What is Isle of Man Sport?

Isle of Man Sport (formerly the Isle of Man Sports Council) is made up of representatives appointed by Tynwald order. They act as an independent forum for the promotion & development of sports and recreation in the Isle of Man.
Isle of Man Sport provide advice and expertise to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture on all matters pertaining to sports and recreation on the Island including proposals for a strategy for the development of sports and recreation.

How is Isle of Man Sport funded?

IOM Sport receives a percentage of the IOM lottery duty, this funding is managed and allocated to sports across the Isle of Man.
See page 26 (Grants Payable) of the "IOM Government Pink Book" for the breakdown of IOM Sports allocated funding.

Isle of Man Sport is made up of representatives appointed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture.
The 8 volunteer members of IOM Sport are each appointed for a four year term.
See "About Us" page of the website for details of IOM Sport members.

Isle of Man Sport does not decide what is and what is not a sport.

There are many different opinions as to what constitutes a sporting activity and Isle of Man Sport does not have its own definition of sport.
Isle of Man Sport operates a recognition process to establish which sports they may consider working with and investing in.
When deciding whether to recognise a sport to work with, Isle of Man Sport ascertain if it meets the Council of Europe’s European Sports Charter 1993 definition of sport (“Sport" means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.) and if the sport is well established and organised within the Isle of Man.

It is not the role of Isle of Man Sport to establish or appoint governing bodies of sport.
GBS are typically independent organisations that govern their sports through the common consent of their sport.
The aim of the engagement process is to identify a single GBS structure which governs a sport.
IOM Sport's engagement criteria focuses on establishing if a GBS has achieved a high level of organisation and governance.
Isle of Man Sport recognition of (and engagement with) a governing body of sport is not a guarantee of funding nor does it mean that IOM Sport have approved or accredited the quality of its programmes.
Recognition by IOM Sport does not bestow any official powers on a governing body of sport to govern its sport, other than those contained within the GBS’s constitution.

Under a new process introduced in 2017, applications for recognition of a sport (and a governing body for that sport are dealt with together).
Recognition of sports and governing bodies of sport is subject to the submission of an 'Engagement' application.
Decisions on engagement applications are made by the Isle of Man Sport Committee.

The IOM Sport 'Engagement' application process (for recognising sports in which IOM Sport may invest and their governing bodies of sport) assesses sporting activity and governance.

Complete the online application form or return a downloaded form to Isle of Man Sport.
If you have any queries relating to the application then you should contact us via the email address iomsport@gov.im or call us on 01624 688555.
The engagement application will be considered by Isle of Man Sport who will aim to contact you with the outcome within 60 days from the date it is received.
If the application is successful, you will be invited to meet with representatives of Isle of Man Sport to discuss the potential support available for your sport and GBS.
The successful sport will be asked to fill in the Sports Charter document and produce a Development plan, highlighting their plans and aims for the short and long term.
See "Recognised Sports" page of the website.

For information on funding for Governing Bodies of Sport see "Investing in Sport" page of the website.

For information on funding for individuals, see "Isle of Man Sport Aid" page of the website.