Joint Committee on Transport & Communications

Presented by Kieran Mulvey, Chairman and John Treacy Chief Executive

 

Chairman, Distinguished Members of the Committee;

Introduction

Thank you for this opportunity to address the committee on the matter of the High Performance Review undertaken following London 2012.

The Irish Sports Council was established in 1999 with one of its statutory obligations was the development of high performance sport in Ireland. Among the critical mechanisms for the development of the high performance system have been the various post-Olympics Reviews that were undertaken and variously known as The Sydney Review, the Athens Review and the Beijing Review.

Each of these documents, while distinctive, have shared the traits of being honest, collaborative and ambitious. Each one set out a series of recommendations which served as the operational plan for the Irish Sports Council and its partners for the next four years.

Crucially, the full implementation of those recommendations, supported by considerable resources from the State and a level of cooperation amongst all the relevant agencies, has resulted in a significant improvement in the performances of Ireland at various international events.

 

Metrics

The key metric here is the number of medals, or podium places, achieved across all supported programmes. In the four years up to Athens Ireland achieved 54 medals, in the Beijing cycle it was 70 medals and in the London cycle it was 163 medals. This included 61 medals in 2012 at European, World, Olympic and Paralympic level.

That is a measurable and unambiguous improvement across the Irish high performance system, system over the last 12 years.

Prior to the Olympic Games, the Council had set a target of 9 finalists or equivalent and 3 medals for the Olympic Team. The final outcome for Irish athletes in London was 5 medals and 14 top 10s. This equals Ireland's best ever medal total, with Ireland 41st on the medal table rankings. This compares to 61st in Beijing. Overall, Team Ireland produced 27 top 16 performances in London - this compares to 19 in Beijing.

Prior to the Paralympics, the Council had set a target of 5 medals for the Paralympic Team, of which 3 should be Gold. The final outcome for Irish athletes in London was 16 medals, of which 8 were Gold. Ireland finished 19th on the medal table rankings.

 

Investment

It is important to mention the levels of investment provided in that time. Grants allocated for High Performance sport just exceeded €15 million in the Athens cycle, €33 million in the Beijing cycle and €37 million in the London cycle. The equivalent figure for 2013 is €8.5 million.

In high performance sport there is a clear link between investment and success. It is a highly competitive and expensive business especially for a small country such as Ireland that seeks to compete across a wide range of sports. That said, the return on well-invested resources is considerable.

For clarity, none of what has been achieved can be done without the support of the Exchequer. The Irish Sports Council appreciates the support offered on an ongoing basis by the Government and in particular by the Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Mr Michael Ring TD . Our colleagues in the Department must also be acknowledged for their unstinting support and excellent work on behalf of Irish sport.

 

Characteristics of the System

The system that is delivering these improved results has the following components;

• There are a number of identified sports, National Governing Bodies or NGBs, which are capable of delivering sustained and repeated success at international level. Each sport has a dedicated high performance function which is led by a Performance Director.
• The Irish Sports Council's High Performance Unit provides support to the sport. Funding is in two major blocks; Performance Planning & International Carding Scheme and more detail is given later.
• The Institute of Sport, an operational unit of the Council, provides high quality services to the sport and athletes.
• There is an all-island dimension with high levels of collaboration with Sport NI and SINI (Sport Northern Ireland the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland).
• There are Operational Agreements and functioning working groups with the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland.
• A High Performance Committee provides strategic overview of this system. Senator Eamon Coghlan chaired this Committee throughout the London cycle and we want to thank him for his outstanding contribution.
• Funding decisions are taken by the board of the Irish Sports Council.  

 

Irish Sports Council Support Mechanisms

There are four key mechanisms being used by the Irish Sports Council to improve the system.

Before we detail those mechanisms it is important to make the following point. All investment and activity in high performance sport is based on the fundamental ethical foundation of clean sport. The Irish Sports Council operates the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Programme and is very proud that it is acknowledged as one of the best in the world. This reputation is hard-earned and should give re-assurance to the sports family and wider community of the integrity of our athletes.

Firstly is the Performance Planning system. The designated high performance sports , such as athletics, boxing and sailing, receive funding to implement their Performance Plans. These Plans, which are devised and implement by the sports' Performance Directors, are agreed with the Irish Sports Council and the Institute of Sport and where it applies, with Sport NI and SINI. They are detailed and technical documents which set out the full range of activities in the area of high performance in a given year across all disciplines and age ranges . To date 16 sports bodies have been allocated €5.5 million to support their Performance Plans in 2013.

Secondly, there is the International Carding Scheme which is the mechanism of direct funding to athletes. Funding is allocated across a number of sports under various categories based on agreed performance criteria. This direct funding allows athletes train and compete at the level required to be competitive at the top international level. In 2013 86 athletes will receive individual grants totalling €1.7 million under the Scheme

Thirdly, the Irish Institute of Sport provides sports science and medicine services to high performance athletes and sports. Based at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, the Institute develops performance systems, provides science and medical services and is actively engaged in the development of the people engaged in high performance sport in Ireland.

We believe the Institute made a major contribution in the last 4 years and will continue to drive improvements in the Irish system. Crucially it has created a hub for Irish athletes and assures them that they can stay in Ireland and achieve world standard based at home.
In 2012 the Institute delivered over 2000 hours of direct service, to 166 athletes from 18 sports and provided over 10,000 additional hours in the field working with athletes, coaches and national governing bodies.

Fourthly, the Council supports the work of the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland. In 2013 the two bodies receive grant support of €412,000 and €910,000 respectively. Above and beyond that, the working relationship between the agencies has never been better and delivers something of value for the sports bodies and the athletes. London 2012 demonstrated that all of the various sports agencies can work productively together.

Paralympics Ireland is not present today. It is important to acknowledge the excellence of their work in the preparation of their athletes for London 2012. It has been observed that the London Games brought Paralympic sport into the mainstream and it has taken up a permanent place in the affections of the public. We hope and believe that is true. Paralympics Ireland, both administrators and athletes, make a very major contribution to the development of the global movement and we are very proud of their achievements.

London 2012 was the culmination of many years work. The team exceeded the long term targets set for Ireland. Everyone involved was delighted at the standard of performance, not just by the outstanding medal winners but by all the team. It was the best organised Olympic team and that was apparent before, during and after the Games.

 

Transition Programme

One of the most important issues impacting athletes is how they handle the transition to a regular lifestyle after competing at a high level. This has emerged as major issue for athletes in Ireland, and elsewhere, and has an impact on their performance in sport and, importantly, on their wellbeing in life after sport.

The Athlete Performance Transition Programme was a major initiative developed by the Institute that was launched prior to the London Games. It was designed to support athletes through the process of qualification, competing and returning from the Games.

The Programme provided post-games support to over 70 Olympic and Paralympic athletes; this included individual and group debriefing, workshops, medical checks and referrals, performance planning and career planning.

Many athletes benefitted from the programme and, in our view, it represents a significant advance on what was available in the past.

 

Preparing for Rio and Beyond

We were keenly aware of the risks of operating in four year cycles. Work commenced in 2011 on planning for 2016 so that there would be a seamless transition into the next cycle. . There were three key components to that project.

• Firstly, a new Performance Planning template was devised.
• Secondly, a fundamental review of the International Scheme was undertaken.
• Thirdly, there was a wide ranging debrief of all the sports that participated in London 2012.

The new Performance Planning system is in place. It is robust and looks to the medium and long term. The new system sets out plans up to Rio 2016 which has many benefits. Not least, the sports are not involved in a constant exercise of annual planning but instead can look to the longer term.

By its nature high performance sport is highly selective and must be focused on those sports can deliver success. However, it is also open to sports that can devise a compelling plan that can demonstrate potential to compete at Olympic level. The IRFU plan for Women's Sevens is an example and we are working with them in an interesting project to qualify an Irish team for Rio.

A fundamental root and branch review of the International Carding Scheme took place. Publication of the Review took place in the autumn. The Council is committed to the full implementation of the recommendations of the Review and that process has commenced. The 2013 Scheme was considerably changed from previous editions.

In brief, the concept of direct athlete funding is retained. However, it will be a more targeted scheme. Crucially, and consistent with the philosophy of a "sport-led", "performance-director led" system, the Scheme will transfer to the direct management of the individual sports.

 

Debrief from 2012 Olympic Games

The official "Debrief from 2012 Olympic Games" was published earlier this year. The Debrief was prepared by UK-based consultants on behalf of the Irish Sports Council. It carried out individual debriefs for each of the 15 national governing bodies involved. 122 people across the 15 sports were interviewed in the process.

The Olympic Council of Ireland was included in the consultation. Please note Paralympics Ireland carried out a separate debrief process.

The Debrief states that the overall performance in London by the Irish team was a marked improvement on recent Olympic Games. There is a broad consensus that the development and management of performance sport has improved substantially in recent years and in particular since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Of particular note are the following;

• Greater sophistication in planning
• Increased quality of service support
• Stronger relationships between the main agencies

It was also highlighted that pre-Games preparatory work improved substantially. Athletes consistently identified the pre-games camp as having a direct and positive impact on performance.

The Debriefs provide a series of recommendations; both generic for the system and individually for each sport. Again, there is a commitment to implementation of those recommendations which serve as an operational plan for the next cycle.

Clearly there is a lot of change underway. In summary the system is moving away from individual athlete and coach funding and preparation. The focus is on Performance Director-led systems.

There has been no rest since London and everyone the system is working hard to continue to build a sport system that delivers sustainable and repeatable success for Ireland.

 

Conclusion

Since London 2012 we have witnessed a series of outstanding performances in athletics, cycling, sailing, boxing and other sports that have delivered gold, silver and bronze medals and world and European level.

There are a lot of good things happening in Irish sport. The work does require substantial investment. The support of the Committee in securing that investment is greatly appreciated. As you can see Irish sport does deliver a big return for the taxpayer money provided.

 

Thank You