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Using
Bath University as one example of an institution catering for
excellence, critically analyse the opportunities for elite sports
competitors in the UK. Nick
Sherriff As
the curtain fell on the 1996 Olympic games Great Britain had won only
fifteen medals of which one was gold.(The Telegraph.1996.Issue 443.)
Arguably, this could be considered the catalyst for a change amongst the
sporting fraternity. Bath
University has recently been accredited with becoming a centre within
the network that is the United Kingdom Sports Institute. However, it
must be noted that Bath already consider themselves a centre of
excellence for many sports such as athletics and swimming.(University of
Bath Sport.1999.) Bath
University will be the hub of the sports consortium for the South West,
harnessing all the services available in the region.
This new arrangement will allow Bath to bid for projects in
excess of £10 million. ‘Excellence’
is a standard which must be met in order to compete at a high level of
competition. However,
excellence needs to be considered in conjunction with the opportunities
that are available to support the athletes. It is the quality of these
‘opportunities’ in terms of funding, facilities, coaching, medicine,
sports science and athlete welfare that needs to reach the standard of
excellence for the elite performer to be able to compete at such a
level. Sport
England (1998)(1)
segregates these opportunities into two categories, indirect and direct
support, the latter pertaining to the athletes welfare. (i.e.
subsistence or living costs.)
Providers of these ‘opportunities’ will be examined in terms
of provision and in many cases their motives considered. The term
‘elite sport competitors’ is specifically used only to incorporate
those teams and individuals who are, or have the ability to compete at,
the world class level, be that Olympic or World Championship.
Within the scope of this essay, consideration will not be given
to those athletes who are developing into elite performers. The main
focus will be on Bath University drawing further information from
associated agencies such as The National Coaching Foundation (NCF),
Sport England (SE), National Sports Medicine Institute (NSMI), National
Governing Bodies (NGB), British Association of Sport and Exercise
Science (BASES) and The Department of Culture, Media and Sport. On
the 1st of March 1999 Chris Smith announced the government’s support
for United Kingdom Sports Institute (UKSI).
This organisation comprises of a network of 10 centres around
England with the headquarters in Sheffield.
The government has promised in principle, via Sport England, to
commit up to £100 million of Lottery funds which it hopes will achieve
success in terms of gold medals for the future.(House of Commons.1999)(1)
This amount of money will greatly aid competitors as it filters
through the various systems. To
ensure the money is spent correctly, SE will hope to have more control
over this via the UKSI network.
In committing such a sum the government does expect an equal
commitment by sport. “...Therefore
the Sports Councils will expect the commitment to the network by the
governing bodies of sport to be linked to the lottery funding they
receive through the World Class Performance plans they produce.” C,Smith.(1999).House
of Commons.(1) This
could suggest that NGBs not using the UKSI network may be penalised by
not receiving as generous a grant.
It is therefore imperative that all the facilities that are used
by the NGBs become part of the regional consortiums before they bid for
grant aid. Arguably,
the most important opportunity for elite athletes is that of funding,
the more funds the greater access there is to facilities and services.
Developing an existing site such as Bath does make good financial
sense which can only benefit the athletes in the longer term.
In 1997 a £6 million Sports Training Village was built
encompassing some excellent facilities such as a 50m pool, four indoor
tennis courts, an outdoor running track and multi-purpose astro pitches.
Being part of the UKSI will allow the University to submit plans
for upwards of £10 million to further the athlete’s potential to win
medals. Future plans
already include an indoor running track, a new sportshall, improved
swimming pool facilities, sport science and weight training areas.
This construction work is hoped to be finalised by the year 2000,
in time for Olympics and World Championships.
The increased funding for World Class facilities may well allow
for World Class stadia, where UK athletes could compete with the
advantage of ‘home soil’ which could possibly increase their chances
of victory. Recent
financial and facility incentives available at Bath will no doubt
encourage many more NGBs to join Bath’s rank and file.
NGBs have a major part to play in terms of funding, they must
submit what is called a World Class Plan for their sport.
This is a National Lottery Scheme whereby money is distributed by
The Dept of Culture, Media and Sport to the ‘good causes,’ of which
sport is one. Individuals
apply to their NGB who collate applications as sports and then go about
producing a World Class Plan.
The Plan must be submitted to Sport England who will give the
final go ahead for the release of funds.
The idea that standards must be met in order to receive funding
may suggest that some NGBs are seen as less able to organise and
administrate their sports. It
must also be remembered that many of the NGBs are run by voluntary and
part-time staff who give up their time to help sport.
Sport England has gone some way in understanding this and does
provide exclusive advice in
conjunction with lottery representatives to help with the formulating of
plans.(Sport England.1998)(1)
NGBs are asked to; provide individual facility and science
development, to look at other successful countries and their methodology
and to provide realistic goals for their sports.
NGBs can also apply for funding for similar schemes as with the
World Class Start and the World Class Potential so that continuity is
not lost en route to elite level.
If all these criteria are met, then specifically tailored support
will be provided. Due
to the vast number of applications expected, which far out ways the
funds available, SE have devised ‘access criteria.’(Sport
England.1998)(1)
Three areas are considered here, ‘the status of a sport’s
primary competition, the degree of success likely to be achieved and the
public significance of the sport.’(Sport England 1998)(1)
The latter does seem a little unfair, however it must be
remembered that this is public money that is being spent and as such the
public should have some input as to where it is spent.
As with all democratic societies the majority vote wins.
In this case the majority are the sports
with a large following in terms of participation or spectators.
However, the really big money earners such as Association
Football are being left to their own devices.
This rationale poses a problem for elite minority sports such as
Fly Fishing. Great
Britain are the world champions but due to the insignificance of the
sport the UK Sports Council will not be bidding to host the World
Championships in 2000. (House of Commons.1998)(2)
It is this rationale that could lead to an elitism of sports, as
a result of their
popularity within society. One
of the most valuable assets available to the athlete is the coach.
The NCF runs a programme called High Performance Coaching (1999)(3),
this is an information service providing coaches with the latest in
coaching techniques and practises.
The information comprises of a Workshop Series discussing topics
such as Nutritional Ergogenic Sports Aids for performers, an Applied
Research series on topics like overtraining and presentations or
conferences given by experts within the chosen field.(National Coaching
Foundation.1999.)(3)
To constantly
update and improve this
service, High Performance Team (National Coaching Foundation.1999)(2)was
formed to identify the needs of coaches within the High Performance
programme. From this the Elite Coach Education Programme(National
Coaching Foundation.1999)(1)
has been formed which is a joint venture between the NCF and the British
Olympic Association. John
Stevens, Chief Executive of the NCF said:
National
Coaching Foundation.(1999.)(4) Up
until recently this service was at a cost to the coach but now under the
new initiative fifty of the top coaches will have exclusive access to
the latest state of the art coaching techniques and information. The
NCF website(1999)(4)
suggests e-mail, chat rooms and even video conferencing which it admits
will require IT training for many coaches.
Although in its’ infancy this new approach should speed up the
passage of information. It
could also cut down cost in the longer term as travel and getting
coaches together from various parts of the world will be less necessary.
This could be considered part of a wider thinking within British
sport to give the coach and athlete more input into developing
their individual sports. For
instance, the centre at Bath has a coaches panel that meets to discuss
the future developments and requirements for their athletes.
Many
of the ground breaking opportunities for elite performers are found in
sports science which comes in two distinct forms.
Physiological which deals with the athletes body and
technological which deals with the athletes clothing and
equipment. BASES will form
the sports science support for the UKSI and will be available too
athletes training at the network centres such as Bath.
It is proposed that BASES will relocate to the UKSI in Sheffield.
The importance of state of the art sport science is paramount in
shaving hundredths of seconds off timings or adding extra distance.
This was highlighted during Atlanta 1996 when the GB Swimming
team were given permission to wear the new Aquablade suits.
These suits came into use after research from the British Journal
of Sport and Medicine who proved that triathletes who swam with wetsuits
not only stayed warmer but swam faster due to less drag, further
credence was given to the suits by the popularity of them with
Australian Swimming Squad. It
was not only swimmers who benefited from the research, the team sponsors
Adidas, spent three years designing the costumes for the British
athletes. With a
temperature that reached the thirties (centigrade), the kit was sparse
but many like Du’aine Ladejo were impressed, ‘It is most
comfortable, especially as it takes up the sweat.’(Powell,D.The
Times,15 July 1996.)(2)
It is the minute details that often make the difference and
keeping the athlete in the right frame of mind, knowing that they are
using the best equipment is paramount. Even
World Class athletes encounter physiological problems especially when
competing abroad in heat or at altitude.
At the Atlanta Grand Prix British
triple jumper Jonathan Edwards took only three of his six jumps because
of cramps brought on by the heat and absence of shelter. (Powell,D.The
Times, 15 July 1996)(1)
It is for this very reason that sport science plays a large part
in training with many athletes required to run and train at altitude.
Elite performers require state of the art technology and
equipment in order to compete at the highest level.
Moving BASES to the UKSI headquarters could provide the focus and
continuity that may have been lacking in the past.
However, they should not loose sight of the many individual
research centres such as the John Moores University (JMU)at Liverpool
who are working with individual NGBs. JMU is working closely with the
Football Association Coaches Association on the Umbro project.(Liverpool
John Moores.1999) Sport
has become very diverse and may be too fragmented for one sports science
organisation to handle successfully. The
inception of the UKSI will greatly effect the opportunities for elite
performers. Whether this
will turnout to be an improvement is a question that can only be
answered over time. One
would hope that this institution has been formed as a long term future
investment. However,
what if Great Britain fails to live up to expectations during the Sydney
Olympics in 2000. What
cannot be allowed to happen is the almost typical ‘knee jerk
reaction’ or ‘saga’ of attributing blame.
Instead the UKSI must stick to its’ principles and be able to
carry on its’ work. No
doubt government will have a time frame in mind in order to see a return
for its’ investment. Acknowledgement has been made by many such as Ian
Turner the Director of Coaching for GB Swimming, that we are some ten
years behind the likes of Australia and that is with present funding.
Let us hope that the present and future governments appreciate this.
It is for this very reason that there needs to be an element of
self-sufficiency with all the new facilities As governments change so do
their policies and the funds can be stopped quicker than they were
started. For the
first time it does appear that elite sport is less fragmented with the
UKSI providing a focus for all concerned agencies. References British
Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. No date. Proposed
role within the UKSI Corporation Structure. [online].
Available from: http//www.bases.org.uk [Accessed 08 March 1999]. Sport
England
(1)
English Sports Council. 1998. More
Medals.
[online]. CCTA. Available from:
http//www.english.sports.gov.uk/medals.htm [Accessed 08 March
1999]. (2)
English Sports Council. 1998. UK
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Available from: http//www.english.sports.gov.uk/uksi.htm
[Accessed 08 March 1999]. NB
- The English Sports Council have recently changed their name to Sport
England, however their website still trades under the previous name. House
of Commons (1)
House of Commons. 1999.
Hansard written answers for 01 March 1999
Chris Smith. [online]. CCTA. Available from:
http//www.parliament.the- stationary-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhanr.../90301w11.ht
[Accessed 03 March 1999]. (2)
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[Acccessed 15 March 1999]. Bibliography John
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