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| Nick Bitel vows to get tough in Sport England fitness drive | Nick Bitel vows to get tough in Sport England fitness drive |
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| It is the sort of thing that could ruin a friendship. But Nick Bitel, the London Marathon chief executive who was recently made chairman of Sport England, insists the controversy surrounding his appointment has not affected his relationship with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. | It is the sort of thing that could ruin a friendship. But Nick Bitel, the London Marathon chief executive who was recently made chairman of Sport England, insists the controversy surrounding his appointment has not affected his relationship with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. |
| The record-breaking Paralympian-turned-peer was promised the job by the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, only for him to be apparently overruled by the culture secretary, Maria Miller, and for the role overseeing the grassroots sport quango to go to Bitel instead. | The record-breaking Paralympian-turned-peer was promised the job by the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, only for him to be apparently overruled by the culture secretary, Maria Miller, and for the role overseeing the grassroots sport quango to go to Bitel instead. |
| Whitehall sources cited the sports lawyer's commercial acumen as the reason he got the nod, while suspicion persisted that Grey-Thompson had been vetoed for political reasons. | Whitehall sources cited the sports lawyer's commercial acumen as the reason he got the nod, while suspicion persisted that Grey-Thompson had been vetoed for political reasons. |
| But the newly installed chairman of the organisation charged with spending £1bn of public money over the next five years and delivering perhaps the most challenging element of the much debated Olympic legacy says simply that he applied for the job and got it. | But the newly installed chairman of the organisation charged with spending £1bn of public money over the next five years and delivering perhaps the most challenging element of the much debated Olympic legacy says simply that he applied for the job and got it. |
| Both he and Grey-Thompson say they remain on good terms. "She and I are still very good friends," said Bitel, speaking for the first time since getting the job. "I attended an interview, went through the process and was appointed." | Both he and Grey-Thompson say they remain on good terms. "She and I are still very good friends," said Bitel, speaking for the first time since getting the job. "I attended an interview, went through the process and was appointed." |
| The bespectacled Bitel, who has overseen the continued growth of the London Marathon since 1995 and acted for just about every major governing body and event in the country in his role as a sports lawyer, is clear about the scale of the task at hand. "This is the job I believe I can do something about and make a difference in and it's the one that really interests me," he says. "I've been involved in elite sport in a number of ways over the years, but using sport to change society is the area I really believe in. This organisation is in a good place but I still think there are things that can be done to make it better." | The bespectacled Bitel, who has overseen the continued growth of the London Marathon since 1995 and acted for just about every major governing body and event in the country in his role as a sports lawyer, is clear about the scale of the task at hand. "This is the job I believe I can do something about and make a difference in and it's the one that really interests me," he says. "I've been involved in elite sport in a number of ways over the years, but using sport to change society is the area I really believe in. This organisation is in a good place but I still think there are things that can be done to make it better." |
| Sport England will invest £1bn of lottery and exchequer money over the next five years and in return is expected not only to boost the number of adults exercising, something no previous Olympic host has managed to do, but reverse the ongoing decline in 14- to 25-year-olds playing sport. | |
| Under a new strategy, two-thirds of its investment will be targeted purely at that age group. Around £493m over the next four years will be invested through sports governing bodies, and Bitel insisted Sport England will get tough with those who are not delivering the numbers – with payment increasing by results. | Under a new strategy, two-thirds of its investment will be targeted purely at that age group. Around £493m over the next four years will be invested through sports governing bodies, and Bitel insisted Sport England will get tough with those who are not delivering the numbers – with payment increasing by results. |
| Careful and measured, Bitel is nevertheless insistent that for governing bodies to prosper, they will have to become more open to co-operating with the private sector and other partners. | Careful and measured, Bitel is nevertheless insistent that for governing bodies to prosper, they will have to become more open to co-operating with the private sector and other partners. |
| The London Marathon, like other organisers of mass participation running events, has been noticeably more successful in attracting athletes than some sports governing bodies in recent years. | The London Marathon, like other organisers of mass participation running events, has been noticeably more successful in attracting athletes than some sports governing bodies in recent years. |
| "Sometimes, I don't think governing bodies have been particularly good at working with and listening to the points of view of people that aren't them. We can all think of examples." | "Sometimes, I don't think governing bodies have been particularly good at working with and listening to the points of view of people that aren't them. We can all think of examples." |
| Bitel was on the Sport England board when the 2013 to 2017 funding cycle decisions were made. "Payment by results is important. We are also working more with other providers. The work we are doing with doorstep sports clubs and others is not just with governing bodies," he said. The first four year tranche of Sport England money that was channelled via governing bodies produced mixed results. | Bitel was on the Sport England board when the 2013 to 2017 funding cycle decisions were made. "Payment by results is important. We are also working more with other providers. The work we are doing with doorstep sports clubs and others is not just with governing bodies," he said. The first four year tranche of Sport England money that was channelled via governing bodies produced mixed results. |
| Some, such as cycling and netball, thrived but many more struggled and a handful, including both codes of rugby and tennis, saw their money docked for not meeting pre-agreed targets. | Some, such as cycling and netball, thrived but many more struggled and a handful, including both codes of rugby and tennis, saw their money docked for not meeting pre-agreed targets. |
| "If governing bodies don't achieve their targets then it's quite clear what will happen. That doesn't mean we'll abandon the sport, we just won't fund it through the governing body and we'll find another way. But we go into it hoping and believing most governing bodies will still be there in four years' time." | "If governing bodies don't achieve their targets then it's quite clear what will happen. That doesn't mean we'll abandon the sport, we just won't fund it through the governing body and we'll find another way. But we go into it hoping and believing most governing bodies will still be there in four years' time." |
| He says the presentations to the board were "variable" in their quality. Some sports, such as tennis and swimming, have effectively been placed on 12 months' probation while they prove they are up to the task. " | He says the presentations to the board were "variable" in their quality. Some sports, such as tennis and swimming, have effectively been placed on 12 months' probation while they prove they are up to the task. " |
| That has come as an awakening to some of them and hopefully it will lead them to change," Bitel says. "I found it quite remarkable that in one of the presentations the chief executive was just not engaged at all. Participation just did not feature on his agenda." | That has come as an awakening to some of them and hopefully it will lead them to change," Bitel says. "I found it quite remarkable that in one of the presentations the chief executive was just not engaged at all. Participation just did not feature on his agenda." |
| There will also be more of a focus on the way governing bodies are run, with Bitel determined to make their funding contingent on overhauling their governance arrangements, swapping blazered buffers for corporate best practice. | There will also be more of a focus on the way governing bodies are run, with Bitel determined to make their funding contingent on overhauling their governance arrangements, swapping blazered buffers for corporate best practice. |
| "A well regulated, businesslike focus at board level will hopefully translate to a more harmonious and sensible way of doing business in sport," Bitel says. | "A well regulated, businesslike focus at board level will hopefully translate to a more harmonious and sensible way of doing business in sport," Bitel says. |
| "There could well be organisations who suffer a cutback because they don't meet the governance requirements. It is public money and we want the highest standards of probity but also the highest standards of management." | "There could well be organisations who suffer a cutback because they don't meet the governance requirements. It is public money and we want the highest standards of probity but also the highest standards of management." |
| Bitel, who also sits on the board of the London Legacy Development Corporation responsible for the future of the Olympic Park, agrees that there are lessons to be learned from the way in which the London Marathon combines elite competition with mass participation. | Bitel, who also sits on the board of the London Legacy Development Corporation responsible for the future of the Olympic Park, agrees that there are lessons to be learned from the way in which the London Marathon combines elite competition with mass participation. |
| "It's not just our event, but there are a lot of operators out there who understand this and do a very good job. There's room for other sports to learn from this. Cycling has got it, maybe swimming isn't quite there," he says. | "It's not just our event, but there are a lot of operators out there who understand this and do a very good job. There's room for other sports to learn from this. Cycling has got it, maybe swimming isn't quite there," he says. |
| "People want to be enthused. They're enthused because you're challenging them and they're going to achieve something, but they're also enthused by seeing a Mo Farah or a Bradley Wiggins doing the same event as they are." | "People want to be enthused. They're enthused because you're challenging them and they're going to achieve something, but they're also enthused by seeing a Mo Farah or a Bradley Wiggins doing the same event as they are." |
| Which brings us back to the fact governing bodies haven't always been as open to partnering with the private sector and recreational sport as they should have been – the Football Association's one time antipathy to five-a-side football being a classic example. | Which brings us back to the fact governing bodies haven't always been as open to partnering with the private sector and recreational sport as they should have been – the Football Association's one time antipathy to five-a-side football being a classic example. |
| As such, although Bitel buys into the "inspiration to participation" mantra endlessly repeated by Lord Coe and the other London 2012 evangelists, he also warns that it will not happen automatically. | As such, although Bitel buys into the "inspiration to participation" mantra endlessly repeated by Lord Coe and the other London 2012 evangelists, he also warns that it will not happen automatically. |
| "There are loads of examples of great sporting events taking place all over the world and it not shifting participation. It's a tool that you then have to use. But if you think that by hosting an Olympics you'll answer every question – no," says Bitel, who had just returned from Atlanta, where "there is barely a physical sign from 1996 and no soft legacy in terms of participation". | "There are loads of examples of great sporting events taking place all over the world and it not shifting participation. It's a tool that you then have to use. But if you think that by hosting an Olympics you'll answer every question – no," says Bitel, who had just returned from Atlanta, where "there is barely a physical sign from 1996 and no soft legacy in terms of participation". |
| Much has been loaded on to Sport England's shoulders in terms of delivering the participation leg of the legacy agenda, at a time of huge local authority cuts to sports budgets that will impact on leisure centres and swimming pools, and ongoing concern over the future of school sport. | Much has been loaded on to Sport England's shoulders in terms of delivering the participation leg of the legacy agenda, at a time of huge local authority cuts to sports budgets that will impact on leisure centres and swimming pools, and ongoing concern over the future of school sport. |
| But in each of those areas, Bitel believes it can play a role even if it doesn't have all the answers – in persuading local authorities to continue investing in sport and providing research and funding to help them do so, in encouraging links between schools and clubs and running after-school schemes. | But in each of those areas, Bitel believes it can play a role even if it doesn't have all the answers – in persuading local authorities to continue investing in sport and providing research and funding to help them do so, in encouraging links between schools and clubs and running after-school schemes. |
| Bitel's attention to detail and negotiation skills will add a degree of rigour to a task that can sometimes feel ill-defined and couched in overly technocratic language. His first task, he says, will be to hit the road and meet the governing bodies. "We've got a great executive team here, my job will be to support them and help them where I can." | Bitel's attention to detail and negotiation skills will add a degree of rigour to a task that can sometimes feel ill-defined and couched in overly technocratic language. His first task, he says, will be to hit the road and meet the governing bodies. "We've got a great executive team here, my job will be to support them and help them where I can." |
| He says British sport must continue the spirit of co-operation that characterised the Games and, while a full-blown merger with the elite agency UK Sport is now off the agenda, they will move into shared offices in the capital (perhaps on the Olympic Park) next year and launch a drive to save back-office costs. | He says British sport must continue the spirit of co-operation that characterised the Games and, while a full-blown merger with the elite agency UK Sport is now off the agenda, they will move into shared offices in the capital (perhaps on the Olympic Park) next year and launch a drive to save back-office costs. |
| Some fear Bitel will not be enough of a cheerleader for a grassroots sport sector that sometimes feels like it could do with one, but he is quietly determined. | Some fear Bitel will not be enough of a cheerleader for a grassroots sport sector that sometimes feels like it could do with one, but he is quietly determined. |