear from you:
Complete the online form (click here)

Why is this important?
If you are involved in wrestling, you have an interest in the decisions UK Sport make on funding.
So we encourage you to think about responding to the consultation and you can do that here.

What does British Wrestling think about the UK Sport consultation?
The UK Sport consultation is a good thing because it is looking for an input on how public money is spent.
Funding is currently targeted solely at medal success. It favours those sports with established world class programmes, investing in not just athletes but infrastructure that enables the development of up-and-coming athletes.

No UK Sport funding is currently available to British Wrestling for priming the support structures necessary to give up-and-coming gifted athletes the platform on which to succeed to their full potential.

In an individual sport such as Wrestling, a small amount in relation to overall UK Sport funding could make a massive difference to an athlete, whilst priming the Talent Pathway for progress towards a medal.

The scope of UK Sort funding should be widened to target medals in all Olympic Sports. Sports should be funded for progressing towards the twin goals of achieving medal success and accomplishing agreed targets of structural improvement underpinning the road to that medal success.

Isn’t success about more than winning medals?
Home Nation Sports councils work with National Governing Bodies to promote participation and a talent pathway for gifted athletes.
But there is a gap between Home Nation funding and what can be achieved with it and what is required for infrastructure and athlete funding to support gifted individuals along the path to an Olympic medal.