OFI ANNOUNCES 2023 DISCRETIONARY FUND ALLOCATIONS TO NATIONAL FEDERATIONS
OVER €1M ALLOCATED BY OFI TO PERFORMANCE PROJECTS SINCE 2018
The Olympic Federation of Ireland today announced details of its 2023 discretionary funding packages to National Federations. A pot of €205,000 has been allocated to projects across seventeen sports, an amount that is in addition to the €115,000 Make a Difference Athlete’s Fund that was distributed to athletes last week. This brings to over one million euros that the OFI has paid through the discretionary funding pot to Irish sport performance programmes since it was established in 2018.
The discretionary funding is generated thanks to the support of Team Ireland commercial partners, primary sponsor Permanent TSB, and OFI partners Deloitte and Allianz. The funding is designed to leverage Sport Ireland funding, helping National Federations to deliver new performance-related initiatives to support their athletes.
National Federations applied for the award under three headings, National Federation Olympic Development Support, Performance Coach Support and Make a Difference Support. This year’s allocation reflects a wide range of projects, from supporting Paris-focused training camps and additional coaching supports, to the development and delivery of a programme tracking menstrual cycles of athletes.
The recipient National Federations range from Olympic medal-winning sports, such as rowing and boxing, to newer member federations like Breaking, which features on the Paris 2024 programme, and Kickboxing, which will have a team competing in the upcoming European Games this June.
Welcoming today’s allocation, CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Peter Sherrard, said,
“We are pleased to be in a position to assist our sports as they target top performances on the route to Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026. In recent years, thanks to the commercial revenues from our Primary Sponsor, Permanent TSB, and partners, we have been able to contribute to the support athletes and performance directors in the pursuit of excellence. The aim of the discretionary fund is to assist the sports in channelling dedicated funds to specific activities that offer tangible performance benefits for athletes. We look forward to sharing the detail of some of these projects in the coming months.”
Boxing € 20,000
A make a difference project that will allow for research and performance support for Menstrual Cycle tracking for our Elite female boxers. This joint initiative will be led by Team Ireland Head of Sports Science Sharon Madigan from Sport Ireland Institute.
Hockey € 20,000
Funding to support efforts to card Hockey Ireland’s senior men’s team, tracking toward Paris 2024.
Rowing € 20,000
Support for a specific Paris 2024 training camp on the Olympic race course.
Athletics € 15,000
Continued support for Athletics Ireland high-performance coaching team.
Gymnastics € 15,000
Support for Gymnastics Ireland podium pathway athletes which allow for additional training camps and international competition.
Sailing € 15,000
Specific support for training in Marseille as Irish Sailing’s Paris 2024 base camp.
Swimming € 15,000
Supporting performance analysis with KiSwim and a specific Paris 2024 site visit.
Rugby 7s € 15,000
Additional funding to support a multi nation Women’s 7s training and competitive tournament in Ireland in Q3 2023.
Badminton € 10,000
Continued support of Badminton Ireland podium potential programme
Basketball € 10,000
Support for Basketball Irelands High-performance coaching team
Canoeing € 10,000
Specific training camp support for Canoeing Ireland and the proposed competition venues in Lee Valley and Krakow.
Golf € 10,000
Supporting Golf Ireland’s training camp programme in Ireland for US based golfers on a pathway to LA 2028.
Kickboxing € 10,000
Funding for the specific European Games competitive opportunities and training.
Bobsleigh € 5,000
Funding for high-performance coaching, tracking toward Milano Cortina 2026.
Target Shooting € 5,000
NGB Olympic development support.
Breaking DanceSport € 5,000
NBG development support with a specific focus on promotion
Triathlon € 5,000
Specific Mixed Team Relay development support for LA 2028
