 Former GB swimmer Pickering competed in four consecutive Olympics |
The body that represents elite athletes in Britain has voiced serious doubts about a government scheme to plug the �50m hole in Team GB's 2012 finances. A British Athletes Commission (BAC) statement has criticised the "Medal Hopes" plan for its "lack of clarity". This comes after a government minister described it as "the only official way" for firms to back Team GB at the Games. "It is time the parties involved in 'Medal Hopes' provide detail," said BAC chair Karen Pickering. "We must ensure that the lack of clarity around this scheme does not deter organisations that want to invest in sport from doing so through other channels." "Medal Hopes" has been mired in controversy ever since it was announced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) earlier this year. Billed as a new plan to raise the �100m of private-sector money that Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged to elite sport in his final budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2006, it has failed to raise a single penny. That �100m was part of a proposed �600m package for Olympic and Paralympic sport in the six years building up to London 2012.  | It is clear that if a company wishes to sponsor an athlete for any level of exclusivity, 'Medal Hopes' is not the way to do this British Athletes Commission |
The other two sources of finance in the funding package, the National Lottery and the Treasury, were squeezed for extra contributions but when the budget for Team GB's London 2012 preparations was announced last week it was still �50m light. That meant eight Olympic and four Paralympic sports were effectively cut. DCMS remains philosophically committed to "Medal Hopes" (as Secretary of State Andy Burnham's recent endorsement of it would suggest) but it has further clouded the issue by handing responsibility for it to UK Sport, the government agency responsible for distributing public funding to elite sport. UK Sport has said it will fully review the scheme and continue to look for a solution to the fundraising gap. This will be done in partnership with DCMS, London 2012's organising committee (Locog) and Fast Track, the sports marketing firm Burnham belatedly called in to develop the "Medal Hopes" plan. Announcements on what happens next are expected early in 2009. In the meantime, "Medal Hopes" is the only plan on the table, although it has never been entirely clear what DCMS actually had to sell. The main proposition was that companies would be given access to Team GB members in return for their cash. All publically-funded athletes are contracted to give the National Lottery up to three days a year for promotional activities. In practice, however, only a select few are ever asked to do this, which means the vast majority of these days go unclaimed. "Medal Hopes" would change this. But even before the British economy hit the skids and interest from sponsors dried up, access to unknown rowers and swimmers was not the most attractive proposition. | The British Athletes Commission has been closely involved in the development of 'Medal Hopes', so we are surprised to hear they are confused |
It was also unclear how "Medal Hopes" would co-exist with the existing sponsorship arrangements of the athletes and sports themselves. There were further complications with what this would mean for Locog, which holds all the commercial rights to do with London 2012, and its lucrative sponsorship deals. It is this uncertainty the BAC has repeatedly pointed out, its most recent statement going further than any before. "(We) support the initiative to raise money from the commercial sector to fill the funding shortfall," it said. "But it is clear that if a company wishes to sponsor an athlete for appearances, image rights, endorsements and any level of exclusivity, 'Medal Hopes' is not the way to do this." Later on Thursday, a DCMS spokesman denied the government had ever suggested athletes or sports could not reach their own sponsorship deals and expressed bemusement at the BAC's outburst. "The British Athletes Commission has been closely involved in the development of 'Medal Hopes', so we are surprised to hear they are confused," he said. Much now depends on UK Sport, who have never appeared to be entirely convinced of the DCMS/Fast Track plan's ability to deliver. But a senior source at the agency told BBC Sport it was "not giving up" on any sport, remained determined to finding a solution to the funding shortfall and was focused on getting all the Olympic and Paralympic sports to London 2012.
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