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The next stage of the mission to London 2012

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Peter Keen 07 July 2009

This blog first appeared on Inside the Games. To read the full version, please click here.

Last week at UK Sport we issued the outcomes from the latest Mission 2012 reports from our Olympic and Paralympic sports. This reflects the end of the period of review and consolidation faced by the high-performance system post-Beijing, and a refocus on competition as the long and winding road to London begins in earnest.

I think it also reflects, arguably for the first time, that sports understand and accept what we’re seeking to achieve through the Mission and how it can help them achieve their aspirations in 2012 and beyond.

Mission 2012 was established 18 months ago essentially to try and maximise the unique opportunity afforded to us in the shape of a home Games. In a nutshell, it was established with one simple aim – to determine how UK Sport and its partners can truly make a difference on the ground and embed world-class athletes, systems and culture right across Britain’s high performance sporting network.

As a result, the past 18 months or so has been a learning curve for us and the sports. To make a difference we need to know what challenges the sports are facing – that’s where trust comes in. Sports needed to be sure that flagging up a ‘red’ would be seen as a cry for help, rather than an admission of failure or risk to funding.

That brings us back to the present day and that increased level of understanding I referred to earlier. I’m encouraged, and indeed excited, by what the sports are now telling us and the level of openness and honesty we’re seeing in their submissions. I’m sensing a real understanding across the sports of exactly what is meant by ‘world-class’. This is an essential first step in recognising what you’re striving for and any gaps between that and how you’re currently performing. If that means flagging up a red and asking for help, so be it. That’s what we’ve asked sports to do and that’s what we’re starting to see. Better to put the hand up now so we can provide a solution that to be in denial until it’s too late.

This is a hugely positive step forward and is where the Mission can really start to make a difference because a ‘red’ in one sport might be mirrored by a ‘gold’ in another. That’s the next step and the reason for my excitement. By getting sports to work together, share best practice and learn from each other we’ll be well on our way to providing a lasting legacy in the shape of a fully sustainable and genuinely world-class high performance sporting system.

The world of sport is an unpredictable beast and success is never guaranteed. However, we made the world sit up and take notice in Beijing and I genuinely believe the direction in which we’re travelling in the UK will take us to an even higher level of performance.

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