No medals, no money: UK Sport plays hardball with 2012 failures

 

Suggested Topics

The cheers of the crowd have barely died away but already minority sports that revelled in their moment in the Olympic sun are facing the realities of a tough future.

Britain fielded a handball team for the first time in the Olympics, while water polo returned for the first time in more than half a century. Neither is likely to feature as part of Team GB for the Rio Games in 2016, losing the funding they received to allow them to compete in London.

UK Sport, the body that distributes elite funding to Olympic sports, is in the process of determining how much each governing body should receive towards Rio – it has a pot of £508m to divide. Sports have to demonstrate that their teams or athletes are capable of winning medals in four years' time or, failing that, are able to qualify and finish in the top eight.

As the host nation Britain was able to enter every event in London, but for Rio sports like handball will have to qualify. Having lost every men's and women's match in London there is practically no chance of that. Under UK Sport's determined "no compromise" approach that means handball will not be funded again.

It is not only the "lesser" sports that face cuts. Swimming failed to meet its medal target and so will be given less public funding. It is a system that rewards success and it is one that has worked spectacularly well, helping deliver Britain's best Games result for more than a century.

Liz Nicholl, the chief executive of UK Sport, said: "Our aim is to make sure that when we make our Rio investments we invest in every sport that has medal potential. That for us is an absolute minimum. The starting point for handball and other sports that have been given host nation places is that they can qualify by right for the Olympics. If they can't be there they can't be supported to achieve a medal. That's what our no-compromise approach is about, that's the approach that works and we are not going to waver from that."

It is up to the governing bodies of handball, volleyball and water polo themselves to build on the publicity they garnered in London. UK Sport insists its role is to ensure Britain wins as many medals as possible – in other words it is entirely focused on elite sport. It is for each governing body to look to boost its profile, with the support of organisations like Sport England, which deals with grassroots sport and raising participation.

Ms Nicholl said: "Handball has had a fantastic opportunity to showcase its sport like never before. It has raised its profile and should attract a lot more participants – it should therefore generate more interest from the public and commercial sector. Every sport has to take responsibility itself for driving its own development to a point at which we can identify that it has a future medal opportunity. "We'd love to see in the future handball come through to where it can qualify by right. If they can show they can be on an upward trajectory to potential medals then we will be very happy to fund them. We will not be able to fund every sport."

Game over: The biggest losers

Handball

2012 funding £2,924,721

2012 performance Both the men's and women's team lost every game

2016 prospects Unlikely to receive any central funding towards the Rio Games

Water polo

2012 funding £2,928,039

2012 performance Men's and women's teams both finished last

2016 prospects Unlikely to receive any central funding towards Rio

Swimming

2012 funding £25,144,600

2012 performance One silver and two bronze medals left them short of their target of five to seven medals

2016 prospects Will still receive sizeable funding for Rio but not at the same level as for London

Related article from London's Evening Standard...

Tom Daley: I want gold in 2016, I'll be at my peak then

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco

Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...

by Gareth Purnell

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

iBet: Rose has the ammunition for Wentworth

McDowell did brilliantly to land the World Match Play title in Bulgaria last week, but it’s a format...

by Gareth Purnell

       

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again