Appliance of Science Has Come of Age: Cram

by Hester Brierley 12.01.10

With the race for medal winning margins well and truly on, there has never been a more significant time for sport science and medicine to prove it’s worth.

As major events on the horizon leading into the London 2012 Games create ever decreasing windows of opportunity, the appliance of science could make the difference between winning and losing, said EIS Chairman Steve Cram today at the English Institute of Sport 2010 National Conference in Cheltenham.

“In this country we have some of the most talented sport scientists and medics available to us, either working directly for the EIS, the sports we support or through one of our key strategic initiatives going forward, the EIS Consultant Faculty” said Cram.

“The EIS Consultant Faculty will engage a number of world leading experts across key disciplines and industry sectors to ensure every opportunity is grasped to continually develop world leading support services to sports.

“We need to make every day matter, by applying our expertise in a way that ensures the provision of both the basic and more innovative solutions to performance questions. The expertise we currently have across our EIS network and the partnerships we have in place all contribute to the great position we are in to create a lasting legacy of sport science and medicine in sport’s high performance system in this country, seeing us in great shape and well on the way to becoming world leading providers of support services to elite sport” he added. 

This was reinforced by John Steele, UK Sport Chief Executive during his opening address at the EIS National Conference, an annual event for all EIS technical and operational support staff.

“A crucial part of being a successful athlete is having access to world class sport science and medicine support. The EIS has, over the past year in particular, proved that it is up to the task of delivering this to Britain’s Olympians and Paralympians. The expertise of the practitioners, the structure now in place, and the delivery of services to sports in a more demand led fashion, have all contributed to the EIS becoming a vital building block as we build a world class system for 2012 and beyond.”

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said:
“The difference between taking gold or silver is minimal so we need to ensure that we do everything we can to give our athletes the edge. This is where the English Institute of Sport comes in. The importance of sport science and medicine can’t be underestimated. In the run up to London 2012 the EIS will play a crucial role in supporting our elite athletes as Britain looks to better the superb performance in Beijing.” 

In attendance at the event, Hugh Robertson MP, Shadow Minister for Sport & Olympics, said:

“In a year that sees both a Winter Olympics and the half way point to London 2012, attention will, quite properly, be focussed on this country's high performance system. The EIS has a key role to play both in terms of getting an athlete to the starting block in the best possible condition and making up those vital fractions of a second that deliver a medal.”