UK Sport launches Mission 2012

UK Sport has launched a new initiative to monitor and evaluate the progress of British sport in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

The scheme, called Mission 2012, has been developed to help each Olympic and Paralympic sport understand how it is progressing against certain key criteria and identify anything that might stand in the way of success in 2012.

The information created by Mission 2012 will be published quarterly on a sport by sport basis.

The new system will monitor three core areas of investment and activity – athlete success and development, the performance system and governance and leadership.

John Steele, chief executive of UK Sport, said: ““This is a major step forward in helping everyone involved in delivering sporting success in 2012.

“The system will assess the overall state of the mission and give a true picture of whether we are on track, not just to meet our aspiration goals for medal success but also the longer term transformation of the UK Performance System.

“It will also provide UK Sport with a transparent means to demonstrate that public investment in elite sport is being spent effectively.”

Using a traffic light system, each sport will be benchmarked against its agreed aspiration for 2012.

If scored green then progress is deemed to be on track; if amber then challenges have been identified that require attention or increased support.

If the assessment is red, then immediate remedial intervention is required.

In an attempt to ensure objectivity and expert opinion on each sport, UK Sport has formed a dedicated Performance Panel that will assess the information available.

The Performance Panel will include Liz Nicholl, director of elite sport, UK Sport; Peter Keen, head of performance, UK Sport; Sir Clive Woodward, director of performance, British Olympic Association; Steve Cram, a former elite athlete; and Rod Carr, UK Sport board member.

Initially launched for Olympic sport, a similar scheme will be put in place for the Paralympics within the same timeframe and with a separate dedicated expert panel.