A survey has revealed that retired Bermudian athletes believe they failed to unlock their full potential.

The survey, commissioned by the non-profit organisation Performance Pathways, found that 100 per cent of the retired elite athletes who responded said they did not reach the ceiling of their ability.

Most said they also left the sport earlier than they wanted because of financial barriers, limited support and lack of opportunities, with 69 per cent saying they never received any funding support, and 83 per cent recognising “a gap in funding”.

The survey was sent out to all national sports governing bodies, with 150 participants from close to 20 sports choosing to participate. The data set was made up of retired athletes, elite athletes, parents and NSGBs.

Performance Pathways founder Jenny Smatt, Bermuda’s first female Olympic swimmer, set up the charity with a view to supporting athletes and giving them the opportunity to be competitive on the world stage.

The results of the survey did not surprise, with funding, long-term development support for high-performance athletes and mental wellbeing featuring high among the concerns.

Smatt said: “The only surprise from the data is the need is even greater than I thought it was — both from a funding perspective and in terms of the information parents need.

“It was eye-opening to see that NSGBs — and this is without judgment — are not creating training plans for our athletes in most instances. It therefore becomes difficult to direct funds in a meaningful way.”

She added: “It’s really important as a non-profit organisation to reinforce our mandate with data and ensure that data drives our decisions. While qualitative stories are important and help to give us an understanding of the need, data is equally, if not more important, for us to understand and direct our programmes.”

Smatt is concerned that the next generation of athletes will end up with the same feelings of regret as their predecessors if changes are not made.

“The reality is that at a minimum we have individual sporting organisations operating in silos,” Smatt said. “Information and synergies are not being shared and maximised.

“Our approach is threefold — awareness, action and accountability. The survey is a first step in creating awareness in our community and for stakeholders to engage. We will aim to fill some of the gaps with a parent portal that has centralised information as well as support for training-plan creation. We will also have post-career support for athletes. We will continue to measure that against a baseline to assess improvement.

“That is what we will do and our hope is that through this, NSGBs will augment what exists and parents will ask questions of NSGBs and government organisations to request information and funding.”

It remains up for debate whether NSBGs will accept disrupters on to their turf, but Smatt is determined to put more power into the hands of athletes and parents to shape their own destiny.

“My interest is in changing the script and shifting the narratives,” she said.

“I want to celebrate more athletes on the world stage, specifically Bermudians on the world stage. I want us not just participating, but people winning medals and in finals. If what that takes is a non-profit organisation taking the reins, that is what we are committed to doing.

“If NSGBs want to partner with us, execute on our long-term development plans that have been crafted and posted, we welcome it.

“It is really important that our community values sport — not only values it but shares the same vision of doing well on the world stage. If we aspire just to participate, we don’t then have the desire or the urgency to do what it takes.”

When it comes to funding, Smatt is sympathetic towards the difficulty the Department of Sport and Recreation has in allocating its budgets.

“I do not believe this solely rests on the shoulders of Government. I think they are doing the best they can with the budgeted funds they have. But the reality is when we are talking about a funding shortfall of $20,000 per athlete and you multiply that by every athlete we have ranging from adolescent to elite, that’s a large sum of money.

“My interest is, how do we ensure that the funds allocated are used to help athletes achieve their highest potential. Any of the government awards range from $2,500 to $10,000, but that may only cover travel to a meet and a training camp.

“Imagine we have a young athlete aspiring to win a marathon. They have limited equipment, limited training, they have just enough funds to show up for the race and not enough for any preliminary preparation. They look at the starting line and they are looking at their competitors who have state-of-the-art equipment, have funds for sports psychology, physio and nutrition.

“Is it a realistic goal or aspiration to win that marathon? Perhaps. But the call to action here is getting the funds and applying them in the right way so they show up truly ready to compete and not just to participate.”

Smatt is looking to flesh out her thoughts as a panellist at the Game Changers Expo tomorrow. The event will be held from today to Sunday at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, with the 51-year-old veteran of the 1992 Barcelona Games talking on the subject “Building your financial playbook to power performance”.

She said: “A key objective is to raise awareness for athletes and parents who are looking to obtain funding.

“Right now many of them are having to do it on their own, and in some instances NSGBs are explicitly stating to parents and athletes that they must find their own sponsors.

“In the first instance, I will look to provide suggestions and awareness on how to go about that, but I also want to introduce leading practice on how to build a training plan. I’m not taking about the number of sessions in a week, but what is needed to achieve those lofty goals rather than asking for funds in an isolated way for a trip or a event. We want to encourage comprehensive preparation for a year, with maybe a three-year outlook.”

• To register for the Game Changers expo, visit the website