Tokyo 2020: UK government Aspiration Fund met with mixed response by unfunded sports

 

MEDALS: Langridge and Ellis' bronze didn't save badminton funding
(Team GB photo)

By Steven Oldham

Team GB sporting bodies reacted in a variety of ways to last week's announcement of a £3m government-funded 'Aspiration Fund' for Tokyo 2020's Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Announced by Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, the fund is open to applications from sports not currently backed by UK Sport's World Class Programme, which is heavily weighted towards teams with the most medal potential.

Perhaps the most controversial exclusion from the current funding cycle was badminton, which lost all funding despite delivering a bronze medal in the men's doubles through Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis at Rio 2016.

Badminton England Chief Executive, Adrian Christy, said: "This is fantastic news for those sports that were left unfunded following the Tokyo 2020 investment decisions." 
"It is a really strong indication that, even when funds are tight, every sport does matter and we now look forward to developing a compelling application to UK Sport to support our players, maximising our qualification chances for 2020."

Funding will be capped at £500,000 for team sports and £275,000 for individual events, with the possibility of applying sports still missing out. 

Badminton, and Great Britain's archers, earnt a partial reprieve in March with the announcement of UK Sport's 'Medal Support Programme' which saw some athletes provided with funding. 

However, not all reaction is positive. Despite acknowledging any extra funding is welcome, the timing of the announcement has come too late for some sports. 

British Handball Chairman Paul Bray said: “While we welcome any new money for unfunded sports, as far as handball is concerned this announcement comes much too late. We will continue to lobby UK Sport to take a fairer long-term approach to funding and look forward to the outcome of the recent consultation”

British Handball also pointed to the timing of the announcement with qualification for Tokyo already underway, and the lack of funding they have received since being cut adrift after the London 2012 cycle. 

As well as a plan to improve sporting prowess, sports must demonstrate their ability to inspire greater participation and benefit local communities.

This bodes well for basketball, which despite high participation numbers, particularly among the young generation, receives no funding. British Basketball received a one-off £195,000 payment earlier this year from UK Sport; in order for them to fulfil World Cup qualifying fixtures amid ongoing concerns about the squad's financial viability. 

Other likely applicants include wheelchair rugby, fencing and weightlifting. The sports making their Olympic debut in Tokyo - including skateboarding, climbing and surfing - are also eligible to apply.

More reading: 

Olympics: Five cult heroes from Rio 2016

Tokyo 2020: UK Sport axe badminton funding despite first Olympic medal in 12 years

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?



Olympic athletes gather in Lausanne, Switzerland for the launch of Agenda 2020 last month (IOC)


By Steven Oldham


The International Olympic Committee's Agenda 2020 will reshape the Games as we know them by focusing on the key themes of affordability, legacy and inclusion.

Since IOC President Thomas Bach introduced the set of 40 (20+20) proposals last month, it is clear that the future of the Olympic movement is changing to reflect economic and social issues faced by the world.

Simplifying the bidding process to host future Games and reducing the costs of doing so is one of the central proposals. Being able to submit joint bids with other cities or countries is a step in the right direction, as is the reduction in presentations by bidding cities. With the IOC also covering some logistical fees for bidders, this should drive down overheads and make hosting the Games an attractive, viable option to a broader range of nations than in previous years.

This will open up the prospect of a first Middle Eastern Games, for example. After securing both the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2022 football World Cup, Qatar would be the obvious candidate in this part of the world. However, the sheer scale of the event might mean a joint bid with neighbouring countries could be more realistic.

Another option would be a Nordic Games - and not necessarily a Winter one, given that Sweden has previously hosted the Summer Games. Both Norway and Finland have experience in hosting Diamond League and European Championship athletics respectively.

Hopefully, these reforms will help avoid another situation like the bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will now only be contested by Beijing and Almaty after four European cities, for various reasons, withdrew their candidacy in quick succession this year.

Wherever future editions are held, a key part of bids will be legacy plans after the Games have left town.  IOC members will be keen to point to London as a good example, which used a good mix of existing and temporary facilities. New builds are also well used - the Olympic stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships and will become West Ham United's new home. The Copper Box regularly hosts professional boxing and is home to handball and badminton teams as well as community sports facilities. Next year, the Lee Valley Hockey Centre will host that sport's Euro Championships.

Sadly, this is not always the case - just ten years ago, the Games returned to Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics. However, ill-thought plans to build stadia exclusively for beach volleyball, softball, taekwondo and so on have led to them standing derelict and in ruins.  Costing an estimated €9bn, the Greeks have precious little left to show for their money.

The abandoned Olympic Aquatic centre in Athens, ten years on
(Milos Bicanski)

The IOC are looking to take a more hands-on and supportive role for prospective hosts in the sustainability of their infrastructure to avoid this in future. The use of existing facilities is to be further encouraged, and to avoid potential white elephants, temporary arenas will be preferred to costly unviable stadia.

Another aim of Agenda 2020 is for the Games to be ever more inclusive. This includes a target of 50% participation rate for female athletes and the principle of non-discrimination against athletes is to be expanded to include sexual orientation.

The commitment to gender equality follows the first Games in which every country included at least one woman in their team. Concerns about non-participation of women in the Olympics were eased by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei all including women in their teams for the first time at London 2012 but there is still work to be done to reach the desired 50/50 split.

Women's sport continues to grow in popularity and it is vital that the IOC is seen to be trying to balance the number of places to make the event as a whole fairer and representative of participation levels at the grass roots.

Another point of the gender equality recommendation was to encourage the introduction of mixed gender team sports. In recent days, FINA have announced the introduction of mixed diving and synchronised swimming competitions to their events. Whilst there is no guarantee these disciplines will be added to the Olympic programme, the IOC will no doubt look favourably on this development.

Agenda 2020's proposals will no doubt affect how we view the Olympics. Work is now needed by the NOCS to implement them. If they succeed in making the Games fairer, more cost-effective and inclusive, the movement will have changed for the better.

The IOC are due to vote on the Agenda 2020 proposals at the 127th IOC session on December 8-9. This article is not a full summary of the proposals - I have concentrated on what I feel are the most important aspects. A full list of the 40 proposals can be found on the Olympic website here



Will future Olympics feature synchronised swimming with
men competing alongside women? (Sports Tribe)

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England's Helen Clitheroe not retiring after Commonwealth Games...but risks being 'strung up' if she guns for Rio 2016!

I'm the world champion, but I want Paralympic gold too says British powerlifter Ali Jawad

England's Helen Clitheroe not retiring after Commonwealth Games...but risks being 'strung up' if she guns for Rio 2016!

By Steven Oldham

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

England's veteran distance runner Helen Clitheroe is adamant she will continue to be an athlete past the Commonwealth Games where she is set to race in the 5000m this weekend.

The 40-year-old has no intention of hanging up her running spikes just yet, as Glasgow 2014 is the culmination of a lengthy return from injury to top class competition that ruled her out of London 2012.

She is realistic however, when it comes to carrying on until the next Olympics in Brazil in two years time.

Helen said:"I wanted to prove to myself that I could get fit again and get back to competing.

I hope I can inspire older athletes. There's me and Jo Pavey both in the distance running team, we're both 40 - to have one of us that age is pretty unusual - two of us is pretty unheard of.

I had my best year in athletics at 37. Most athletes have retired by that age - if I can inspire people to carry on that would be great."

So what about her own future?

"After the Commonwealths I want to get another few another 5000m races and I will assess from there.

Rio 2016?! I think my husband would string me up if I went home and said I wanted to go for that!," she joked, before adding: "It's not easy being an athlete financially these days and at this stage of my career I have to justify what I'm doing. So I've not definitely ruled it out but I'd say it was very, very unlikely."

Helen after winning European championship gold in 2011

Helen - a European indoor 3000m champion and a Commonwealth bronze medallist from her home Games in Manchester twelve years ago - is heading into her fifth Friendly Games and it is obviously a competition that is close to her heart.

" The Commonwealths have been a massive part of my career. Kuala Lumpur '98 was my first senior international meet, I won a medal in Manchester, and I captained the woman's team in Delhi four years ago.

Glasgow 2014 was a real motivation when I was injured. I missed London 2012, and after seeing how amazing it was, I realised how special it was to perform in front of a home crowd. It meant so much to get the phone call to say I'd been picked, so I'm definitely still excited for the Commonwealth Games," she said.

The Preston-born runner is up against strong competition from Kenya's women, in the shape of Mercy Cherono and Janet Kisa. Distance running has again proved to be the African's trump card in these Commonwealths with Kenya's women taking four of their country's five gold medals to date. They also locked out the podium for 10,000m.  

"There's two really strong girls from Kenya in my race. It's a straight final - no heats - so anything can happen and I have to be ready for that. You never know what will happen in distance running and I need to be up in the mix.

I'd like to think I can beat my PB - but to be honest, that doesn't really matter in these competitions - it's all about where you finish. I certainly won't be running around looking at the clock. Obviously, it would be nice to beat my PB, but I'm more focussed on getting the performance to be competitive and I'm also determined to enjoy the moment."

"I can't wait to start competing now. You start to realise how close it is watching everyone in the holding camp and seeing the excitement."

I'm the world champion, but I want Paralympic gold too says British powerlifter Ali Jawad

By Steven Oldham

British powerlifter Ali Jawad still has unfinished business with the Paralympics despite becoming world champion earlier this month.

The Londoner became the -59kg champion by lifting 190kg at the Powerlifting World Championships in Dubai, setting a new world record in the process.

Jawad admits after winning his first world title his thoughts are now firmly fixed on the Rio 2016 Paralympics - and putting some past demons to bed once and for all.

He came fourth at London 2012, missing out on the medals after having a lift that would have seen him won silver thrown out, reinstated and then thrown out again by the jury, who ordered him to relift 189kg minutes after he had done so the first time.  He couldn't, and missed out on the medals due only to being heavier than the eventual bronze medallist from China.

He said: "It hasn't really sunk in that I'm the world champion yet.  It doesn't seem like I am.  Nothing has really changed for me.

A lot of people have asked me if being world champion has made up for what happened at London 2012.  My first thought was that I need to win in Rio.  My focus is definitely now on 2016."

Competing in Dubai (thanks to Ali for photograph)

Jawad - Lebanese born but London bred - went into his latest competition in Dubai as world record holder in his weight class but momentarily lost it to Iranian lifter Hamzeh Mohamaddi, who lifted 186kg in the first round, 0.5kg than Jawad's record.

The 25-year-old responded with an unmatched lift of 190kg in the next round and reclaimed his world record, an impressive feat given he weighs less than a third of what he lifted.

"Our plan was to go in at the world record, but he went in higher in the first round.  We weren't expecting that!", he said.

Next in Ali's sights is the final qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the summer.  He is set to compete in the qualifiers in Coventry on 11 May at the Ricoh Arena, having already gained 160 points towards a place in Team England.

Only three powerlifters are able to go forward to the Games for England and Jawad reckons it will take a big effort from other lifters to make the 160 points target.

"I've already reached 160 and so has another lifter.  It will be a big ask for anyone else to reach it.

In the grand scheme of things, the Commonwealths are not that important - they are in the same four year cycle as the Worlds which have to take precedence.  It's still a competition I'm training hard for and it will be very difficult to win.  I reckon my main competition will be from Nigeria."

Nigerian lifter Anthony Ulomman took bronze in Dubai to underline his podium credentials for Glasgow, albeit having lifted 7kg less than Jawad, who is relishing performing in front of a British crowd once more.

"I still see Glasgow as a home Games.  Hopefully I can do well and if I medal it might start to make up for what happened in London," he said.

You can follow Ali's progress via his Twitter page, @AliJawad12

More Olympic and Paralympic sport:

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

Wheelchair fencing, football and goalball all lose funding despite big increase for other Paralympic sports

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

By Steven Oldham

Badminton England's plans for the sport's first UK national league competition is a positive way of sealing a post London 2012 legacy.

The first National Badminton League (NBL) season is due to begin in October and will comprise six franchises - albeit all from England. 

The inaugural line up for the first season then sees university teams from Birmingham, Derby, Loughborough, Nottingham and Surrey compete with a Milton Keynes entry.
 
This promising new development for the sport in the UK, but the lack of geographical spread in the teams may limit popularity in the short term.  With no teams from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland initially, (the league is open to expansion in future seasons) it may be left to top players such as Imogen Bankier to bring in interest outside the franchise boundaries.



The first NBL starts in October

A new, shorter format - Twenty20 style - will be used for the competition with matches both live on Sky Sports and streamed online globally.

While detailed coverage information is not yet confirmed, a Sky deal has good and bad points.  The extra money from a satellite deal is always a bonus for a minority sport, but the lack of terrestrial presence - even on the red button - can not be offset by streaming. 

Team GB Olympians and the cream of Team England and imported talent will be on show, and the chance to see future stars is made possible with the mandatory inclusion of two players under 21 in each eight person team.  University players may also be used.

The decision to box off two slots in every team for young talent is a great way of attaining a working legacy in badminton following London 2012, creating stars of the future and inspiring young talent to pick up their shuttlecocks.

Initial reaction to the NBL's creation has been positive and if successful, it may become a blueprint for other sports to follow in future years.

Another positive decision is to implement a spending cap so franchises remain viable in the long term.  This should create a more level playing field with teams unable to spend all their funds on one marquee signing after another.

Attention will now turn to June's player auction, with teams able to bid for their desired players, while bearing in mind the spending cap.  Providing the action is exciting and the league does indeed expand outside it's current narrow catchment area, the NBL can only do good for the future of badminton in the UK.

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"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

Chance to shine for 'other' members of the GB Taekwondo Academy at this weekend's National Championships

Wheelchair fencing, football and goalball all lose funding despite big increase for other Paralympic sports

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

By Steven Oldham

UK Sport's announcement of Rio 2016 funding cycles has today brought bad news for some Olympic sports.

Great Britain's basketball, weightlifting, water polo and synchronised swimming teams will not receive any central funding at all for the next Olympic Games in Brazil.

These sports join handball and wrestling on the scrapheap, shut out by UK Sport's commitment to awarding medal potential in future Games.

These latest cuts are in contrast to other sports who are celebrating receiving a bigger slice of £350m in funding - the winners include hockey, judo and taekwondo.

Unfortunately, the future is not so bright for the sports without funding - GB teams were entered for the first time at London 2012 in basketball and handball, and the water polo teams entered for the first time in over 50 years.

It was obvious without the experience, infrastructure and pedigree of their rivals the British teams would struggle in these events.  The athletes are not miracle workers - it's the equivalent of expecting Gibraltar to win Euro 2016 despite never having entered continental competition before.

While funding cuts are nothing new to underachieving sports, the promised legacy of London 2012 will be pretty non existent in these sports now.  It's a vicious circle - under performance leads to lower funding, which leads to less money to invest in improving existing talent and attracting newcomers.

Other top-level British Olympic teams have struggled to attract outside commercial sponsorship including rowing, as I blogged last year.  If they found it hard to get a deal with all their medals and extra TV coverage, what chance have a group of synchro swimmers got?

It was commendable for the home nations to be represented in every sport at our home Games two years ago.  It is equally galling for these smaller sports to be swept under the rug now the Olympic goodwill factor has subsided.

Follow @spoldham on Twitter

Rowing's struggle for sponsorship despite Golden Games is a big worry for minority sports

By Steven Oldham

Despite picking up their biggest ever haul of medals in last year's Olympics, Great Britain's rowers will be flying cattle class to this year's World Championships in South Korea.

The lack of a title sponsor backing GB Rowing since Siemens quietly pulled out last December have left the bean counters cutting back on goodies such as first class travel and bonuses for medallists in August.

In the six months since Siemens withdrew their support, no replacement has been found and that means one of Team GB's most consistent and successful teams have lost out on £6m of funding.

Don't get me wrong - rowing is still very well funded compared to the majority of it's Olympic contemporaries - and the success at London 2012 saw an increase of National Lottery funding of over £5m for the next cycle to the Rio 2016 Games to £32.6m.

Compared to other minority sports such as handball, basketball and men's water polo which have lost all funding, rowing is still doing very well for itself.

But the fact that one of, if not the best team in the world, cannot find a sponsor is very worrying for all Olympic sports, particularly considering it's less than a year since London 2012 enthralled the world.

Siemens are not alone in tightening their belts as the world economy still continues to drag its heels along the road to growth.  Aviva shocked UK Athletics and the watching interested by dropping their title sponsorship of the Olympics' blue riband event not long ago. 

The lack of commitment and desire shown by big business to be associated with GB Rowing is a kick in the teeth for the heroes and heroines of London 2012 with many of them treading water to stay afloat financially.  And with no sponsor for rowing, the likes of handball have no chance.  The GB team played what looks like their last game against Italy last month and with no funding available, players unable to afford to travel to games and no backing for the sort of legacy hoped for, handball sadly looks likely to be a one-summer wonder with few remembering the action from the Copper Box last summer.

Follow @spoldham on Twitter