Friday, August 12, 2005

Sport England don't give a shit about England

I had an email today from Sport England which incensed me. Really incensed me. I was so angry I was shaking and gritting my teeth as I typed my reply.

It all started off a week ago with an innocent ... ish ... enquiry into the funding criteria from Sport England.
Hi,

Could you please explain to me the basic criteria for obtaining funding from Sport England?

Specifically, does the event have to take place in England? If the event is taking place in England but has more than one national team, does it have to have an English team?

Can you please advise what the conditions of Sport England's National Lottery funding are? Is the funding awarded with the condition that Sport England only spend it on projects for English sport?

I look forward to your response as soon as possible.

Regards,

Stuart Parr
They replied, presumably as soon as possible ...

Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your email.

We currently have The Community Investment Fund available for application.

To apply your project must adhere to the following basic criteria:

1. The project must require more than £5000.
2. Your organisation must be a non-profit making organisation.
3. There must be a recognised sport involved.
4. The project must benefit the community and ideally be open to the community.
5. We do not fund football only based projects.

Please visit our website www.sportengland.org to read the regional criteria for your region.

To see if you are eligible for the fund you need to complete an Online Enquiry Form which is on our website www.sportengland.org which is the first stage of application.

Hard copies of the forms are not available but we are happy to complete the form on your behalf.

Please contact us on 08458 508 508 and a member of the team will be happy to do this for you.

You will then need to submit some supporting information, which we will process into an Applicants Statement within 15 working days.

The next stage will be for you to send the Applicants Statement to your regional Sport England office where it will be assessed over a period of 12 weeks.

We hope that the above information is to your satisfaction. Should you require more
details, please call us on the number below or reply directly to this email detailing exactly what information is required.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Reshma
Sport England Contact Centre
08458 508 508

My region? Ok, I'll let that one pass, I need to stay focused.

My questions still remain mysteriously unanswered ...

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me. What about the location of the event and participation of an English team? If the event attracts nation teams but there is no English team, does it still qualify?

You missed off my question about your own funding as well.

A straightforward request you'd think ...
Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your email.

Sport England do not provide funding for events. The Community Investment Fund is predominantly for improving existing or developing new sporting facilities.

We hope that the above information is to your satisfaction. Should you require more details, please call us on the number below or reply directly to this email detailing exactly what information is required.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Reshma
Sport England Contact Centre

08458 508 508
Still not answered my questions, time to dumb down ...
Hi,

You seem to be dodging my questions. I'll number them below for your convenience ...

1. To obtain funding from Sport England (assuming sponsorship means funding) for a national sporting event, is it a requirement for an English team to be part of that event?

2. What are the conditions of Sport England's funding? Is the funding received on the condition that it is spent on English sport?

Can't make it any more straightforward or easier than that.
Even the work experience kid could answer 2 questions right?

Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your email.

Sport England do not provide funding or sponsorship for events regardless of whether or not the event is taking place within the UK or has an English National Team taking part.

The additional criteria for the Community Investment Fund is as follows:

1. The project must require more than £5000.
2. Your organisation must be a non-profit making organisation.
3. There must be a recognised sport involved.
4. The project must benefit the community and ideally be open to the community.
5. We do not fund football only based projects.

We would advise you to contact www.sportbusiness.com the Sports Development Officer in the Leisure and Services Department of your Local Authority and local companies or business for possible sponsorship to fund this event.

We hope that the above information is to your satisfaction.

Should you require more details, please call us on the number below or reply directly to this email detailing exactly what information is required.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Reshma
Sport England
Contact Centre

08458 508 508

So sponsorship doesn't involve giving them money? I'm confused ...
Hi,

So sponsorship doesn't involve funding? If a sporting event is sponsored by Sport England then Sport England isn't giving it money? There is also no problem with Sport England sponsoring an event that doesn't have an English team? This doesn't in any way go against the reason for Sport England's existence? I was under the impression that Sport England was for there to further English sport? Does Sport England have any sort of constitution or guidelines?
Pregnant pause ...

Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your email.

Sport England does not provide any form of sponsorship. Funding is available for projects based within the UK, to redevelop existing sporting facilities or building new sporting facilities. No funding or sponsorship is provided for any events.

For further information on Sport England, please visit the following link to our website:

http://www.sportengland.org/national-framework-for-sport.pdf

We hope that the above information is to your satisfaction. Should you require more details, please call us on the number below or reply directly to this email detailing exactly what information is required.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Reshma
Sport England Contact Centre

08458 508 508

They don't sponsor anybody? Wait a minute ...
Hi,

I'm a little confused. On the Tour of Britain website they say that Sport England is one of their sponsors. Is this incorrect?

You say that funding is available for projects in the UK - not exclusively in England? There is a Sport Scotland and Sport Wales already so why would Sport England be funding events that are outside of England?
Worm your way out of that one then ...
Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your e-mail.

It has been necessary to pass your enquiry onto a specific department. Please be assured that a response will be with you shortly.

Sport England would advise cycling operates on a British basis and only competes at England level for the Commonwealth Games.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Benn
Sport England
Contact Centre

08458 508 508
enquiries@sportengland.info
Hmmm, I wonder if Reema is on holiday or if Benn is the designated "counter trouble-maker" co-ordinator. Interesting that they say cycling only operates on a GB level when we already know that it isn't ...
Thank you but you are, however, wrong about cycling. You will find that there is a Scottish and Welsh cycling team and the Northern Irish team competes with Team Ireland. The English riders are not allowed to ride in Team England because the UCI doesn't allow one. English riders have to cycle in Team Britain which consists of only English riders. This is the point of my enquiry. There is no English cycling team so why is Sport England sponsoring a cycling event?
Here's the reply that got me angry. Send your children out of the room before you read it.

Dear Mr Parr

Thank you for your email.

Firstly let me just clarify that Sport England is not funding the GB team to compete in the Tour of Britain. I am not sure why this assumption has been made.

As previously stated, the Scottish and Welsh teams are additional teams permitted by UCI and classed not as national teams but regional teams. The GB team would also be the first call for any athlete be they English, Scottish or Welsh, after which sponsored teams would take precedence before riders are selected at a home nation level..
Sport England does not wish to fund an England team entering the tour of Britain. I am not sure how you would justify putting a team into the event which would not be competitive either individually or collectively. An England team that is not competitive would have limited impact on the sport, and potentially be detrimental.

There is however the opportunity to capitalise on the tour of Britain to expose opportunities to get involved in the sport of cycling, and to raise the profile of recreational riding. Sport England is in the process of agreeing how we can capitalise on this opportunity, and will make an announcement when this is agreed.

We hope that the above information is to your satisfaction. Should you require more details, please call us on the number below or reply directly to this email detailing exactly what information is required.

Thank you for contacting Sport England.

Benn
Sport England Contact Centre

08458 508 508
enquiries@sportengland.info

Angry is an understatement. They wouldn't want to support an English team even if there was one! What a bunch of tossers!

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Yes, I understand that Sport England is not funding the GB cycling team. Sport England is, however, sponsoring a cycling event that does not have an English team. How does this fulfil your mandate of developing English sport? You may as well sponsor the Tour de France for all the good it does for English sport.

That is my first point. My second point is the subject of the competitiveness of an English team. To say that Sport England would not wish to fund an English team because it wouldn't be competitive is astonishing coming from a body that is charged
with improving English sport.

Firstly, the British team presumably has a good chance as it is the first choice of British riders according to you. As Team GB consists entirely of English riders, it therefore follows that all the best British riders are English. Going on this, I fail to understand how an English team would be worse for English sport than not having one at all.

Secondly, Sport Scotland and Sport Wales don't have a problem supporting their own national teams which, by your own admission, are inferior as the second choice of British riders. They obviously understand the value of a national team to get people interested in a sport.

Tell me, please, how much interest there was in the recent British Lions rugby tour as compared to the English Rugby World Cup winning team. I'll tell you now, the British team attracted less support throughout the whole of the UK than the English team alone in England. How much support is there for a British football team in the 2012 Olympics? There are national campaigns against it and the Scottish FA immediately said no.

Sport England is a disgrace to this country and a disgrace to English sport. Scotland and Wales don't need Sport England's support, they have their own bodies. English sport needs an organisation behind it that is interested in England only, not the whole of the UK. Why would a British cycling event that has no English team inspire an English youngster to take up a sport that his or her country is not represented in?

Sport England's attitude towards English sport is absolutely disgusting and I will be making my views known to the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport and anyone else who will listen. When the English people see what blatant disregard Sport England has for the English people I can only hope that those responsible for policy are as quick to resign as they are to disregard their own country.

Stuart Parr
Very Angry and Proud Englishman

People linking to this entry:
Blog of Kev
Campaign for an English Parliament
Cross of St George
England Project (trackback)
GavPolitics
Raised by Chaffinches (trackback)

Tell me if you link this entry.