The Irish Sports Council has published a detailed review of what went right for London 2012 and what could be improved in the High Performance programmes of Irish Sports governing bodies.
The review was carried out by a UK consultancy, Knight Kavanagh Page, and entailed interviews with 122 individuals across 15 sports, all bar tennis and hockey of which had sent athletes to the Olympics last time round.
There are specific recommendations for each of the sports as well as a group of generic improvements which the report, now approved by the Irish Sports Council, believes should be implemented across these and other Irish sports.
With regard to those that are of particular relevance to the crossover between sport and business that we are primarily concerned with, it is heartening to note that business planning, and the effective building of commercial sponsorship programmes features prominently as a key target within the governance role of Sports bodies.
A greater focus on communication, both for athletes and programmes is highlighted. This will also be of benefit in terms of giving sponsors what they require, access to a coherent and effective channel through which brand messages can be aligned to sporting effort and achievement.
“This report gives us a useful insight into Ireland’s preparations for the London Olympic Games, and the final strong performance by Team Ireland,” said Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD. “There are useful lessons in here for all of us.”
“The individual sports are well aware of the key message s within the London Debrief,” added John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council. “Recommendations are already embedded into the planning system for 2013 and beyond. London was a positive experience for Irish sport but to sustain that position and build on it will require a renewed collaborative effort from everyone involved”.
A full copy of the Olympic Debrief Report can be downloaded here.
Over the coming weeks, Sport for Business will consider some of the sport specific recommendations and look at how commercial support might both produce a stronger performance on the field of play as well as a better return on the investment from business.
