sportscotland funding puts sailing on the right tack

Tuesday 26 April 2005

sportscotland is pushing the boat out this month with an award of £303,537 to the Royal Yachting Association Scotland (RYAS) to support key areas of the sport’s business plan including athlete support, coaching, staffing and club development.

The funding is a combination of £180,350 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund and £123,187 of sportscotland Exchequer funding from the Scottish Executive and was accepted on behalf of RYAS by double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson OBE.

Robertson became Britain’s first female Olympic sailing medallist when she took the gold four years ago in Sydney in the Europe class dingy. The 36 year old, originally from Dundee, sailed into history in 2004, winning a second gold medal this time in the Yngling class, to become the only British woman in history to win two successive Olympic gold medals. Robertson’s dedication and achievements during her Olympic career have inspired youngsters to take up the sport, and potentially go on to enjoy success in competition at club, national or international level.

Alastair Dempster, Chairman, sportscotland, said: “sportscotland is delighted to award £303,537 to RYAS through our new integrated investment process. This new method of funding is driven by our commitment to an enhanced partnership approach. By looking at a whole development plan in one go, we hope to make a positive impact on the entire structure of a sport.

The announcement of today’s investment will give RYAS the means to build on such successes and strengthen the structure and support to sailing clubs and centres, encourage participation and place more sailors on the Olympic and world stage.

Golden girl Robertson said: “Scotland is one of the leading sailing nations with some of the brightest young talent in the world. It is vital that we continue to attract youngsters into the sport and produce and develop their potential to compete at the highest level.

“The funding from sportscotland is essential in supporting Scotland’s sailors through the provision of equipment, coaching and of course by making the sport accessible to all.”

Robertson was joined by rising star Charlotte Dobson to accept the award from sportscotland. Dobson is already making waves in the GBR Olympic Development Squad in the Laser Radial class, and has been identified to benefit from the athlete support programme.

At elite level, £136,600 of sportscotland’s investment will come from the athlete support programme which will target the seven classes of Optimist, Topper, Laser Standard, Laser Radial, 420, 470 and windsurfing. The award is largely managed by the governing body on behalf of the athletes to cover coaching, training and competition costs. The award will provide a co-ordinated programme for the high level juniors within the Scottish junior squads, and a programme of additional support for members of GBR squads to assist them to compete on the international stage.

Currently the top female in her class in Britain, Charlotte hopes to follow in the footsteps of Shirley Robertson. The 18 year old won a bronze medal at the Youth World Championship last year and has been tipped as a medal hope for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The funding, through the athlete support programme, will assist Charlotte and other elite athletes continue to develop and perform at the highest level.

The award also supports a development officer post responsible for planning, implementing and managing the participation development plan. A priority of this plan is to forge close links with clubs in all disciplines and provide the best possible sailing experience for a wide range of members. Key to this is the ‘Sailing in the City’ initiative. Launched in June 2004, the scheme aims to make sailing more accessible to children aged between 8 and 14 across Scotland. The initiative gives youngsters the opportunity to try sailing as locally as possible, in some cases in a pond in their local park. To date around 1,500 children have taken part and this year, a further 1,000 are set to sign up.

Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson said: “Today’s announcement of sportscotland’s award to the Royal Yachting Association Scotland is great news for sailing. 

“Scotland has some of the best sailors in Europe and I am delighted that this funding will be used to encourage participation and increase the accessibility of the sport.  

“This is an exciting time for sailing in Scotland and I’m delighted such an inspirational role model as Shirley Robertson has endorsed the award and is encouraging future stars to compete at the highest level.”

Agnes Barclay, Chief Operating Officer, RYAS, said: “The funding from sportscotland is vital and will ensure that Scottish sailing maintains its world class status.

“It not only enables more people to take up the sport, but also allows more sailors to be coached in more classes of boat to international standard. Thanks to our structured training programme, funded by sportscotland and developed by RYAS high performance team, Scotland now has better sailors at every level and ever-increasing numbers of world-class sailors.

“The funding this year will allow us to build on this and again raise the standard of our club, national and international performances.”

Alastair Dempster, Chairman, sportscotland, said: “sportscotland is delighted to award £303,537 to RYAS through our new integrated investment process. This new method of funding is driven by our commitment to an enhanced partnership approach. By looking at a whole development plan in one go, we hope to make a positive impact on the entire structure of a sport.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shirley Robertson, for continuing to support sailing and sport in Scotland. Her outstanding achievements have raised the profile of sailing in this country, inspiring youngsters to take up the sport and giving talented sailors the drive to reach their full potential.

“Through investing in the whole of the sport’s infrastructure, we aim not only to encourage people to become more active at a recreational level, but also to nurture and develop those who demonstrate the potential to perform on the international stage.”

• A list of the athletes benefiting from the athlete support is detailed below. Athlete Support funding is now is now largely administered through the governing body.
• Integrated investment aims to streamline our support by combining Lottery and Exchequer funding. This enables governing bodies of sport to submit one development or business plan to be considered across all three sportscotland visions (Achieving Excellence, Developing Potential and Widening Opportunities) at the same time.
• Athlete Support is a funding programme which merges and replaces the former Junior Groups and Talented Athlete programmes and provides a seamless, integrated pathway for the development of emerging talent. It supports the training and preparation programmes for elite athletes who have demonstrated the potential to win medals or equivalent, in significant international competitions and events such as the Olympics.
• All athletes who receive Athlete Support will also be supported by the new sportscotland medical scheme.
• The ‘Sailing in the City’ initiative is planned to run in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Aviemore, Lossiemouth, Stornoway, Mull, Tiree, Coll, Campbeltown, Inveraray, Luss, Arrochar and the Isle of Bute.

IDENTIFIED ATHLETES BY GOVERNING BODY RECEIVING ATHLETE SUPPORT APRIL 2005

Scottish National Squad
Thomas Ward, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB14
Ewan McMillan, ARGYLL, PA21
Graham Farrar, ARGYLL, PA29
Angus McMillan, ARGYLL, PA29
Andrew Normand, ARGYLL, G84
Joanne MacDonald, CARDROSS, G82
Stephanie Lawrence, EAST LOTHIAN, EH40
Michael Gorzkowski, EDINBURGH, EH10
Nuala Black, FORFAR, DD8
Alistair Shepherd, FORT WILLIAM, PH33
Nathan Forrester, GARTOCHARN, G83
Amy Buchan, GLASGOW G61
Lynn Crichton, GLASGOW, G61
Cameron Steele, GLASGOW, G63
Robert Gibson, GLASGOW, G62
Alex Norman, GLASGOW, G41
Anna Burnet, HELENSBURGH, G84
Katherine Stanley-White, HELENSBURGH, G84
Laurie Marsden, HELENSBURGH, G84
Alastair Milton, HELENSBURGH, G84
Rebecca Lightfoot, HELENSBURGH, G84
Iain Docwra, HELENSBURGH, G84
Emma Wilkie, ISLE OF CUMBRAE, KA28
Lauren Wilkie, ISLE OF CUMBRAE, KA28
Megan Rupar, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Kian Sterritt, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Caroline Duncan, KINGUSSIE PH21
Shona Ross, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Jack Calvert, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Alison Duncan, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Clare Sterritt, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Rachael Stevenson, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Freddie Calvert, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Emma Stevenson, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Sam Rupar, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Adam Paris, LANARKSHIRE, ML11
Alasdair Young, LOCHGILPHEAD, PA31
Rona Young, LOCHGILPHEAD, PA31
James Logan, MOTHERWELL, ML1
Ailsa Skuodas, NEWTONMORE, PH20
Robert Hyde, SPEAN BRIDGE, PH34
Sam Room, ST ANDREWS, KY16
Gael Hardie, TARBERT, PA29
Konrad Weaver, WHICKHAM, NE16

GBR Squad
Craig Paul, DUROR, PA38
Matthew Day, EAST LOTHIAN, EH39
Callum Calder, EDINBURGH, EH4
David Kohler, EDINBURGH, EH14
Matthew Forrester, GARTORCHARN, G83
Moray Clark, HELENSBURGH, G84
Robin Stewart, HELENSBURGH, G84
Fynn Sterritt, KINGUSSIE, PH21
Robin Paris, LARKHALL, ML9
David Highcock, PRESTWICK, KA9
Peter Bird, RENFREWSHIRE, PA12 (windsurfing)
Anna Dobson, RHU, G84
Nell Hardie, TARBERT, PA29
Peter Irwyn, WEST LOTHIAN, EH49

Olympic Development Squad
Mark Andrews, AYRSHIRE, KA30
Callum MacDonald, CARDROSS, G82
Charlotte Dobson, RHU, G84
Luke Patience, RHU, G84