 Poster: A snowHead
|
Funding for the run-up to the next Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 years has been announced this week, and sking and snowboarding are going to lose out. For example, UK Sport has announced all funding for snowboarding is to be withdrawn. This is a major setback for the Olympic ambitions of Zoe Gillings, who came 8th in the snowboard cross event in Vancouver. ...British Ski and Snowboard (BSS) were notified on Thursday of their funding for the next 4 years. While snowboarding and skiing have lost out, curling, women's bobsleigh and skeleton will receive increased funding.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/9275848.stm
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
who actually gives a monkeys about curling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
rambotion, people who participate in it. And if your funding principle is that medals get you money, it deserves it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Who was it on snowHeads who said that certain foreign countries' approach to both summer and winter Olympics was devious and underhand in targeting low participation events they could win medals in more easily?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Its a bit of a catch 22 or is it catch 33, no medals no funding:~/ 
Does anyone know if UK Sport actively looks for skiers and snowboards who could be World Class?? I know a few kids who are very good its just that they do not live in the UK they live in the Alps all year!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
livetoski, Anyone registered as GBR with FIS who races and scores FIS ranking points is on the BSS (Britsh Skiing & Snowboarding) watch list regardless of where they are based. At the moment most of the top GBR skiers in all age groups for FIS points are UK based. There are just a few of the 1st & 2nd year Juniors (age 15 & 16) who are based in the alps. There are more who are in the children's age group (11-14) but they would not be considered for funding until they start scoring FIS points.
UK Sport do not look at individual athletes from each sport themselves. They have meetings with each governing body for all sports to put their own case forward for funding against targets set. Just number cruching by civil servants really. If you don't meet the target you don't get the money, regardless of any talent coming through.
I will give you a case in point. TJ Baldwin (GB No 1 Junior) was world junior ranked No 11 in SC, No 21 in SG & No 33 in DH. He would have been in any other alpine nation's Junior ski team apart from maybe Austria, with full funding. How much did he get from UK sport?
Zip, Nil, Nowt, Zero.
He is now trying to race the Nor-Am/Europa cup programme and part of the World Cup programme on a complete shoestring.
There are probably others in lots of other winter sports just like him - except for all those hundreds of young kids that do skeleton on their gold plated sledges!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| rambotion wrote: |
| who actually gives a monkeys about curling? |
A lot of people in Scotland participate in curling it has to be said and I'll bet there a hell of a lot more people who are involved in that sport than in bobsleigh!
Although it may be logical (to a target setting bureaucrat) to put all the money into sports that performed at the last winter olympics and other events it leaves sports that have vastly higher participation rates like skiing and boarding completely high and dry and with no funding mechanism to train and support the next generation of elite athletes e.g. TJ Baldwin in the example above. A lot of money was pumped into curling in the four years prior to Vancouver and what did we get ... zilch ... so there's no guarantee that success will follow, particularly in low participation sports.
Personally I think it's very sad to see snowsports left with no funding, after all should we not be encouraging young people to get involved in these sports? There are domes and dry slopes all over the country as well as the increasingly popular Scottish ski areas so we're not even talking about people having to travel outwith the UK to initially get involved in contrast to something like the bobsleigh disciplines. This decision smacks of elitism and medal chasing (in sports with low participation rates) and I personally feel it is wrong!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ