Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

67 The joint standing committee (JSC) contracts ran from 1 April to 31 March each year and the JSC compiled its own figures to these dates. What became apparent, however, was that there was an imminent danger that, despite vastly increased income, the sport was starting to live dangerously beyond its means and it was this realisation that led in due course to the demise of the BAAB and its caretakership by the AAA that will be described in the next chapter. Dealing with the BAAB’s financial problems involved a great deal of pain and soul searching but it did lead to the necessary and radical overhaul of the management of the commercial activities that would result in a period of increasing profitability. The vital budget for payments to athletes was aligned more closely to market forces and the indoor events were included. Pascoe’s company, APA, was mandated to bid for higher sponsorship income (which it did successfully) and, most importantly, Malcolm Jones instituted a system of budgetary control that could monitor income and expenditure on a continuous basis. The BAPU arrangement was scrapped as the JSC itself took direct responsibility for all aspects of the events. Jones had taken up his position only in August 1987 so could have no influence on the summer season just ending, but when he produced the figures for the year the massive overspend on payments to athletes was revealed. The runaway train had to be brought under control; and quickly. This was done successfully and, together with other measures to increase income and control costs, bore fruit handsomely. Losses were converted into substantial profits and, by the end of 1990, the AAA-BAAB reserves had been built up to close to £2.25 millions. The combined effect of the AAA’s caretakership, the reorganised management of the commercially important events under the JSC and the introduction of professional financial expertise paid dividends but, at the heart of this financial success was the income and exposure provided by television. As we shall see later, the relationship with ITV was proving to be more exacting than had been expected, with the initial groundswell of optimism and enthusiasm gradually being replaced by a more hardnosed attitude and focus on value for money that did not sit comfortably with many within the sport.