ABSTRACT
The link between the Olympic Games and NGBs is not as straightforward as it may seem. This is because of different sports’ histories, structures and capacity to perform at the Games, as well as their international development and contribution to the Olympic programme. There are over 300 NGBs recognised by the five sports councils in the UK (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and UK Sport), with large variations in size, turnover, organisational structure, and the number of member clubs and individual members. The UK ‘sportspace’ is dominated by three ‘off the scale’ NGBs, with the largest of these having a turnover of around £120 million. The majority of NGBs are small-scale organisations, with a quarter having a turnover of under £50,000 and the remaining 75 per cent of under £1 million. Forty-five per cent of NGBs have less than 100 member clubs and only 11 per cent over 1,000, with a further 11 per
cent having between 500 and 1,000 member clubs. NGBs with a turnover of £100,000 rarely have full-time management staff. It is only when an NGB has a turnover of over £500,000 that a core management team becomes present (UK Sport, 2003). NGBs’ structural and functional variations mean that their engagement with the Games will also vary. Given this diversity, it is only to be expected that NGBs will be variously placed to harness the resources offered by the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The place of the 26 sports on the London Games’ programme is not a ‘given’ and has to be established and maintained in competition with other sports. Another important consideration is that in order to enhance their chances for success at the Olympic Games many countries, including the UK, have categorised sports on the basis of their potential to win medals. Table 17.3 shows how the three main priority group sports in the UK were categorised in 2004. As can be seen from the table a number of sports on the Olympic programme, such as handball, wrestling and weightlifting, did not even feature in any of the three categories. Such categorisations have significant implications for NGBs’ funding, media presence and public awareness, as well as for building their organisational capacities. It should be noted, however, that the 2004 UK sports categorisation was superseded by a new funding process for 46 NGBs, which is in line with Sport England strategy (2008-2009). UK Sport also developed a new ‘No Compromise’ approach designed to support sports in winning medals. The wider point is that the Olympic Games both creates and limits the opportunities for NGBs and sports development nationally. Sports on the Olympic programme inevitably receive greater public and commercial support and media exposure, while other sports struggle to compete for the same resources.
