The Irish Sports Council has announced €1.57 million in direct grant funding for individual athletes during the course of 2015. A total of 20 athletes are on the top or podium level which benefits from a grant from central funding of €40,000.
These include boxers Katie Taylor, Michael Conlon, Paddy Barnes and Joe Ward, race walker Rob Heffernan, Martin Irvine in cycling, Aileen Reid in Triathlon, Annalise Murphy in sailing, Michael McKillop, Jason Smyth and Orla Barry from Paralympic athletics, Ellen Keane, Darragh McDonald, Laurence Mcgovern and James Scully in Paralympic swimming, Colin Lynch, Mark Rohan, Katie George Dunlevy and Eoghan Clifford from Paralympic cycling.
Paralympic
Paralympic athletes are the biggest beneficiary taking in a total of €322,000 across athletics and swimming including four more at international level of €12,000 in addition to those listed above.
Cycling is the biggest gainer this year reflecting greater success and potential on the global stage and garnering €204,000 among 12 athletes.
Boxing is down this year to €204,000 but only through this particular scheme. A number of previous recipients have now turned professional and different criteria for funding individuals is being worked out through discussions between the Irish Amateur Boxing Association and the Irish Sports Council. Semi pro competitions across Europe have muddied the waters in terms of the criteria previously applied, and there has been tension between the two bodies over the most appropriate pot to fund junior athletes from.
Outside of boxing there is a greater unanimity emerging about the logic behind why different athletes should receive particular levels of funds.
Athletics, Swimming and Sailing’s governing bodies took over the determination of grants themselves in 2014 and they will be followed this year by Badminton, Triathlon, Rowing and Cycling.
Fit for Purpose
These have all passed ‘fit for purpose’ criteria regarding planning, integration, governance, anti-doping and high performance as outlined in a review of the funding of individual athletes in 2012.
“The Irish Sports Council is pleased with the successful transfer of the Carding Scheme for Athletics, Sailing and Swimming as it has strengthened the high performance system in those sports,” said CEO John Treacy.
“It has opened the way for the next phase of transition. We must continue to develop our High Performance system so that we can be competitive in international sport, and the refinement of the Carding Scheme is an essential element of that process”.
“This investment will support our most talented athletes, many of whom are on the qualifying path towards Rio 2016,” added Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring.
“In addition to the direct investment, athletes will also have access to science, medicine and lifestyle support services through the Irish Sports Council’s Institute of Sport”.
Investment
The direct funding to athletes is on top of an investment so far this year in high performance sport of €9.6 million through specific grants paid to 21 individual sports and investment in shared services through the Institute of Sport at the National Sports Campus.
That money is intended to deliver on the biggest stage of Rio 2016 and at the competitions that build up to that through the Olympic cycle. Yesterday we reported an analytics company predicting we would win three gold medals at the Games, which would be a great reward and our best achievement to date, on a par with Atlanta ’96 when we took three Gold medals through Michelle Smith.
These are different times and competition is fierce. Money is not the only way that medals can be achieved. Singapore offered $800,000 to any athlete who could win Gold at London 2012 but none came close.
The Irish scheme is closely aligned now with what individual sports believe will deliver the best chance.
Decisions
Grant funding will always cause fractiousness but until there is an unlimited amount decisions will have to be made. That this should be done by the sports themselves is reflected in the fact that Athletics Ireland will this year increase the number of athletes it is funding from 87 to 118.
The levels are based on strict potential and while only Heffernan is deemed to have that Podium potential to merit €40,000 the number at the next level, deemed ready to make the next step and receiving €20,000 has increased from one in 2014 to five this year, including Mark English (pictured) who would hope to progress further over the next 12 months after success in Europe
“Overall we are very pleased with the funding secured for the High Performance programme allowing for the appropriate support to be given to athletes in what is a key year on the road to Rio 2016 as well as those athletes who will be looking to Tokyo 2020,” said Athletics Ireland performance Director Kevin Ankrom.
“The support received is also a reflection of how we are on track to delivering the medal opportunities identified in the High Performance Strategic Plan and we are starting to see returns in terms of the investment with more athletes coming in at the entry level of carding and progressing through the system.”
Image Credit: Inpho.ie
