Sport England funding for LTA and British Judo Association reduced

The Board of Sport England has reduced the funding available to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the British Judo Association (BJA) in the light of disappointing participation figures for both sports.

The LTA has agreed to accept a reduction of £530,000 alongside a renegotiated participation goal, having recognised that it will not achieve the growth in regular and sustained participation commissioned through Sport England’s 2009 – 2013 investment. The BJA has agreed to a reduction of £353,000 again with a renegotiated participation goal.

Sport England’s Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said: “The decisions announced today follow lengthy discussions with each of the governing bodies.

“No decision to reduce funding is taken lightly, but Sport England has been clear that failure to achieve the agreed growth in a sport would lead to a governing body’s overall funding levels being reviewed.”

Active People shows that the average number of adults playing tennis at least once a week has declined from 487,500 in 2007/08 to 375,800 at the latest update.

Roger Draper, the LTA’s Chief Executive said: “We recognise that the Active People Survey results are disappointing and accept this reduction in funding. We continue to work closely with Sport England in order to grow tennis. Like other sports we face a huge challenge to increase the numbers playing tennis regularly in challenging economic times but participation is our top priority.”

Participation in judo has been flat over the past two years both in terms of the number of people doing the sport at least once a week and once a month.

Scott McCarthy, CEO at the BJA, said: “We  recognise that judo have not made significant impact on the Active People targets over the period and while we are disappointed in this we will continue to work hard to increase the numbers playing our sport on a regular basis. Our internal measures are showing some positive signs and we will continue working with our colleagues in Sport England, and are confident that this hard work will begin to show growth in the coming months."

A comprehensive performance management system has been developed to ensure that Sport England’s investment in national governing bodies of sport is well-managed and delivering results and that governing bodies are held to account for responsible use of the funds.