Congratulations to British Curling and our ambition to become a greater force in winter sport
I am sat in my room moments away from attending the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony and reflecting on what an extraordinary few weeks this has been in Beijing. My first thoughts are with our incredible athletes. As I sit here, still on a high from the last 24 hours of witnessing the men’s and women’s curling finals, there is no better place to start than extending my congratulations to the athletes and all at British Curling; the leadership, coaches, administrators and support staff. To come away from these Games with a gold and silver medal is a phenomenal achievement. It is testament to the hours and hours of hard work which has gone on away from the spotlight at the National Curling Centre in Stirling. Seeing firsthand how that hard work paid off under the pressure of an Olympic Games was such a privilege, and I confess to feeling rather emotional watching our Men’s and Women’s teams on the podium.
I also know that whilst the last 24 hours has created real joy, there are a number of our athletes who will leave Beijing disappointed. Whilst there have been some memorable performances, many did not achieve the results they came for and no-one will be more disappointed than the athletes themselves.
After everything our athletes had to go through in the 18 months building-up to the Olympic Winter Games, just getting everyone here safely to their start lines was an achievement and we always knew that Beijing 2022 would be a challenge like nothing they had previously experienced. We also know that the jeopardy that makes sports on snow and ice such a compelling spectacle for those of us watching is also a recipe for uncertainty. This undeniably played its part in preventing some of our medal hopes from achieving their dreams.
Alongside the disruption caused by Covid in the build up to these Games, there will be other reasons why things did not go as the sports and athletes would have hoped. Our role as administrators, coaches, support staff and leaders is to create the best environment and wrap the best possible support around athletes with potential to enable them to achieve their dreams. We cannot and will not hide from asking ourselves and others the difficult questions. The sports will review all aspects of their preparation and performance, both internally and then with us at UK Sport. My own experiences remind me that the greatest progress can come if we really learn from disappointment and all of us involved need to reflect on anything that could have been done differently in this cycle.
We said before the Games that success in Beijing is not just about medals and I have been heartened to hear the feedback from the UK about stories of snow centres and ice rinks experiencing huge increases in demand from children and families captivated by the action they have seen on television. So whilst I can’t deny the disappointment we share with the athletes that have not achieved their potential here in Beijing we should not overlook the wider impact of the Games which has stimulated interest and served as a platform to broaden the appeal of Olympic and Paralympic sport.
Winter sport remains an essential part of our mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments. The last two weeks has not changed our future commitment to winter sport.
Many of Team GB’s best performances at these Games have come from athletes based in the UK or those whose first experience of winter sports was at a snow or ice venue in the UK. We want to build on this and inspire a more diverse group of young people to dream of Olympic and Paralympic success.
Focusing on sports with a strong domestic grassroots footprint will be a key pillar of our strategy for the next Winter Games in Milan Cortina in 2026 and, as part of this, we will seek to work with our partners to help sports to nurture the talent we know exists.
For sports without a domestic footprint, we will focus investment in athletes or teams that we believe have medal zone potential through our tailored support programmes.
Before all of this though, we have the Winter Paralympic Games to look forward to and I would like to take this opportunity to send my very best wishes to all of the ParalympicsGB athletes and support staff who will soon be arriving in Beijing with their own ambitions for success.
I’d like to conclude by expressing my thanks to National Lottery players and Government who have played such an important part in the Olympic and Paralympic success Great Britain has enjoyed over a prolonged period. We are very grateful for their unwavering support and are determined to deliver more success in the future and continue to inspire the nation.
Sally Munday
Chief Executive, UK Sport