28 January 2005
Great Britain's success at the Athens Olympic Games indicates that UK Sport is getting value for money from investing in elite athletes, according to the National Audit Office.
But the agency should consider distributing cash to a smaller number of top-performing personnel and sports, says an NAO report on UK Sports' World Class Performance Programme, which distributes public money to leading athletes.
Between April 2001 and March 2005, UK Sport will have spent £83.5m in support of summer Olympic and Paralympic sports, enabling governing bodies to provide services to athletes, including top-class coaching and sports medicine facilities.
Many athletes also received personal awards of up to £21,000 per year, which the NAO claimed 'made a significant difference to their ability to train and compete'. Many athletes previously held full-time jobs and were forced to base training schedules around their careers.
UK Sport set Great Britain's Olympic team a target of eighth to tenth place in the medals table in Athens. It secured tenth place with a haul of 30 medals. The Paralympic team was set a tougher target of first place, but finished second with 94 medals.
But future Olympians could be wise to focus on Britain's more successful sports, such as athletics, cycling and rowing. Half of the Olympic sports did not meet their individual medals targets, pushing the cost of each British medal up to £2.4m from a target of £1.7m.
Keith Hawkswell, the NAO's director of sports studies, urged UK Sport to review the number of disciplines it gives money to. 'We're not saying UK Sport should now fund a reduced number of sports. This is not a precise science. But it merits consideration. 'There are examples of countries, such as Australia, that gained from consolidating the number of sports it funded before later increasing its range.'
Edward Leigh, chair of the Commons' Public Accounts Committee, went further. He said: 'If we are to improve on our medal performance at the Beijing Games in 2008, then funding must be directed at the sportsmen and women demonstrating that they are, or have the potential to be, world beaters.'
PFjan2005
