City to discontinue Tallinn Sports School
Today, the Tallinn City Government decided to propose to the City Council the discontinuation of the Tallinn Sports School, an institution run by the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department, by no later than June 30 of this year. The current responsibilities and commitments to young athletes previously held by the sports school will be transferred to the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department.
Deputy Mayor Kaarel Oja, who oversees sports, stated that the decision is due to identified deficiencies in the sports school’s operations and the city's goal to reduce fragmentation of similar activities across various institutions and departments. "Tallinn will continue to support young sporting talents, both now and in the future. Going forward, however, this support will be managed through the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department using open application rounds, similar to other sectoral supports," Oja clarified.Oja noted two significant reasons for the decision. "Firstly, several major and systemic flaws have been identified in the operations of the Tallinn Sports School, as highlighted by the city’s internal audit last summer. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of willingness to address these issues and to make the system more open and transparent. Secondly, it's important to evaluate how effectively the sports school's system has been in distributing support. The Tallinn Culture and Sports Department manages other city sports supports with significantly fewer costs and personnel, yet handles a larger number and budget of supports," said Oja.
Last year’s internal audit revealed that the conditions for accepting young athletes were inconsistent with the sports school’s statutes and unclear, the established application process was unreasonable, and the evaluation of applications was opaque. The selection of partners and the formation of contract costs were also non-transparent, and the conditions were too narrowly directed at a limited circle of sports clubs. Since the sports school did not demonstrate significant added value, the internal audit recommended considering the discontinuation of the institution and transferring its tasks to the Culture and Sports Department.
The current year’s budget has largely been allocated through existing contracts with various Tallinn sports clubs that provide additional opportunities for young athletes. Following the discontinuation of the sports school, the Culture and Sports Department will continue to fulfill these contracts. Concurrently, the department will develop a new support measure in line with the City Council regulations to support young athletes.