British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association chief Joanna Poulton resigns over 'mad' plans

British bobsleigh and skeleton athletes person won six medals astatine this season's 2 World Cup events

The seat of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association resigned implicit "absolutely mad" plans by UK Sport to alteration however wintertime sports are run, the BBC has learned.

In a conception insubstantial seen by the BBC, it is argued this caller organisation would supply a "greater instrumentality connected concern and simplification successful hazard for UK Sport".

UK Sport said it has a "responsibility to continually question caller ways to champion enactment Britain's athletes", adding it has and volition "continue to consult with the applicable sports".

But Joanna Poulton precocious resigned implicit what she says are "laughable" plans that would jeopardise the aboriginal viability of governing bodies.

She told BBC Sport: "I'm truly disappointed to resign but I felt I had to arsenic a substance of principle, successful bid that I could talk openly astir UK Sport and what they are proposing.

"The thought that you tin bring each the elite sports nether 1 extortion frankly seems to maine to beryllium laughable. It is naive to deliberation that you tin enactment each the high-performing athletes unneurotic and deliberation that you are going to amended show oregon person efficiencies and that is inactive what we don't understand."

• Hall and Lawrence instrumentality metallic astatine Park City
• Marcus Wyatt and Laura Deas assertion bronze medals
• GB triumph metallic successful four-man bobsleigh successful Whistler

It is understood that wrong the caller backing grant for the bobsleigh and skeleton programmes for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics successful 2024, BBSA (British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association) were lone guaranteed to beryllium the transportation spouse until October 2023.

Ms Poulton said this has near the BBSA successful the "awful" presumption of telling unit they cannot warrant their employment beyond that date.

She said her cardinal contented with the connection was that she could "not spot however this connection is going to payment the athletes".

"There has been nary justification, thing successful penning to america explaining wherefore they deliberation this caller organisation is going to bash a amended occupation for the athletes, and for the wealth that is invested, than we tin bash for UK Sport via our expertise and knowing of however our 2 sports work," she said.

Team GB did not person immoderate medal occurrence astatine the past Winter Olympics successful bobsleigh oregon skeleton

The conception insubstantial for the organisation - provisionally called 'Sport Org' - says it would beryllium a "custom-built environment, utilising individuals with a proven way grounds of delivering medals astatine Olympic and Paralympic Games".

It said the existing exemplary for the transportation of WCPs (world people programmes) results successful "duplication of effort and roles" and streamlining these to 1 organisation would bring "stability, ratio and performance".

The insubstantial adds that this conception is "initially modelled with the wintertime WCPs", and the BBC understands the 2 governing bodies with whom UK Sport are specifically engaging astatine this signifier are BBSA and GB Snowsport.

The Sport Org consultation began successful September 2021.

However, Ms Poulton believes that the results astatine the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - with the lone GB medals coming from curling - person impacted connected UK Sport's tendency to prosecute this plan.

"I bash deliberation that's what they've done but I deliberation it's incredibly short-sighted," she said.

"We told them wherever we walk astir of our time. We walk a batch of our clip connected governance. We don't walk capable clip connected performance.

"It's naive to deliberation that astatine each Olympic Games you are going to bring backmost medals, you conscionable aren't. Every athletics goes done cycles. You spot that with swimming, cycling, rowing. What you person to look astatine is however agelong does it instrumentality to bid an jock for our 2 sports? It takes astir 8 years.

"That is 2 Olympic Games. One Olympic Games erstwhile the results weren't large - that is not a bully capable crushed to enactment successful spot a full caller system, and without consultation with us."

She said that she has concerns astir what would hap to the endowment pathway wrong sports and the quality of NGBs (national governing bodies) to pull sponsors without having entree to elite athletes.

In caller weeks, British bobsleigh athletes person won 3 metallic medals connected the World Cup circuit, portion skeleton athletes Marcus Wyatt, Matt Weston, Laura Deas and Brogan Crowley person each won World Cup medals.

In effect to Ms Poulton's comments, Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said: "UK Sport remains committed to becoming an ever greater unit successful wintertime Olympic and Paralympic sport, arsenic portion of our ngo to make the top decennary of bonzer sporting moments.

"As the enactment organisation for high-performance athletics successful the UK, we person a work to continually question caller ways to champion enactment Britain's athletes, to execute their dreams and win connected the satellite stage, portion besides maximising the interaction of nationalist funds.

"We are exploring whether backing to enactment British athletes successful immoderate wintertime sports could beryllium optimised by aligning their show operations, to alteration athletes to proceed to triumph and triumph well, whilst creating a thriving high-performance athletics community. We person and volition proceed to consult with the applicable sports successful the coming weeks and months."

A GB Snowsport spokesperson said: "We corroborate that we are alert of discussions astir a Sport Org and the request for greater clarity arsenic the proposals go much transparent. We await with involvement further accusation from UK Sport to assistance successful a afloat appraisal of the interaction specified a program could person for Britain's wintertime athletes, programmes and coaches."

The BBSA has not commented but is understood to beryllium moving with UK Sport to larn much astir the proposals.