New gov’t programme will aim to help gifted athletes in Poland

The programme will supplement the Team 100 initiative already in place and will be financed by state-owned companies, Sports and Tourism Minister Witold Bańka said on Monday.

"We are planning to launch a programme with the participation of Treasury-owned companies in the near future to offer additional support to a group of talented athletes who are not covered by the Team 100 project,” Bańka told broadcaster Radio dla Ciebie in an interview.

The Team 100 project currently covers 200 athletes aged from 18 to 23, including those with disabilities. It provides each of them with PLN 40,000 in funding annually, according to officials.

A few weeks ago, Bańka said at a news conference that athletes benefitting from support under the Team 100 project earned 98 world and European championship medals, including 22 gold, for Poland last year.

"The new programme is targeted at athletes who are not included in the Team 100 project, for example because of their age," Bańka said, adding that the government would provide financial support to athletes over the age of 23 in key summer and winter sports.

The measures are designed to help athletes prepare for the summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and the winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, Bańka said.

He announced projects to improve infrastructure for the country’s up-and-coming ski jumpers and skiers, including work to build a full-fledged cross-country skiing course in the southern mountain resort of Zakopane.

Earlier this year, officials said that a cutting-edge winter sports centre would be built in Poland’s south-western Izerskie mountains as part of plans to give a makeover to the local cross-country skiing mecca of Jakuszyce.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP