UK Sport - the agency in charge of funding UK Olympic and Paralympic teams - has launched a National Squad Support fund to assist national team development in eight different sports.
The agency stated it would initially invest £2.4 million into six Olympic and two Paralympic squads. A portion of the funds comes from the National Lottery, whose revenue represents a crucial funding source for many of the UK’s pandemic-stricken sectors. The purpose of the pledged funds is to help more than 100 athletes attend major international tournaments and other important Olympic/Paralympic runner-up events.
The money is going to teams whose sports were not covered by the UK Sport’s World Class Programme or Progression funding, which otherwise cover the financial investment for Olympic and Paralympic competitions. The eight sports receiving aid are handball, sitting volleyball, goalball, softball, volleyball, wrestling, artistic swimming, and water polo.
UK Sport also noted that they’re currently discussing setting aside funding for breaking - competitive breakdancing - since it will debut as an Olympic sport in 2024.
The £2.4 million will be divvied up as follows:
- Handball, sitting volleyball, and water polo each: £375,000
- Volleyball and wrestling each: £260,000
- Artistic swimming: £216,250
- Goalball: £245,000
- Softball: £288,750
Sally Munday, the UK Sport CEO, highlighted the importance of the newly approved funding: “The National Squads Support Fund is a key part of our new investment approach and demonstrates our commitment to a wider group of sports and athletes in our Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community.”
The national squads of the sports in question also welcomed the announcement. Paul Bray, the chairman of British Handball, stated: “This funding is a significant moment for our sport, and everyone at British Handball is hugely grateful to UK Sport for recognising the need to support sports such as handball going forward.”
