Funding cuts for five of Britain’s major Olympic sports announced Monday night by UK Sport “are seen as something of a hammer blow” to London’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, reports the Telegraph newspaper.
Under a “controversial” new funding method strongly based on their performance at the Athens 2004 Summer Games, athletics, gymnastics, judo, triathlon and shooting are all set to lose out.
According to the Telegraph performance directors of the sports most seriously hit by the funding change – gymnastics, judo, triathlon and, to a lesser extent shooting – are said to be “devastated” by the sudden application of the new four-year regime that is the run up to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Under the plans gymnastics’ core funding for its Olympic performance program will drop by nearly 95 per cent – enough for one gymnast, but no coach and no teammates.
The new policy is to fund sports based on their performance in Athens. Points are awarded for medallists and for athletes who finished in the fourth-eight category. No success in Athens, no money.
Sports which had disappointing results in Greece, like triathlon, gymnastics and judo, will suffer the most. Athletics will see its core funding cut by 300,000 pounds and swimming is increased by just less than 100,000 pounds.
UK Sport are answering the critics by saying that sports might negotiate their own top-up finding, either from the home sports councils, or from UK Sport themselves, if the arguments are persuasive enough.
