UK sport funding

Cummon GRF ... It's nearly Christmas look on the bright side. All that money might generate skills enough to understand the V Twin tub and even make it go. 

Originally posted by iGRF Originally posted by 2547 In was way is it dubious? Seems to deliver medals.  Really, the way i saw it the Aussies kicked our arse on our home waters.

My Chum's over here from Aus at the moment, giving it all the we this and we that and marvelling at their coaches and tactical superiority, he's back in lasers funnily enough then telling me about this book I should read by some Aussie called Bethwaite, have you any idea how this all sticks in the craw of any self respecting Brit with a sailing history?

Knowing as I do from bitter experience of all the flaws of those that would tutor and coach our young aspirants and the power they wield with that cash?

We should remember that in 1996 at Atlanta, last Olympics before all the funding arrived, Great Britain won 1 Gold Medal, and a grand total of 15, GB were 36th in the Medal Table (all sports).

Compare that to 2012 with 29 Gold, 65 in total and 3rd in the Medal Table.

Google the cost of Olympic Medals and there is a shed load of data which you interpret in any way you like, and probably come to whatever conclusions you wish, and our Aussie friends seem to make a bit of fuss over it too, they weren't so happy about the swimming remember...

What the Aussie press were saying.....
http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/off-the-field/what-price-medals-20120810-23zua.html

In 2012 an Olympic medal cost UK sport around £4m each, sailing was around £4.5m with £22.9m funding leading up to the games and 5 medals.
You obviously get different figures if you choose to look just at just Gold Medals, but UK Sport sets overall medal targets (or at least asks the sports themselves to) and achievement or failure is based on total medals of any colour.

As said, this funding goes to the "elite" level in its entirety- campaigning a boat around the world is not a cheap business and commercial sponsorship isn't as generous as the logos everywhere might suggest. 

The sportengland money announced on Monday meanwhile goes to the grass roots- you'll see facilities and club boats up and down the country with sportengland logos (and those of the equivalent bodies in Wales and Scotland).