UK Sport Restores Weightlifting’s Funding, Six Other Sports Lose Out

Weightlifting is the only sport out of seven which has had its UK funding restored, it has been revealed today.

Basketball, synchronised swimming, water polo and Paralympic sports wheelchair fencing, goalball and five-a-side football continue to lose out after a recent appeal.

Weighlifting’s reinstated Olympic funding is £894,000, taking it to £1.8m in total.

Badminton has had £250,000 reinstated, taking its total funding to £5.9m.

Rod Carr, chair of UK Sport, said: “The starting point for UK Sport and the board is that we want to be able to invest in as many Olympic and Paralympic sports as possible but they must be able to credibly demonstrate medal-winning potential within eight years.

“Weightlifting came back to us with a compelling new strategy focussed on developing their most talented female athletes with a view to challenging for medals by Tokyo 2020.”

Around £350m is to be spent preparing Britain’s best medal chances at both the Olympics and Paralympics.

After UK Sport announced its funding in February, chief executive Liz Nicholls said that it would be “high risk” to continue funding sports with little chance of winning a medal by 2020.

“If the nation values sporting success, we can deliver it but only if we remain focussed as the Olympic and Paralympic environment is becoming increasingly competitive,” Nicholls said after Wednesday’s decision.

“I am confident our approach will continue to deliver more wonderful moments to inspire the nation.

“These are tough calls to make and we know that it is even tougher for the sports and athletes directly affected by funding withdrawal.”

British swimming chief executive David Sparkes said the decision not to reinstate synchronised swimming’s funding marked a “very dark and sad day for British sport”.

He added: “How can an elite programme such as Synchro, which has long been held by UK Sport as a model of world-class athlete development and leadership, that has achieved all of its performance indicators since it first received funding, have its funding removed just 12 months after it was enhanced?

“It is a sport that has never failed to deliver on its performance promises and this decision beggars belief – it clearly highlights a fundamental flaw in the UK Sport funding system.”

British basketball is considering whether to make a formal appeal against the decision.

“If there is the political will and the leadership, a solution can be found. Other countries have done so,” said Roger Moreland, performance chairman for British Basketball.

“We are still planning for success this summer and in the short term, our focus has to be on backing our teams as much as we possibly can, so they can do their jobs on the court. We are still on the road to Rio and the next step is to qualify for EuroBasket 2015.”

Watch our recent Interview with UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl Below: