OLYMPIC officials have been forced to approach a City bank to secure a £1 million loan so that more competitors can start preparing properly for the 2012 Games in London after the Government’s failure to announce extra long-term funding. The bridging facility to help the smaller Olympic sports has so embarrassed ministers that they have asked for the scheme to be put on hold because the Treasury is expected to agree shortly what the long-term funding plans will be.
Details of the plans were being discussed on Monday, which marked 200 days since London secured the 2012 Games, with the national governing bodies optimistic that competitors would get the extra funding. Britain’s hopes of reaching the announced target of fourth place in the 2012 medals table suffered a setback last month when Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, failed to declare any extra funding in his annual spending round. Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, had been lobbying the Treasury for assurances that sports bodies could start preparing for 2012.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) has been seeking up to £100 million a year for the 720-strong team across all 26 sports included in the Summer Games. At present, the sum is about £48 million.
The BOA declined to comment yesterday on the approach to the bank, although its frustration was made clear seven weeks ago when Simon Clegg, the BOA chief executive, said that the present situation was “like entering an Olympic race with one hand tied behind our back”.
Many governing bodies are desperate to start employing coaches and back-up staff and it is understood that the money guaranteed by the bank will go to the smaller sports rather than to those activities for which funding and sponsorship are assured.
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Brian Stocks, the president of British Gymnastics, praised the BOA yesterday for its initiative in setting up the scheme with the bank, which has agreed to the no-interest loan because it believes that the risk is negligible. “It’s a brilliant idea,” Stocks said. “People will remember 2012 by the number of medals won, not by the magnificent buildings. In gymnastics, we do not automatically qualify as hosts; we have to go through the qualifying tournament in 2010. We have the money for the women’s (artistic gymnastics and trampolining) squads but not for the men’s. We need a properly funded programme now.”
David Sparkes, the chief executive of British Swimming, said: “In getting the Olympics, there was tremendous work by the Government. However, now it has to get behind the competitors. This is a bold step by the BOA as we need the commitment for things such as hiring coaches, which can take six months to achieve.”
The Amateur Swimming Association has ploughed £90,000 of its reserves into water polo so that England could participate in the Commonwealth Water Polo Championships that are taking place in Perth, Australia, at present.
Sparkes, who returned from the event yesterday, said: “We have had to start the process going for 2012. Water polo has not had a brass farthing in recent years, but we believe that the tournament and the pre-competition training camp in New Zealand were an excellent opportunity for the youngsters. We believe that, with funding, the British water-polo team could be competitive in 2012.”
However, whether this will be true of sports such as basketball, handball and volleyball, in which Britain have never qualified for the Games, will be discovered only over the next few years.