The recent €1.5m into High-Performance sport has been given a broad welcome, but both sailing and rowing got a share well below their medal-winning performances in Rio. It means these sports will most likely view the announcement as the proverbial curate's egg writes David O'Brien
In making the announcement, Sport Ireland says it identified strategic requirements and specific needs within the High-Performance system, not all of which could be addressed in the 2018 funding allocations. These requirements, it says, were to be a priority should any additional funding become available. The allocations announced 'address these needs' and 'reflect successes in performance from High-Performance sports in 2018'.
In total, seventeen organisations will benefit from this injection of funding with allocations ranging from €20,000 to €500,000.
All additional investment in sport has an immediate impact given how relatively underfunded Irish Olympic sports are compared to the nations we aspire to emulate (New Zealand being the country most often quoted).
However, this additional investment has, in many ways, raised more questions than answers.
It certainly begs the question why were both Rowing and Sailing viewed as low as (equal) eighth in the ranking in terms of their programme needs (see list below)?
It would seem a strange decision given that both these sports had delivered Ireland’s only Olympic medals in 2016.
According to Sport Ireland, the €40k awarded to sailing is to 'support Sailing’s planned training camp to Japan this September'. Significant contact hours in an established base at the Games’ location has been identified as a critical success factor to Sailing’s Olympic preparations.
It could be argued that when you include the capital allocation these sports received they both did very well. Sailing received €160k, and Rowing received €90k. However, this does not explain the full picture. Most of the other sports have their capital requirements met through the Sports Campus initiative in Abbotstown.
The boxing and gymnastics facilities are world class, for example, and were fully funded by the Exchequer.
Sailing needs to be based by the sea, and the sport had to raise its own money to provide a performance centre for its medal-winning athletes.
"Capital and programme expenditure need to be viewed as separate challenges"
While the sailors ultimately will be delighted to have a place they can call home lets not forget – or denigrate Irish Sailing's efforts – it is ultimately just three 40ft containers, hardly the envy of competing nations.
The association has to be praised for getting on with its business but whatever way you look at it, it does seem to be a disadvantage not to be based in Abbotstown.
Irish Sailing's High-Performance Director James O'Callaghan told Afloat.ie: “Transformational investment is exactly what is needed for sport in Ireland identified with the potential to deliver. We congratulate Hockey Ireland on being the first sport to receive such a transformative investment. It is a paradigm shift on what has happened heretofore and we hope it reflects future Sport Ireland strategy. There are definitely two or three more Olympic sports in Ireland that could raise the bar with such a focused investment. Although biased, we would consider Sailing to be one of those sports"
Some sports are capital intensive, Sailing, Rowing and Cycling are probably the three that stand out (if you do not include animals).
There is no point in having brand new equipment without athletes that are supported by coaches helping them to get better.
The inverse is also true. There is no point in investing in high-quality coaches and sports science support if the athletes are competing in second-rate equipment.
Until capital expenditure and programme expenditure are viewed as separate challenges for the sports mentioned, it seems they will remain forever stuck between two stools.
As a result, yesterday's announcement, just two years from the Tokyo Olympic regatta, will be bittersweet for sailing.
Funding Allocations:
Hockey Ireland - €500,000
Horse Sport Ireland - €175,000
Olympic Council of Ireland - €175,000
Paralympics Ireland - €100,000
Gymnastics Ireland - €75,000
Swim Ireland - €75,000
Athletics Ireland - €50,000
Irish Athletic Boxing Association - €50,000
Confederation of Golf in Ireland - €40,000
Cricket Ireland - €40,000
Cycling Ireland - €40,000
Irish Sailing - €40,000
Rowing Ireland - €40,000
Triathlon Ireland - €30,000
Badminton Ireland - €25,000
Irish Judo Association - €25,000
Irish Taekwondo Association - €20,000
