Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2005 > Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs > Report No. 08 - Ireland and the Olympics: From Athens to London

Appendix 7 Athens Review Recommendations

The Athens Review undertook a comprehensive analysis and review of Ireland’s performance in Athens. The following outlines the summary recommendations of the Athens review. The recommendations have been sub-divided into areas of responsibility / functionality:

Government & Sports Council of Ireland

❖The continuation of Government investment in high performance Olympic and Paralympic sport;

❖Investment in the high performance system;

❖A focus for performance funding and support on those sports which offer natural and national resources and advantages, a track record of success, and the capacity and willingness to deliver the desired outcomes.

National Governing Bodies

❖A requirement on the governing bodies of those sports to deliver complementary and holistic athlete, coach, official and facility development programmes, and high-quality systems of governance and management;

❖Sport-by-sport performance planning for the next four years which attends especially to the home training environment of the athletes, and the provision of world-class coaching expertise;

❖An individual athlete support system which prioritises likely Olympians and Paralympians, and especially those with the potential to be finalists; and which engages these within coach-led and fully accountable development programmes.

Olympic Council of Ireland

❖The professionalisation of its administration, including and especially through the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer;

❖Qualitative planning;

❖Qualification and selection processes, policies and deadlines;

❖Role definition for support staff;

❖Team Manager training;

❖Multisport training and holding camps — especially their purposes, and levels of attendance;

❖Communications within the Olympic Village;

❖Team spirit;

❖Media management.

Paralympic Council of Ireland

❖The early preparation of athletes;

❖Sports science and medicine services which are both sport and disability specific, and the receptivity of athletes to these;

❖Team Manager training;

❖The selection of a training/holding camp venue;

❖Role definition for, and the balance of, support staff;

❖Kit and equipment.

Support Organisation Communications

❖The continuation of the collaborative working which has been instituted between the ISC and the OCI and PCI;

❖There should be enhanced levels of collaboration between the OCI and PCI, within specific programmes of development which address both the unique challenges in prospect for the 2008 Beijing Games, and the areas identified for improvement by this review.

New Support Structures

❖The establishment of structures for an Irish Institute of Sport, to deliver optimal support services for Olympic and Paralympic athletes and sports, and to form the basis of a long-term and sustainable high performance infrastructure — taking into account the experiences of and the expertise within the NCTC.