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Should the Olympic Team have medal targets?
The UK's Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has helpfully pointed out in the week before the Olympics, that "it is vital" that Team GB hits its target of 41 medals.
But wait a minute, who's target is this? Team GB is selected by the British Olympic Association. I don't believe that the government has any mandate to set targets for them. Certainly the BOA's chef de mission, Simon Clegg, wasn't going to put a number on their target for the games.
UK Sport is the government body responsible for creating high performance in British Sport. They are funded almost exactly 50/50 by the exchequer and the lottery. So, fair enough, they should have targets. They've stated a target of 35 medals. Then again UK Sport don't manage the Olympic Team.
But the problem with putting a target on medals is that, ultimately, no-one can be responsible for hitting it. Neither Simon Clegg nor Liz Nicholl (Uk Sport Director of Performance) can get out on the track and win the medals. Neither can their staff. This isn't like a 'normal' organisation, where the organisation's targets can be cascaded and broken down into smart goals for all employees. Nope, no matter what the rest of the organisation does, on the day it is down to who goes fastest, jumps furthest, scores the most points...
None of the athletes will need any additional motivation to succeed. Those that have the slimmest chance of a medal will be absolutely determined to take whatever chance they get. After all, this is what the last four years has been about. And every one of them will want Team GB to do its absolute best too. No doubt about that. But none of them can control the outcome of their event. They can only control the level of their own performance
So really, Sutcliffe's target is utterly irrelevant, except to himself and his fellow ministers. All it really says is "we know nothing about sport" and "we know even less about motivation". Just like they are killing schools, councils and NHS trusts with targets, given the opportunity they would do the same with elite sport. Pump a load of money in and tie everyone up in targets. What a waste.
Luckily most of the athletes and coaches will be strong enough to treat Sutcliffe's comments with the indifference that they deserve, and if they aren't they'll probably be too busy preparing to notice.
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Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
But wait a minute, who's target is this? Team GB is selected by the British Olympic Association. I don't believe that the government has any mandate to set targets for them. Certainly the BOA's chef de mission, Simon Clegg, wasn't going to put a number on their target for the games.
UK Sport is the government body responsible for creating high performance in British Sport. They are funded almost exactly 50/50 by the exchequer and the lottery. So, fair enough, they should have targets. They've stated a target of 35 medals. Then again UK Sport don't manage the Olympic Team.
But the problem with putting a target on medals is that, ultimately, no-one can be responsible for hitting it. Neither Simon Clegg nor Liz Nicholl (Uk Sport Director of Performance) can get out on the track and win the medals. Neither can their staff. This isn't like a 'normal' organisation, where the organisation's targets can be cascaded and broken down into smart goals for all employees. Nope, no matter what the rest of the organisation does, on the day it is down to who goes fastest, jumps furthest, scores the most points...
None of the athletes will need any additional motivation to succeed. Those that have the slimmest chance of a medal will be absolutely determined to take whatever chance they get. After all, this is what the last four years has been about. And every one of them will want Team GB to do its absolute best too. No doubt about that. But none of them can control the outcome of their event. They can only control the level of their own performance
So really, Sutcliffe's target is utterly irrelevant, except to himself and his fellow ministers. All it really says is "we know nothing about sport" and "we know even less about motivation". Just like they are killing schools, councils and NHS trusts with targets, given the opportunity they would do the same with elite sport. Pump a load of money in and tie everyone up in targets. What a waste.
Luckily most of the athletes and coaches will be strong enough to treat Sutcliffe's comments with the indifference that they deserve, and if they aren't they'll probably be too busy preparing to notice.
--
Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Tags:
beijing 2008,
british olympic association,
buffoon,
elite sport,
funding,
gerry sutcliffe,
government,
medals,
olympics,
politics,
sports minister,
targets,
uk sport,
uk sports
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