Elite Cymru Scheme & Sports Council’s progress in increasing the number of coaches in Wales (Saesneg yn unig)

I felt it appropriate to make this statement prior to the Commonwealth Games this summer because it gives me a chance to tell a success story and move away from the tales of gloom sometimes associated with sport in Wales. Unfortunately, the public perception of Welsh sport is often based solely on the performances of our national football and rugby teams.  

So are we underperforming as a sporting nation? – I think not

Last month, at the European Indoor Athletic Championships, Wales won gold and silver medals.  This performance was better than any other nation in Europe, on a per capita basis.

Last year, seven Welsh golfers were ranked in the top 100 in Europe.  This was more, per head of population, than any other nation.  In amateur golf Wales has won 3 International prizes in the last month including the European Nations team championships.  Perhaps we are already beginning to see evidence of the impact of winning the Ryder Cup.  

At the Sydney Paralympic Games, Wales provided 20% of the Great Britain team and won 25% of the medals won by British athletes (this from 5% of the population).  Wales won the same number of medals, per head of population, as did Australia – the most successful country in the world.

Last year, Wales won the European Netball Championship

The best singles badminton players in Britain, both male and female, are Welsh, Richard Vaughan and Kelly Morgan, as is the current number one snooker player in the world, Mark Williams.

Craig Bellamy recently won the Young Footballer of the year award and Tanni Grey Thompson’s achievement in winning the London marathon for the sixth time so soon after the birth of her baby girl was quite phenomenal

Joe Calzaghe has recently retained the WBO super-middlewight title for a 10th time.

Wales is performing better than ever before on the international stage in a wide range of sports. These successes are down to the hard work of athletes and coaches alike but the Sports Council for Wales Elite Cymru and Coach Cymru schemes have certainly made a contribution.  

There can be no doubt that the establishment and development of the Elite Cymru programme has contributed to this success.  This lottery funded programme which has provided support to over 620 schemes involving some £2.8million since 1995, identifies and supports talented competitors; currently, there are 150 Elite Cymru members, who  are provided with:

financial support: the amounts provided depend on the sport, the competition costs and the equipment that is necessary
sports medical back-up
sports science support
free access to training facilities
lifestyle management training

Past and current members include everyone from Tanni Grey Thompson to Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch and Olympic Games sailing silver medallist, Ian Barker.

Elite Cymru is focused on the support of individuals but in the last year or so, the programme has also helped to establish team sport academies in netball, hockey and cricket, and it is anticipated that these will make a significant difference in the next few years.

Those identified for the Elite Cymru programme can of course progress onto the World Class Performance Programme through attending GB squad sessions and also being nominated in any Development Plans submitted by UK Governing Bodies of Sport to UK Sport who administer the Programme. Wales currently has 34 representatives on the World Class Performance Plan.
 
The Sports Council’s Coach Cymru scheme has been designed to complement the work of Elite Cymru and aims to:
-  Develop coaches to meet the needs of sport at regional and national level
- provide funding for the training, support and employment of coaches
provide quality coaching for national squads

Coach Cymru is lottery funded and allows governing bodies to employ coaches at a national and regional level.  The number of coaches employed by governing bodies equates to 30 full-time posts. Prior to lottery funding being introduced there were only around 5 coaches employed by the governing bodies in Wales.

The 30 or so professional coaches support the work of more than 12,000 volunteer coaches who operate in clubs the length and breadth of Wales.    

I have talked about talent and coaching but we also need to consider facilities and competition, if, as I do, you believe the formula for success in elite sport is:

Talented competitor + gifted coach + access to facilities + appropriate competition = success

In general terms, Wales is well provided for in national facilities for training and competition.  For example, the National Watersports Centre at Plas Menai, the National Canoe Centre at Bala and the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff.   However the Institute is now 30 years old and the Sports Council is working up proposals for the modernisation of the facility.

Lottery funding has helped establish new facilities across Wales, for cricket at Sophia Gardens, for athletics at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, for swimming at Swansea University and for cycling in Newport.  Other national and regional facilities are currently being planned.

Currently, many individuals are provided with appropriate competition at the highest level via the Elite Cymru programme.  The main issue at present lies with the team sports.  In general terms, domestic competition is insufficiently high to prepare individuals for international competition and this is central to the ongoing debate in Welsh rugby, but equally applies to other team sports such as football, netball and hockey.  

The Sports Council for Wales believes that Wales needs to be innovative and outward looking to solve these problems and in many instances, the solution may lie in increased cross-border competition.

Today’s debate is about elite sport and coaching but make no mistake support for elite sport and support to increase participation are not mutually exclusive.  Increasing the number of people at the grassroots level playing sport is not only good for the well being of the nation it increases the pool of talent that elite performers might be drawn from.  In turn the success of elite performers creates role models to increase participation.  I am committed to working with the Sports Council for Wales to develop sport in Wales at all levels.

Across a wide range of sports, Wales is performing better than ever before.  Elite Cymru and Coach Cymru are playing their part in making Wales fit for the future. To merely maintain current standards is not an option.  Today's gold medal winning performance may not be enough to reach a final tomorrow.  Continued investment in our elite competitors is an absolute necessity.  Currently Wales punches above its weight in the sporting world, which brings us international profile. We must continue to support our elite athletes and coaches if we are to maintain Wales's position on the world stage.