UK Sport is being pressured to justify levels of funding given to sports such as bobsleigh.GETTY IMAGES
Funding execs will meet next month to start a review into whether the £32M ($44.8M) handed out to Britain's Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports is the "best use of that money," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. UK Sport is "facing pressure to justify the level of funding given to sports such as bobsleigh and speed skating, which have tiny numbers participating, and yet not give a single penny to those such as the British basketball teams because they are unlikely to achieve Olympic success." A meeting of UK Sport's board next month will "kick-start the review" and the funding body said that it is "committed to an open consultation process." UK Sport's existing "no compromise" approach "solely targets medals and awards money based on likely success" -- it has "almost doubled" the £17.8M for winter sports from '14. Critics of the policy, which include members of the board, argue that funding many winter sports is "medal-chasing," which has "little effect on inspiring people to take up sport." UK Sport said that the review will not affect funding for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, as "any significant policy change" would come into effect after the Paris 2024 Summer Games (LONDON TIMES, 2/20).
