Beijing Review
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Executive Summary
In October 2008, the ISC established a Steering Group to direct its quadrennial high performance review. This group was chaired by Judge Rory MacCabe, S.C., and comprised Mr Pat O'Neill and Mr Gary Owens. It was assisted by an independent consultant, Dr Neil Tunnicliffe of Wharton Consulting.
The terms of reference for the review were as follows:
- To benchmark the progress of Ireland's athletes and teams by means of their attempts to qualify for, and their performances in, the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- To review the effectiveness and outcomes of the investment in individual Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes in the years 2005-08, and the trajectory of progress within each sport
- To review athlete service provision, management and development with respect to both Olympic and Paralympic performance, and to anticipate the future needs of funded athletes in the years 2009-13
- To review the progress demonstrated by organisations in which the ISC has invested in the years 2005-08, including and especially the Irish Institute of Sport, the National Coaching and Training Centre, and the Paralympic Council of Ireland, and to anticipate the future trajectory of development within each of these organisations
- To reference the above against the recommendations of the Athens Review, and the ISC's internal Mid-Cycle Review which took place in 2007, with a view to assessing adherence to and fulfilment of these
In the conduct of the review the consultancy:
- Interviewed representatives of the 14 Olympic and nine Paralympic sports which were funded by the ISC and / or who competed in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and of the agencies which supported them - ISC, IIS, NCTC and PCI - and other Parties
- Sought feedback from the 55 athletes who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games, and the 79 members of the Irish team who attended the Paralympic Games
- Conducted an amount of desk research, including previous review documents, performance plans, and data relating to performance at the Olympic and Paralympic Games
The report contains inter alia the statistics surrounding the sports and organisations under review, and a factual recital of observations made by interviewees whose identity is disclosed within an appendix. It also offers some interpretation of the implications of these facts for the future benefit of Irish sport.