According to a report on the BTF website, the English Sports Council have handed out funding to Triathlon England totalling £939,764 (not quite a million we know, but see later for the explanation...) of which precisely none appears to be earmarked for the London Region. The grant is over a three-year period and is intended to put in place a “club and coach programme that allows for a smooth transition along the sport’s long term athlete pathway” with the funds being delivered through the Regional Committees. An additional £150k has been allocated to strengthen staffing both nationally and across the regions with a further £45k going to Triathon England to help roll out the new UK Coaching Certificate.

The new investment brings the total funding for Triathlon England to just over £1million which was welcomed by TE Chair, Jem Lawson, “Triathlon England welcomes this new investment in Triathlon in England.  “It is a vote of confidence in our new structure and in the capacity of our regions to deliver increased participation through their development programmes.  The new funding now means Triathlon England is investing more than a million pounds in its nine regions to help support and grow the sport further.”

It remains to be seen how well the new funding will be translated into development at grass roots level, something that we expect will be carefully measured by those holding the purse strings. In a recent conversation with the BTF's Chief Executive, Norman Brook, it was highlighted that much of the funding was being allocated on a 'per project' basis and should not be regarded as a pool of cash as it was partly accounted for in terms of salaries and allocated resources. In other words, there's more money but don't expect to see it unless you are prepared to put the effort in to bid for it.