Today, Sports Minister Tracey Crouch announced a new fund to support more Olympic and Paralympic sports and inspire local communities. The fund will be open to Summer Olympic and Paralympic sports with qualification potential for the Tokyo Games.
The £3 million Aspiration Fund will allow sports who do not currently receive full UK Sport funding to develop plans to help teams and athletes qualify. Sports eligible to apply for the fund include all the unfunded summer Olympic and Paralympic sports, the new sports for the Tokyo Games and those currently in receipt of individual athlete Medal Support Plan funding from UK Sport. Archery GB is in receipt of Medal Support Plan funding for our Olympic Programme.
Archery GB is also one of the 11 Olympic and Paralympic sports who came together around the concept that Every Sport Matters. The group called for a new approach to the investment into Olympic and Paralympic sport, this approach particularly highlighted the need to support more Olympic and Paralympic sports to produce role models to inspire communities.
Neil Armitage CEO of Archery GB, commented: Â"I am delighted the Every Sport Matters campaign has struck a chord with Government and it's a very welcome move to increase the range of sports represented. Providing opportunities for increasing the number of athletes qualified and more medals won across more sports, which increases the range of aspirations for more people.
Â"Our application would outline our need to enhance areas of our current medal support plan, with more coach time, some athlete subsistence to allow athletes to train together and recover more effectively, whilst accessing more time of some of our existing specialists.
Â"We are passionate about archery and feel proud when new people take up our sport, through to our athletes standing on the podium. We'd like to thank the Government and UK Sport for recognising that there is a gap between grassroots and elite funding that needs bridging. We are confident our sport inspires and motivates more people to participate in archery through performances on the field, which ultimately has a positive impact in local communities and individual's wellbeing.”
