UK Sport wants to transfer GB Snowsport elite programme to Sport Org — The Guardian
In the United Kingdom, UK Sport wants to transfer GB Snowsport’s high-performance athlete programme to the newly created organisation Sport Org. The organisation could also be entrusted with responsibility for spending £12.5 million in lottery funding ahead of the 2030 Winter Olympics, The Guardian reports.
According to the publication, the initiative has raised concerns among leaders of national sports federations. GB Snowsport believes it should continue to be responsible for the elite programme, while one source described the dispute between the organisation and UK Sport as “total war”. At the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, GB Snowsport won two of Great Britain’s five gold medals.
Meeting with federations
UK Sport chief executive Sally Munday held a 75-minute video conference with chief executives and chairs of Olympic and Paralympic sports organisations. She assured them that UK Sport does not plan to transfer all or most sports to Sport Org.
Munday and UK Sport deputy director Simon Morton said the new structure was intended to improve spending efficiency and make specialist support easier to access. However, most sports leaders surveyed by The Guardian believed that the meeting either failed to answer key questions or raised new ones.
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Questions about the new structure
Sport Org was formed on the basis of British Curling and already draws on management experience and specialist resources in curling, wheelchair curling, para table tennis and squash. From 2030, it is also expected to work with bobsleigh and skeleton.
Representatives of smaller sports fear that Sport Org could take over management of their programmes, although they consider the experience of their own specialists important. Meeting participants also raised questions about the appointment of former British Curling chief Nigel Holl as Sport Org’s chief executive without an open competition, as well as the failure to renew the organisation’s board membership.
UK Sport said that Sport Org is an independent multi-sport organisation that works with programmes on behalf of national federations where this can improve their performance, efficiency and sustainability. At the same time, some sports leaders who spoke to The Guardian doubt the degree of Sport Org’s independence from UK Sport, as the latter will assess the results of programmes managed by the new structure.
