CITING the new national performance centre, Oriam, to add to world-class facilities at Aberdeen Sports Village, Glasgow’s Emirates and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Edinburgh's Commonwealth pool, Glasgow's Tollcross swim centre, and The PEAK in Stirling, a sportscotland spokesperson yesterday insisted the nation's set-up is "as strong as it has ever been".
They are encouraged by a record 164 Scots on UK Sport/sportscotland Podium or Podium Potential World-Class Programmes, with 92 based in Scotland.
And with regional performance centre development at Dundee and refurbishment of Inverclyde, expectations of growth are high.
"Scotland’s performance system has the best facilities we have ever had," the spokesperson said. "We have the facilities in Scotland to help deliver success on the global stage.
"We will always base our athletes in the right environment with the right programme, irrespective of where in the world that is, and that wouldn’t change if we were preparing our Olympians and Paralympians as part of a Team Scotland.
"Sportscotland is investing £60.188m in Olympic/Paralympic sports in this 2013-17 cycle [a 20 per cent increase on 2009-2013]. Our expectation in the event of independence is that Scotland would likely be investing approximately £100m on performance sport in an Olympic/Paralympic four-year cycle, including a population share of UK Sport’s current investment, which we would be entitled to.
"While UK Sport has a remit for performance sport, sportscotland has responsibility for all areas of Scottish sport, including schools and education, clubs and communities, and performance sport.
"Therefore, when setting our levels of investment in sports, we take a number of factors into consideration, and a similar approach would continue should Scotland become an independent country. Growth, effective governance, equality attainment, systemic approach, sustainability, potential impact, and additionality are all considered along with performance outcomes in major Games, World Championships, and European Championships.
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