HL Deb 21 June 2004 vol 662 cc110-1WA
Lord Moynihan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the membership of the Winter Olympic Sport Group; when the group was set up; who chairs the group; and what decisions the group has reached. [HL3168]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The Winter Sport Forum was established in August 1998 under the chairmanship of Richard Simmons, Olympic performance manager, at the British Olympic Association. It is an informal group of the key staff who lead the high performance programmes in each of Great Britain's Olympic winter sports.

To date, the key issues on which the forum has focused include: a Pre-Olympic Winter Games holding camp in 2002; European Youth Winter Olympic preparation camps for 2003 and 2005; pre-Olympic athlete and staff gatherings and numerous other issues all of which aim to draw more attention and specialist help to Olympic winter sport in the United Kingdom, to attract better athletes and more funding support.