Britain’s 1400 athletics clubs are to be polled about key issues arising out of the Foster Report on the future of athletics in this country. The nationwide independent poll, to be conducted by the Electoral Reform Services, and starting this week, is accompanied by a report from the [Sir Andrew] Foster Project Board entitled ‘Moving on - a charter for change’.

Clubs will be invited to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to four key questions stemming from four of the most debated issues contained within the report produced by Sir Andrew Foster in May 2004. The original report was jointly commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England following disappointing results in the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Paris, 2003.

Sir Andrew Foster said: "The purpose of the independent poll is to seek the views of the clubs on the specific details of implementation that have been of greatest concern to the athletics community in our consultation. We shall listen to their responses, and refine our plans. The biggest opportunity of all is the award of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to London, which should galvanise our sport. I believe that the proposals provide the best possible structure for athletics in the years leading up to London 2012".

Questions relate to whether clubs support the Foster proposals on:

• Local Delivery


• Governance and Accountability


• Finance


• Membership and Data

Implementation of the main proposals of the Foster report has been on-going since May 2004, under the direction of former British international athlete Jack Buckner. The project will conclude in April 2006 when England Athletics - the main recommendation of the Foster Report - is created. Peter Radcliffe has assumed the role of interim Chair of England Athletics.

In the process of implementing the report’s proposals, extensive, countrywide consultation has been conducted resulting in certain modifications to the original report. This independent poll is another way of broadening the process of consultation.

The next few weeks will be critical in determining the sport’s direction and funding for many years to come as the report lays out a route for athletics to benefit from £21 million of ‘legacy funding’ (the fund offered by the Government after UK Athletics withdrew from staging the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2005).

Background information:
Deadline for return of poll is 25 October 2005. Each club will have one vote and Electoral Reform Services will use the usual weighting to allow for club size From 24 September, further detailed information on the Foster report and the independent poll please can be found on www.athletics-movingon.com

Summary of the Four Issues:

• Local Delivery

Similar to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the proposal is for England to operate over nine regions. Each will receive a budget for developing athletics. Each will have a regional Council; the majority of members will be elected by the clubs. The Chair of each region will sit on the Council of England Athletics.
• Governance and Accountability

A new governance structure for athletics in the UK is proposed. UK Athletics needs to demonstrate greater accountability to the grassroots of the sport. A UK Supervisory Board is proposed from early 2006 to replace the current UK Athletics Council. Members will include the Chairs of the four home country associations. The board will endorse long-term direction rather than provide day-to-day management.
• Finance

There should be coordinated, long-term financial planning across athletics in the UK. Introduction of new regional staffing should be counterbalanced with reductions at the centre and there should be a long-term commercial strategy to ensure income streams beyond the ‘Legacy years’. There should be significant additional levels of new money for grass-root investment, a tightly constrained staffing plan and the potential creation of shared athletics services function between England Athletics and UK Athletics.
• Membership and Data

Athletics has fallen behind other comparable sports in not having a single integrated membership scheme. It will enable the sport to provide basic information about participation as well as bring great benefits in terms of tracking talent and member services such as insurance, health and safety etc. It is proposed that individual members of affiliated English clubs will pay an annual fee of £5.