The Olympics was held in Athens in 2004, with Great Britain finishing in tenth place, winning a total of thirty (30) medals consisting of nine gold, nine silver, and twelve bronze. (Olympic results, 2009) Three of the total nine gold medals came from track and field. Great Britain was successful in the 1500 and 800 meters won by Kelly Holmes and the 4 x 100 metres won by the men. (Olympic results, 2009)
According to Hill (2007), Arnold stated that after competing at the games of 1996, many athletes would simply return to their former careers. This highlighted the need for greater funding to match the athletes needs. It often took six to eight years to maximize an athletes potential it is not easy to produce future champions, and a delay in the release of additional funding will only prolong the developmental process.
Before 1998, the British Olympic team did not receive any official or state funding it merely relied on private donations and fund raising. This included an appeal in the USA to raise 2 million dollars prior to the 1996 games so that Great Britain could send a full team. (Hill, 2007)
It is vital to have a systematic application of high standard sports science and coaching to squads of full-time athletes in order to achieve success at elite levels of competition. This was the first recognition by the authorities in the UK which stemmed from a policy document entitled Sport Raising the Game, which was published prior to the games of 1996 by the Prime Minister John Major and Sports Minister Ian Sprout. (Hill, 2007)
UK sport is the UKs high performance sports agency, operating under the motto working in partnership to lead sport in the UK to world class success. (uksport.gov, 2009) Since funding began in May 1997 (see Figure 1), the amount of funding each sport has received from UK Sports World Class Performance Programme are as follows (uksport.gov.uk, 2009)
Figure 1. Funding Figures (uksport.gov, 2009).
Sydney and Athens Olympiad figures relate only to podium level funding. Sports councils were responsible for supporting development and talent level activities in their nations during that time. (uksport.gov, 2009)
These figures reflect the total package of performance funding from talent to podium which became the responsibility of UK Sport on the 01 April, 2006. Sports science and medicine, which were not previously incorporated as part of a sports funding award, were now included in the cost of the figures. (uksport.gov, 2009)
Home nation sports councils funded governing bodies of sports administered on a home nation basis within the UK respectively prior to 01 April, 2006. (uksport.gov, 2009)
In the early 1990s, Pickup (1996) described the gradual increase in investment in the National Coaching Foundation (NCF) and the working relationship with the Sports Council. The organization immediately became very active in promoting coach education. It rapidly increased its range of interests, facilitating a national system of accredited coach education materials and awards training coach educators publishing materials to support education establishing a network of National Coaching Centers hosting workshops and conferences liaising with NGBs and other agencies and taking a promotion and advocacy role. The Champion Coaching Programme was a notable success when it started in 1990-91. (Lyle, 2003)
The Youth Sport Trust, established in 1994, is a registered charity that aims to build brighter future for the young people. This noble endeavor is achieved by enhancing the quality of young peoples physical education (PE) and sporting opportunities. Youth Sport Trust wanted to increase young peoples participation and enjoyment of PE and school sports. The organization aims to provide the young people with an opportunity to experience and enjoy different types of activity suitable to their age ensure that youngsters receive the best teaching, coaching and resources possible provide them the chance to further develop their potentials and to help young people live healthy and active lives and to be the best they can be. (youthsporttrust.org, 2009)
The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) is a unique partnership between Educational Institutions and National Governing Bodies setting out to maintain a balance between academic life and training as a performance athlete. (tass.gov.uk, 2009)
Athletes are provided with tailor made package services from TASS comprising of services such as Coaching, Strength and Conditioning, Talented Athlete Lifestyle Support, Physiotherapy, Sports Medicine, and support with competition and training expenses. (tass.gov.uk, 2009)
Istvan Balyi developed the athletic performance model, known as the Long Term Athletic Development model (LTAD) in the1990s that exists until the present. From five stages in 2001 to six in 2004, the LTAD has been developed. (sportdevelopment.org.uk, 2007) The first issue of FHS in September 1998 included an article about Long term planning. This was the first of three articles which Istvan Balyi described as his Long Term Athletic Development Mode Training to Train Training to Compete Training to Win. However, for most sports he admitted that his original model was not correct, and that it was missing a key vital component - the initial FUNdamental phase on which the others are built. (mmu.ac.uk, 2009)
An article written in the summer of 2001 by Istvan Balyi for the Canadian publication Coaches Report explained his LTAD Model (now adopted by British Columbia) and highlighted the key problems and issues with their existing sports system. (mmu.ac.uk, 2009)
Scientific evidence has revealed that for a talented playerathlete to reach elite levels, it would take about 8-12 years of training. This adds up to slightly more than three hours of practice daily for ten years referred to as the ten year or 10,000 hour rule. (sportdevelopment.org.uk, 2004)
Early specialization and late specialization sports are general sports classifications. Some sports such as diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and table tennis require sport-specific specialization in training, early specialization refers to this fact. (sportdevelopment.org.uk, 2004)
Track and field, combative sports, cycling, racquet sports, rowing and all team sports are late specialization sports requiring a generalized approach to early training. For these sports, the emphasis during the first two phases of training (see Figure 2) should be on the development of motor and technical-tactical skills. A four-phase model is required for early specialization sports while a six-stage model is required for late specialization sports. (sportdevelopment.org.uk, 2004)
Figure 2. Specialization Model (sportdevelopment.org.uk, 2004)
Commentary by Roberts and Treasure on childrens motivation for sport might have particular relevance for coaches considering how their practice with children, who have yet to become committed to performance sport, might be more appropriately sensitized. This is particularly important given the continued interest in the formulation of formalized talent identification and talent development schemes (TID) in the UK. Current interests in the UK regarding TID (e.g. a proposed pilot by Scottish Sports Council, 1998) appear to be based on experiences learned from the Australian Sports Search model. In this model, judgments are made on childrens physical potential for sport by a testing protocol linking test achievements, developmental norms and anticipated sports potential to a computer database. (Cross and Lyle, 1999)
In 1995 Sports Minister Ian Sprout stated in a document that the Sports Council would withdraw from the promotion of mass participation and informal recreation (Hill, 2007 pg 37). This was a clear shift of policy which put high performance at the centre of sports development in the UK. Houlihan and White (2002) reported that commitment to establish an elite sports training centre in the form of a British Academy of Sport, modeled on the successful Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) at Canberra, was the centerpiece of this policy statement. (Hill, 2007)
The government supported the view that the only means whereby Britain can achieve success in the global arena was through a systematic and professional approach. Tony Blaire stated that we must have the most professional system for talent development and support of excellence and that we should learn lessons from our competitor nations. Fourteen-year-olds with the most talent would be identified and offered a place at one of the sports colleges which in turn would be linked to the UKSI network. (Hill, 2007)
Most of the ideas for the new academy had been based on the successful AIS, and this created problems. The AIS only worked successfully as a finishing school because there was a strong and well organized network below it encouraging grass-roots level and developing skills systematically and picking off the best talent. (Hill, 2007) The conclusion by Bent et al. (2001) suggested that what they saw dazzled Ian Sprout and his advisors. By paying less attention to what they could not see, they failed to grasp the importance of the people part of the mix. (Hill, 2007)
The UK was far away from introducing a well-structured system of support for its elite athletes, and it was not until the spring of 1999 that a new plan was unveiled. (Hill, 2007)
Set up in 2005 the English Institute of Sport (EIS) is a nationwide network of sport science and sports medical services, designed to foster the talents of elite athletes. (eis2win.co.uk, 2009)
Athletes out of the EIS High Performance Centres can still access expert services such as sports medicine, physiotherapy, soft tissue therapy, nutrition, psychology, biomechanics, performance analysis, talent identification, strength and conditioning and performance lifestyle. (eis2win.co.uk, 2009)
In 2008 after the Beijing Olympic Games, Great Britain came out as overall fourth place in the medals tally, winning a total of forty seven (47) medals consisting of nineteen gold, thirteen silver, and fifteen bronze. (olympic.org, 2009)
These are the areas (see Figure 3) where Great Britain won medals.
Figure 3. Medalists (results.beijing, 2008)
From the above data, it is evident that Great Britain excelled in cycling, with a total of eight medals, five of which were gold. Great Britain also did well in rowing, sailing and swimming as a matter of fact, it won medals in said sports. Surprisingly, Great Britain did not do well in athletics, winning only one gold medal in the womens 400 meter race. UK athletics has declined alarmingly since the last re-organization of UK athletics in 1997. UK finished 4th in the World Track and Field Championships in 1997, in 2001 they fell to the 9th place, 11th in 2003 and 16th in 2005. (British athletics clubs, 2006)
However, another re-organization is being undertaken in the athletics field in the UK with the imminent 2012 London Olympics. Many leading clubs and authorities have challenged the proposed changes, believing that the approach to developing athletics in the UK has been, and continues to be, misguided, costly and ineffective. (British athletics clubs, 2006)
Since UKA took over governance of athletics in 1997, the amount of funding reaching grass roots has been appallingly small. This is in complete contrast to the situation in France, Sweden and the USA. The performances of UK athletes and UK teams have also declined rapidly since 1997 (british athleticsclubs, 2006).
In contrast to athletics, cyclists have been very successful and have been achieving highest levels of success. Their success has been attributed to the inspirational leadership of the national performance director at the Sydney Olympics, Peter Keen and Dave Brailsford, in charge since 2003, who have recruited some of the worlds best coaches and sports scientists. Jan Van Eijden, a German former world sprint champion, and Scot Gardner, an Australian who was recognized as the worlds leading sprint sports scientist, are working closely with Pendleton. These are two of Brailsfords most recent signings who typify the quality of their team. (independent.co.uk, 2008)
In every conceivable field Brailsford believes in seeking an advantage, particularly in the areas of nutrition, fitness medicine, coaching, tactics, psychology and technology. Sixteen years ago on a revolutionary bike, Chris Boardman won Olympic gold. He heads a research and development team that strives constantly to make the British bikes go faster. For his riders to spring a surprise in Beijing, Brailsford deliberately held back some technical innovations in Manchester (independent.co.uk, 2008).
The table (see figure 4) outlines the investment that sports will receive for the London Olympiad. The total package is represented by each figure over the four year period up to April 2013 (uksport.gov.uk, 2009).
Figure 4. Latest Funding Figures. (uksport.gov.uk, 2009).
In conclusion, a lot has been set in place to improve the success of Great Britain on the national stage. Before 1999 funding was hard to come by, authorities in the UK acknowledged that without a systematic application of high standard sport, success at elite levels of competition could no longer be achieved.
UK Sport UKs high performance sports agency began funding in May 1997.
Derived from The National Coaching Foundation, the Champion Coaching Programme was a notable success in 1990-91.
Charities such as Sports Trust established in 1994 helped to enhance young peoples participation and enjoyment of PE and school sport.
The Talent Athlete Scholarship Scheme provides athletes with tailor made package services.
Istvan Balyis Long Term Athlete Development model looked at the long term development of junior to senior athletes with the specialization model.
Talent identification was based on Australias successes which did not work for Great Britain.
Other recent institutes such as The English Institute of Sport have helped with expert services.
Recent funding has seen large amounts of money being spent on the more successful sports such as cycling, rowing, canoeing, sailing, and swimming. Athletics is still heavily funded despite the lack of success and potential sports such as boxing and gymnastics are now allocated with more funding.
In the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, Great Britain finished as overall fourth place in the medals tally. Cycling was the area in which Great Britain excelled the most.
Gauging from the recent developments, Great Britain is likely to improve in sport. There have been mistakes in the past that did not result to positive outcomes, but these mistakes can help towards avoiding similar ones. Overall tenth place at the Athens Olympics in 2004 to overall fourth place at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 proves that progress has been made.
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