UK Sport will provide a third grant of up to £453,200 of extra funding for four national governing bodies as it continues its support in response to the adverse financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The British Basketball Federation, England Hockey, Goalball UK and Pentathlon GB will all receive further help as part of the third round of UK Sport’s Continuity Fund, which has now provided 22 vital awards totaling £2,910,700.
All four NGBs applied for additional assistance based on assessments of the longer-term implications of Covid-19 and the grants will be used in a variety of ways including to support existing expenditure and ongoing strategic activities as well as enabling them to take part in competitions.
The breakdown of support to the four NGBs via the third round of the Continuity Fund is as follows:
- British Basketball Federation – £87,700
- England Hockey – £317,500
- Goalball UK – £22,000
- Pentathlon GB – £26,000
During the first two rounds of the Continuity Fund 18 awards were made and the completion of the third round brings the total of grants to sports to help mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the operational and financial health of NGBs to £2,910,700.
Simon Morton, Chief Operating Officer at UK Sport, said: “It is really pleasing to be able to continue offering sports in our high-performance community the support they need as we navigate the pandemic. It is our priority to ensure the long-term health of our community and that Olympic and Paralympic sport can thrive long into the future. We know the Continuity Fund is playing an essential role and that all of those sports who have received grants are putting the support to great use to be able to prosper moving forwards.”
Mark Winder, Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer at Goalball UK, said: “Goalball UK are very grateful for this support. As a governing body, not in receipt of World Class Funding from UK sport, we have been reliant on philanthropic giving. The Pandemic has made it increasingly difficult to attract this funding. Without this sport our Men’s team would be in danger of not being able to prepare or attend the European Championships.”
Toni Minichiello, Interim Chair British Basketball Federation, said: “The UK Sport Continuity Fund has been a critical part of funding basketball in these difficult times. It has enabled the Great Britain’s men’s team to continue playing in European qualification, which saw us beat Germany and France to qualify for EuroBasket 2022. With National Lottery funding due to start for basketball in April, this award has helped us maintain our great platform from which we are able build and improve from. This wouldn’t have been possible without this UK Sport initiative.”
Finance & Administration Director at England Hockey, Kuldeep Kaur, said: “England Hockey are very grateful to be receiving a grant as part of the UK Sport Continuity Fund given the effects the pandemic have had. This will provide great support to the running of our organisation and will allow us to keep momentum as we continue to work on the key strategic projects that have been our focus throughout the last year.”