Sports Ireland announce 2018 funding grants for athletes

Sports Ireland recently outlined the various grants for 2018 for athletes of the various National Governing Bodies.

Paralympics Ireland : €352,000.00
Cycling  Ireland : €250,000.00
Rowing Ireland : €212,000.00
Athletics Ireland : €184,000.00
Irish Athletic Boxing Association : €172,000.00
Swim Ireland : €152,000.00
Irish Sailing Association : €116,000.00
Canoeing Ireland : €64,000.00
Pentathlon Ireland : €64,000.00
Hockey Ireland : €45,000.00
Irish Clay Target Shooting Association : €32,000.00
Gymnastics Ireland : €25,000.00
Irish Judo Association : €24,000.00
Table Tennis (Para) : €20,000.00
Triathlon Ireland : €12,000.00
Irish Taekwondo Union : €12,000.00


The grant for Athletics Ireland athletes was well down this year at €184,000. In 2017, the total was €236k while it was €220k in 2016. A large part of this drop is due to the semi-retirement of Rob Heffernan and the loss of his €40,000 per annum grant.

As well as Rob losing his grant, Ciara Everard also loses her €12,000 grant and the men's relay team lose theirs. The other changes are Mark English dropping €4k to €16,000 and Brian Gregan getting a grant of €16,000.

NGB Applicant Category Allocation > Athletics

Thomas Barr... Podium €40,000...(2017 = €40k, 2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €0k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k)

Fionnuala McCormack... World Class €20,000....(2017 = €20k ,2016 = 20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €20k, 2013 = €20k, 2012 = €20k)

Ciara Mageean... World Class €20,000... (2017 = €20k ,2016 = 12k, 2015 = €12k)

Mark English... World Class €16,000...(2017 = €20k ,2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k).

Brian Gregan... World Class €16,000...(2017 = €0, 2016 = €12k, 2015 = €12k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €12k, 2012 = €0k). 

Brendan Boyce... International €12,000... (2017 = €12k, 2016 = €12k, 2015 = €12k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €12k, 2012 = €0k).

Alex Wright... International €12,000... (2017 = €12k, 2016 = €12k)

Christine McMahon... International €12,000 ... (2017 = €12k)

Michelle Finn... International €12,000 ... (2017 = €12k)

Sara Treacy... International €12,000 ... (2017 = €12k)

Paul Pollock... International €12,000 ... (2017 = €12k)

Total 2018 = €184,000 (2017 = €236k, 2016 = €220k)



Robert Heffernan... €0... (2017 = €40,000, 2016 = €40k, 2015 = €40k, 2014 = €40k, 2013 = €40k, 2012 = €40k).
Ciara Everard... €0... (2017 = €12k, 2016 = €12k)
Men's Ream Relay...€0... (2017 = €12k, 2016 = €20k)
Ciaran O'Lionaird... €0...(2016 = 20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €20k, 2012 = €20k).
Paul Robinson... €0...(2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k).

Irish Times interview with Sports Ireland Chief Executive John Treacy

The Irish Times had a recent interview with John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sports Ireland. In the podcast (which starts at 36:00), he outlines the work of Sports Ireland and how they interact with the various sporting bodies in the country.

Sports Ireland announce performance review and 2017 funding grants for athletes

Sports Ireland recently released a report which outlined the various grants for 2017 as well as a review of the Irish performances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. In it, they announce that there is funding of €20 million for the various National Governing Bodies & athletes; in line with 2016 figures.



In terms of grants to National Governing Bodies for 2017, these were the top five...

NGB... 2017
Special Olympics Ireland ... €1,200,000
Athletics Ireland... €887,000 (2016 = €887,000)
Swim Ireland... € 827,000
Horse Sport Ireland... €775,000
Basketball Ireland... €588,000
Full List

In terms of individual grants, Thoms Barr gets the full €40k grant after his 4th place finish in the final of the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Ciara Mageean also moves from €12k to €20k while a few others get on the list.

NGB Applicant Category Allocation > Athletics

Robert Heffernan... Podium €40,000...(2016 = €40k, 2015 = €40k, 2014 = €40k, 2013 = €40k, 2012 = €40k).

Thomas Barr... Podium €40,000...(2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €0k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k)

Fionnuala McCormack... World Class €20,000....(2016 = 20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €20k, 2013 = €20k, 2012 = €20k)

Mark English... World Class €20,000...(2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k).

Ciara Mageean... World Class €20,000... (2016 = 12k, 2015 = €12k)

Brendan Boyce... International €12,000... (2016 = €12k, 2015 = €12k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €12k, 2012 = €0k).

Alex Wright... International €12,000... (2016 = €12k)

Ciara Everard... International €12,000... (2016 = €12k)

Christine McMahon... International €12,000 ... New

Michelle Finn... International €12,000 ... New

Sara Treacy... International €12,000 ... New

Paul Pollock... International €12,000 ... New

Men's Ream Relay... International €12,000 (2016 = €20k)

Total €236,000 (2016 = €220k)


Ciarán Ó Lionáird, Brian Gregan and Paul Robinson lose their funding.

Ciaran O'Lionaird... €0...(2016 = 20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €20k, 2012 = €20k).
Paul Robinson... €0...(2016 = €20k, 2015 = €20k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €0k, 2012 = €0k).
Brian Gregan... €0...(2016 = €12k, 2015 = €12k, 2014 = €12k, 2013 = €12k, 2012 = €0k).

Rio Olympics & Athletics Ireland Review...

The report also covered the 2016 Olympics...the preparation, the games and the aftermath. Here are a few key points and excerpts...

Before the Olympics, there was the whole debacle of the selection process for the men's team for the marathon. Sergiu Ciobanu was passed over for selection despite having a faster qualifying time than Paul Pollock who was selected. Instead of there being an open and transparent selection process, it seemed at times as if the goalposts were moving as time went on. This is what the report said...

"There has been some suggestion that the selection criteria needs to be further simplified to ensure full understanding by athletes. Some athletes who were sure they had met all the necessary criteria were concerned about their actual selection until it was announced. Ultimately there was one selection appeal which was financially very costly for AI and stressful for the athletes involved. The appeal was unsuccessful and the decision of the selection committee was upheld. The inclusion of a robust “fitness to perform” criterion was also proposed while it is acknowledged that this is can be a challenging one to implement."

The performance of the then Performance Director (PD) came in some criticism...

"There is a sense within the HPC that while the PD is very knowledgeable, he needs to engage with  the committee members more proactively recognising the experience and knowledge on the   committee."
"The review identified some communication issues between the PD and athletes. There appears to be significant improvement from the London 2012 review but there was still evidence that the  interpersonal side of the role needs to be improved."

"During the course of this review, the PD announced that he was stepping down from his position."

You may have seen recently that Paul McNamara has been appointed as the new director of High Performance.

In terms of future grants to athletes, this was mentioned...

"There is an argument that, in order to continue with the development of a semicentralised high performance programme and system, the money that is currently being issued to some athletes may be better invested in a programme. Athletes could then have access to, for example, a number of 1 day camps at Sport Ireland Institute that would include their personal coaches, lead coaches, and support service programme."

Links
1) Sports Ireland publish review
2) Performance review for Athletics Ireland...
3) Athlete grants
4) National Governing Body Allocations

Irish Sports Report shows a decline in the number of people involved in sport

Sports Ireland have just recently released their annual activity report for 2015 and these are some of the key points...

a) 45% of the population participate regularly in sport.


b) Participation levels have declined for both genders (more for men than women).

c) Improving economic conditions and having less free time as a result may partially explain the declines in participation in sport.

d) Some sports participated in on an individual basis show increases in participation.

e) The proportion participating in team-based sports has declined.

 The term 'sport' and 'activity' used in the report is pretty wide as it includes things like walking, running, dancing, GAA, Soccer and so on.

 This 2015 study involved interviews with 8,540 respondents aged 16+.

In terms of improving economic conditions, the unemployment level was at 13.5% at the midpoint of the 2013 survey while it was at 8.9% for the mid-point of this one.


Most popular activity...

Personal exercise is a collection of different activities, most prominent of these are gym-based activities and classes. This remains the most popular sporting activity.


Running is now the second most popular form of sporting activity, just ahead of swimming which moves from 2nd to 3rd.

You'll notice some of the team based activities in decline...Soccer, Gaelic Football and Hurling/Camogie. The study found that 40.7% participated in a sport that is played on an individual basis with 9.1% participating in sport played on a team basis.  As the chart shows below, more and more people are doing their own thing in a time that suits their schedule.

Activity by Gender.....

The chart above shows the breakdown of each activity by gender. Notice that the number of men running has declined while the number of women running has remained much the same.

Findings......In terms of running, the report just highlights what we knew and suspected anyway i.e. we are gone past the peak of the running boom and numbers have dipped a bit. If the economy continues to improve and people get busier then we might expect to see the numbers running to decline a bit more.

The report does show however that activities that are short in duration and that people can fit into a busy schedule are the ones that are the most resilient. As such, the number of people running for exercise should do reasonably well.

The full report can be seen here... http://www.sportireland.ie/Research/Irish-Sports-Monitor-Annual-Report-2015/Irish-Sports-Monitor-Annual-Report-2015.pdf