Additional €1.3million in High Performance Impact Funding Announced
Sport Ireland today published its new High Performance Strategy 2021-2032, a long term plan for the Irish high performance system over the next three Olympic and Paralympic cycles.
A robust and comprehensive period of consultation and research underpinned the development of the Strategy which sets out the ambition and vision for high performance sport in Ireland. The Strategy will be delivered in partnership with the broader high performance community and is based on the philosophy that athletes and the people who support them are at the heart of everything.
Sport Ireland has identified investment in coaching as the key to delivering its new High Performance Strategy and has appointed renowned athletics coach Stephen Maguire to lead a transformation of Irish coaching over the next ten years.
The review of the Rio Games 2016 highlighted the importance of Governance and the direct impact on performance. The Strategy will place an emphasis on the governance of High Performance Programmes over the next period.
Globally the lesson from high performance sport is that culture matters. The welfare of athletes and of everyone involved in High Performance Sport will be central to the strategy and no short cuts will be taken in order to achieve ambitious goals. Sport Ireland has developed the Culture Evolution Programme which will be expertly guided by John Donnelly. This programme will support National Governing Bodies as they seek to protect and maximise the experience of athletes, coaches, and support staff.
Coinciding with the launch of the High Performance Strategy are advancements to the International Carding Scheme. This Scheme, which provides direct funding to athletes, will see a number of positive changes including an increase of award amounts; the introduction of a team funding model; security of funding in 2023 and 2024; and financial and service support for retiring athletes. These welcomed advancements will ensure Ireland provides a world-leading and comprehensive support model to high performance athletes.
High performance sport will be further supported by the announcement of €1.3million in funding in 2021 as part of Round 1 of the High Performance Impact Funding Programme. This fund will support NGBs with immediate and confirmed costs to high performance programmes specifically relating to the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Future rounds of HP Impact Funding for Paris 2024 will be delivered in quarter three and four of 2021. NGBs have applied to Sport Ireland for funding where they have incurred costs relating to Tokyo 2020 (2021) which are beyond the scope of High Performance Programme funding and other performance programme resources.
Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy commented: “High performance sport in Ireland has made substantial progress in recent years as evidenced by the consistent podium and top ten finishes achieved by Irish athletes and teams on the international stage. The public response to this success demonstrates a real appetite to see Ireland’s high performance system continue to advance. It is sustained investment over many years that has brought increased level of success across the system. The time is right to provide further investment to move to the next level.
“The National Governing Bodies of sport have carried out considerable work to progress their own programmes and with the partnership agreement in place between Sport Ireland and both the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland, our athletes will be well prepared heading in to Tokyo and subsequent Olympic and Paralympic Games. World class facilities and equipment is one of the strategic pillars of the Strategy. The Sport Ireland Campus is a major statement of the commitment to high performance sport and in will be further developed and expanded in the coming years to really deliver the best possible facilities for existing and emerging athletes. This strategy sets out a blueprint to build on the work already achieved and make sustainable improvement to the system and across our high performance sports. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of this collaborative work in the years to come and the development of future generations of talented athletes”.
and the Summary Document available HERE