The Price of Legacy

Ok so it’s been a while since I have written something *cough * 2 years *cough * in all seriousness I just haven’t had the time but watching my usual 4 year winter sport fest got me thinking what I wrote and what has happened to the Olympic Legacy and it not nice reading

Handball, Basketball, Waterpolo amongst others have had the funding taken away even though funding was allocated after the games to coincide to with the next Olympic cycle. To be honest it has been a case of giving with the left hand and taking with the right. Even people who have won gold at the last summer games have not been immune to the funding axe man and have had their funding taken away.

Looking at there figures on the UK Sport website swimming, has had to face the price of not medaling has had it funding cut by £5,000,000 but it is all not all bad news some sports have had a increase like Fencing & Shooting & Gymnastics

In 2013 a report by The House of Lords Select Committee on Olympic and Paralympic Legacy quickly assessed that the legacy would falter and team sports would suffer unless funding was allocated Lord Harris of Haringey assessed [UK Sport's funding] approach has an inherent bias against team sports, and fails to help emerging sport”

One of the main issues I have seen is still television coverage there is currently still not a platform for a multi sport programme like Grandstand or World of sport that is available on terrestrial channels why not on a Saturday there is over 8 hours devoted to football.

The simple reason is football relies on tv money sky have pumped in and the other channels have to keep up with that as much as possible cause they think they are out of touch if they don’t have it

Look at the winter Olympics as soon as team GB secured the Silver and Bronze in the curling rinks was booked full but how do they retain that interest is a constant headache for theses sports that get a influx after a successful games where they get to show off their sport once every 4 years. The total amount for the spending on the winter Olympic cycle was just over £13 million and to get 4 medals is a real achievement seeing we don’t have a full Bob Skeleton track.


In essence we are a not a winter nation like Norway or Sweden which are as they have to ski to school at the age of 4 have regular snow and consider it a way of life not like over here where the country stands still after 2 flakes fall.

So very unsurprising that they dominate in the cross country skiing & Biathlon so may have been a bit of surprise to them when a British cross country skier won the national championship in Norway


The total spend per person per year for the people who share the funding for snowboarding and skiing is just over £37,000 per person per year for 4 years here is the breakdown how the winter funding compares to the £264 million summer sport funding enjoyed for the period to London

Olympic Sport
Funding award (£)
Bobsleigh (combined) £3,304,250
Curling £2,055,100
Figure Skating £174,338
Short Track Speed Skating £2,953,400
Skeleton £3,447,600
Ski & Snowboard £1,509,950
Total £13,444,638
souce uk sport website

At the moment Field Hockey is now the soul team sport funded now by UK sport.

Why though UK sport doesn’t think we cant excel in team sports beyond me. Working in a team is a principle that should be encouraged form a early age as it builds good social skills if nothing else .

British Swimming has appealed about the decision about the funding for waterpolo and syncro and the decision will be given on a day when the GB waterpolo girls will be in Russia other sports don’t have a such a big governing body to fight their cause maybe someone should remind UK sport of Lord Harris of Haringeys words on what he mentioned in 2013

The big point I want to make in this is with out funding, helping to develop & more media coverage we will never get sports like Waterpolo where they once one on the top step of the podium