British Rowing responds to Sport England funding announcement
British Rowing has been awarded £4.1m funding from Sport England for the 2017-2021 investment cycle
Today, Sport England announced its funding decision for grassroots participation in rowing for the 2017–2021 investment cycle. British Rowing has been awarded £4.1 million across three investment areas, Core Market, Mass Market and Children and Young People, a reduction compared to the 2013-2017 cycle. A final investment decision regarding Sport England’s talent investment is expected in March.
The Core Market investment will be focused on supporting people to keep rowing through club-based programmes. To get more people active through rowing and to help them build a regular habit, British Rowing will deliver its indoor rowing programme, Go Row Indoor, funded by the Mass Market investment, and the Children and Young People investment will be used to support the co-funded Henley Stewards Charitable Trust programme.
Responding to the announcement, British Rowing CEO, Andy Parkinson said: “Given the current funding climate, with significantly less money available for national governing bodies, we understand why our funding has been reduced. We are grateful for the support of Sport England officials in securing this level of funding.
“We are very disappointed, however, that the cut in investment comes at a point when we are re-shaping and modernising British Rowing and bringing in new skills and expertise that will allow the organisation to accelerate the growth of the sport, generate more of our own revenue and reduce the reliance on public funding – a process Sport England has endorsed and supported.
“However, as with any funding reduction, we will adjust our thinking, work hard with Sport England and our partners in delivering meaningful outcomes and value, and continue to identify opportunities to grow our sport, build our brand and broaden our appeal. We have a great team in place that is committed to the ongoing growth and development of a healthy and successful sport.”
After a phenomenal 2016, which saw Great Britain top the rowing medal table at both the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, British Rowing has been building upon this success and helping to get more people active through rowing. The ‘Rio effect’ is already coming to fruition, with a big growth in British Rowing membership, just below London 2012 numbers, and the new Active Lives figures that show over 800,000 people each month row indoors or on-water. British Rowing plans to capitalise on this momentum to help get more people active and to stay active.
British Rowing will now take some time to go through the details regarding this funding decision and await the final investment decision for Talent Pathways.
