Table Tennis Scotland – Press Release 15 January 2011
Table Tennis Scotland excluded from Glasgow 2014 funding.
Sportscotland and the Sportscotland Institute of Sport have dramatically cut funding to Table Tennis Scotland (TTS) for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014. In the run up to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, TTS received a Performance Grant of £120,000 each year to achieve qualification. Sportscotland formally advised TTS this week that in the run up to Glasgow 2014, this is to be slashed to £20,000, an 83% cut.
The reason given is that Sportscotland and the Sportscotland Institute of Sport do not think TTS can meet the criteria of Top 8 / Medal Potential expected to be set by Commonwealth Games Scotland for participation by any Scottish sport in Glasgow 2014. This message is sent to TTS despite our men’s team already being ranked 7th in the Commonwealth and already meeting the criteria. However we cannot maintain that position without adequate funding. Cutting our Performance funding this way ensures we will not be able to meet the criteria when assessed in 2014. It seems we are being singled out as the sport not to have Scottish presence in Glasgow 2014. No explanation has been given for this.
We demonstrated that the investment received in the run up to Delhi was successful: we achieved our highest ever World team Ranking of 39th, one behind England 38th, in Moscow 2010. Our team members have improved their World Ranking and met the CGS Criteria for participation in Delhi 2010.
Terry McLernon MBE is already working hard on the legacy aspects of Glasgow 2014 and what it can mean locally for communities in Glasgow and these cuts are a body blow to his work in that area. Further cuts of £10,000 were made to TTS’ Development funding, restricting TTS’ ability to bring Table Tennis into schools, clubs and local communities and to build on the legacy of Glasgow 2014.
All Sports have been subjected to this funding review but TTS funding has been cut in absolute and percentage terms more than any other sport – the next most severely cut sport only lost 11% of their total funding.
The facts relating to all the sports’ funding cuts and our performance against CGS criteria speak for themselves. TTS is led to the conclusion that these are key questions for Sportscotland / SIS:
How can Sportscotland and the Sportscotland Institute of Sport justify excluding TTS from participation in Glasgow 2014?
How can Sportscotland and the Sportscotland Institute of Sport justify singling out TTS from the 17 participating sports for exclusion from Glasgow 2014?
Press Contacts:
Jonathan Whitaker Chairman TTS
Tel: 01738 444388
Mob: 077177 17894
Terry McLernon MBE Vice Chairman TTS
Mob: 07743 702744
Official Press Release from Jonathan Whitaker, Chairman of Table Tennis Scotland
