Funding support for Britain’s young athletes is crucial

Deputy Managing Director,

GLL

The Greenwich Leisure Limited Sport Foundation (GSF) was established in 2008 to meet significant funding issues that effect the majority of young talented sports people. The scheme has grown year on year, and having given a total award value of £6.1m since it was founded, is now the largest independent athlete talent programme in the UK.

As a charitable social enterprise, GLL also recognises the social, health and community benefits of getting young people into sport and physical activity. The athletes that we support through the programme are extremely effective and inspirational role models for their peers and local communities.

We believe that most of the athletes helped by GSF will also give something back to sport and society in some form; this could be as a future inspirational champion, coach, sport volunteer, fund raiser or often as a role model who inspires activity and involvement in sport from other young people.

The athlete support from the GSF is intended to provide practical and tangible help which is athlete-focused and easy to administer. In addition to financial awards, the scheme has developed to also include free access to training facilities, sports science and medical support, as well as sport seminars and workshops.

Overall, 75 per cent of supported athletes are aged under 21 when we know that there is very little funding available. However, training and competition costs remain high. These athletes all have high national rankings and many represent their country at international events and yet 90 per cent of GSF award recipients receive no other sport funding.

Young people need positive support and sport needs emerging talent to keep Britain improving on a world stage. We believe GSF is making a positive contribution to both agendas (see page 13).

Young athletes struggle to find funding/ jacob lund / shutterstock

Concerns remain over Sport England measurement

Chief Executive,

Jubilee Hall Trust

I was excited to hear more details about Sport England’s new strategy during Leisure-net’s active-net conference in Loughborough last month.

Particularly positive are the key outcomes, which include the much wider benefits of sport and physical activity – acknowledged in the recent Sheffield Hallam research that showed an SROI of £1.91 for every £1 invested in sport. Other good news includes the focus on inactive groups, the distribution of funds beyond the traditional NGBs and the backing of the Chartered Institute.

However, concerns remain about the method and accuracy of measurement. Apart from confusion around a new metric – the percentage taking part in sport and physical activity at least twice in the last month – Sport England’s continued reliance on self-reporting via a survey, at a time when we’ve never had more widespread, reliable user data, seems odd.

Sport England could also demonstrate national leadership in a number of key areas such as insisting local community sports facilities are not over-specified - adding unnecessary cost - and giving legal advice to councils around not going out to full procurement every time. It remains to be seen if they will.