Monday, January 17, 2011

Savage cuts could destroy Games heritage

Scottish sport leading bodies face slashing cuts of tens of thousands of pounds from their operating and coaching budgets, compromising medal targets for the 2014 Common wealth Games in Glasgow and jeopardising legacy aspirations. They say job losses are predictable, and some sports are unable to appoint coaches for which money had previously been committed. The management board of sportscotland unanimously approved the cuts at a meeting in Stirling 10 days before Christmas, but many governing bodies have yet to learn the detail. Sportscotland insist the cuts are “not set in stone”, but table tennis has already met the national agency. “We have been informed that our budget is to be reduced from £174,000 last year to £63,000,” said chairman Jonathan Whitaker.

“Development and elite performance budgets have both been savaged. “There are 17 sports on the 2014 Common wealth programme for Glasgow, and nine of them are projected to lose more than £345,000.Another nine sports not involved in 2014 are scheduled to lose more than £124,000. Among those is archery – which was on the Delhi programme where targets were not met. It is currently projected to lose £80,000 of the £97,000 it received last year. Lacrosse and sub aqua will forfeit some two thirds of their total budgets. A sportscotland spokesman said last night: “These are indicative facts and are due to be considered again in February.”

Reductions, which it’s feared will dilute and in some cases wipe out the legacy potential of the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealths in Glasgow, are not due to the economic climate, insisted sportscotland, although a significant part of the cuts have also been influenced by slashed funding for UK coaching.Most sports – including some which have yet to hear officially and are due to meet with the national agency in the next couple of weeks – are unwilling to comment, fearing further repercussions. But they claim that partnership managers, through whom they liase with sportscotland, have not been correctly consulted, and despite assurances, they speak of a lack of right of appeal.

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