Squad support fund

[brooner]

For those of you who don't read the frontpage (and lacking the forum sidebar to highlight news), or compasssport, Nick has put together a 2012 calendar of reader submitted photographs which is now available for pre-order with all profits going to the Squad Support Fund.

I know Kitch runs a series of fell races each year, but is there anyone else out there helping support the fund? Would people like to see a return of the Fantasy UK Cup?

What about those who've used the fund? Would be interested to know of examples of what the money has been used for - it would help show the 'value' in the fund, as I can only see it becoming more important as funding dries up elsewhere.

[Kitch]

The fund has decided that in future it will publish a list of the recipients and a summary of the activities supported.
These should be published on BOF pages

The purpose of this is to raise the profile of the fund
increase understanding of what it aims to achieve
increase visibility of activities
and, hopefully, through this visibility
increase fund raising activity and income to the fund since it is expecting an increase in grant requests as BOF funding and BOF funcded activities reduce.

The fund is independant of the British Squad and independant of BOF.

The Fund's objective is.
to aid the development of talented orienteers (with potential to represent GB internationally).

The Fund approach is to:
- encourage / require self assessment and planning of focussed training by athletes, which aims to improve their level of performace.
- provide financial support, to athletes of the right calibre, for athlete designed programmes of training / competition.

The fund does not provide grants towards BOF / Squad activities.

[Big Jon]

Anyone wanting to donate a regular amount should contact the secretary, Ann Smith on roger -dot- smith100 -at- btinternet -dot- com to ask about bank account details. Well worth contributing to the fund - it has helped many of the stars of GB teams over the years with training costs that they would have struggled to afford without help.

[AndyO]

One for my Christmas stocking, I think

Can someone (Kitch?) explain more about the fund? If it is independent of Squad or BOF, are squaddies excluded from assistance or is other funding taking into account when assessing grants? how is the grant allocated - is it offered proactively or is it done by considering an application?

Agree that funding will become very important in future, and while parents often do baking etc for junior squad funds, that sort of support is not really on for individual athletes so we'll have to come up with different ways of supporting this fund.

[SeanC]

I think the Oxfam Unwrapped "buy a donkey/bag of fertiliser etc" is a brilliant piece of fundraising. Would a similar thing work for the squad support fund? Buy a left sock? Right boot? Physio session? If it were to be accompanied by a card/plastic momento etc then clubs could buy them as prizes to give out at events? I'm not sure if this would pass Mrs. H's decent prize test or not?

[brooner]

I think the Oxfam Unwrapped "buy a donkey/bag of fertiliser etc" is a brilliant piece of fundraising. Would a similar thing work for the squad support fund? Buy a left sock? Right boot? Physio session? If it were to be accompanied by a card/plastic momento etc then clubs could buy them as prizes to give out at events? I'm not sure if this would pass Mrs. H's decent prize test or not?

I don't think it has been publicised much, but it pretty much exists at Team Sponsor with GG, Kris Jones, James Taylor & Matt Speake on there, and you can sponsor kit, physio or training camps. I blogged about some of the difficulties it faces last year and it hasn't looked to have taken off since then.

[Kitch]

The support fund is independant in that the chair, secretary and treasure and the majority of the committee are not part of the BOF / Squad structure, however, representatives of the squad management do attend meetings and input their thougths and assessments of the athletes known to them.

Talented athletes are invited to apply to the fund
Talented athletes are identified by squad coaches (national, regional).
As previously noted athletes need to have the potential to be in GB teams so many of them are Squad athletes, otherwise they will be on the fringes.
Applications must be submitted by athletes
these should conform to the application form and they require the athlete to give an assessment of their current standing (performance, skills, results, ranking). The athlete should identify direction and areas for improvement and a programme of training and/or competition to help improvements take place. Activities in the programme need to be costed out.
If the committee believe the activities to be worthwhile then a grant is awarded to assist with the cost of any self help aspects of the improvement programme.
Self help means activities need to be personally focussed and self organised. (they can be a group activity if appropriate)
Squad organised activities do not qualify for funding.
Other funding is taken into account. Applicants are expected / required to have sought other sources of funding before applying to the fund.

Where an athlete is involved in Squad funded activities this does not necessarily mean that they have the opportunities to improve their performances. Often Squad activities are racing and race preparation but may not provide the oportunity to focus on specif techniques or aspect of their orienteering

[AndyO]

Comprehensive answer, cheers, Kitch, and a good cause. Now to think of ways of getting Orienteers (and others) to part with cash

[Stodgetta]

We've bought one - persuaded by Stodglet starring as Miss ?March

[Red Adder]

Perhaps those who have benefited from this fund (or similar BOF/Squad sponsorship) in the past and are now in a position to contribute should be putting something back in to the elite end of the sport ?

[Jon X]

Perhaps those who have benefited from this fund (or similar BOF/Squad sponsorship) in the past and are now in a position to contribute should be putting something back in to the elite end of the sport ?

And why on earth do you think they aren't doing so - which I presume is the implication of your curious post?

Many of them, of course, do just that - in all sorts of ways, including in some instances direct donations to this fund. And equally many of them contribute to many other non-elite aspects of the sport as well. Rather in the way that many non-elites also make large contributions to different aspects of the sport across all levels.

I have no idea who you are and what contribution you make to the sport. Therefore I have no intention of commenting on it. There might be a lesson there for you.

[SeanC]

That might be a well calculated comment to start a firey debate Red Adder?

Personally I think this goes back to the "Is Orienteering a Sport" question. If we want to take ourselves seriously as a sport then we need to support those at the elite level, or aspire to elite level. If Orienteering can't be taken seriously as a sport then this has implications at all levels. So I would say we all benefit from such things as the squad support fund - but if someones view is that Orienteering should be a not too serious pastime like say Hashing then I could see how they would disagree.

[Paul Frost]

The fund has decided that in future it will publish a list of the recipients and a summary of the activities supported.
These should be published on BOF pages
...
The fund is independant of the British Squad and independant of BOF.

Given your last sentence, shouldn't the fund have it's own website?

I would be prepared to set up and host a simple site FOC that would provide a point of contact and information about the fund.
Is there a logo for the fund, and if not, is there someone else with some design/drawing skills that is prepared to donate some artwork?

[graeme]

I know enough about it to suspect that some background info about this fund would be of interest here. But I don't know enough to write anything.

[Kitch]

Paul

that's a very generous offer.
Thank you.
I'll see what those involved with the fund feel about it (being all democratic and that).