Performance

The Olympic Federation of Ireland High Performance Unit works in partnership with Sport Ireland (SI), the Sport Ireland Institute (SII), Sport Northern Ireland Institute (SINI) and National Federations to facilitate Team Ireland's participation in Olympic competitions.  We work closely with Performance Directors to ensure that we support athletes and sport specific staff appropriately, with their preparation and performance in mind.

The Olympic Federation of Ireland also contributes to performance through a number of funding schemes such as its Discretionary Fund and Olympic Solidarity Scholarships, which are detailed in PROJECTS.

Sport Ireland Institute Partnership

In 2018 the OFI established a formal partnership with the Sport Ireland Institute for the provision of support and services as follows:

  • Strategic high performance leadership support and delivery of a sport science and medicine support system, inclusive of athlete life-skills, and;
  • Preparation and delivery of specific athlete support and programme enhancement initiatives to all Team Ireland Olympic teams.

These principles provide a foundation for effective performance support delivery and address many of the concerns raised by athletes, coaches, service providers and National Federations in debriefs of previous Games experiences. The principle of ‘continuity of care’ in the context of performance support services relates to science and medicine support to athletes on Team Ireland. 

The OFI / SII partnership applies to not just Olympic Games but European Games and all Youth events, summer and winter.  In practical terms the partnership allows the OFI and Chef de Mission for each competition to identify and appoint staff that will best work together and provide the level of care needed to enhance performance.  It also presents opportunities to interface with the athletes during qualification and preparation through initiatives such as the Tokyo Ready Life-skill programmes, Sparking Performance leadership for Performance Directors and the Pursuit of Excellence Coach programme.            

Partnership Operational Principles

Principle 1Continuity of leadership and care throughout the Olympic cycle, with duplication, overlap and gaps between different support systems being identified and eliminated appropriately in a transparent and professionally managed manner
Principle 2All forms of support are delivered by highly qualified and experienced practitioners who are recruited through an agreed, transparent and robust process
Principle 3Staff are contracted, accountable and managed through an agreed appropriate professional structure
Principle 4Support is driven by performance needs rather than practitioner / discipline oriented

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