The lion's share - £62.6 million ($107 million/€79.1 million), up from £32.2 million ($55 million/€40.7 million), in 2012-13 - went to governing bodies, with six organisations getting increases of more than 200 per cent from a year earlier.

Details of the payments are contained in UK Sport's recently-published annual report.

Other Lottery grant recipients were athletes (£14.5 million/($24.7 million/€18.3 million), events - such as the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and the 2017 World Athletics Championships - (£3.3 million/$5.6 million/€4.1 million), and international relations (£367,000/$627,000/€463,000).

The scale of the increases was perhaps to be expected for a year at the start of the new Summer Olympic and Paralympic cycle, but they underline the pressure being brought to bear on UK Sport's resources in a year in which both its Lottery and Exchequer funding fell and sport slid inevitably down the domestic political agenda.

Among governing bodies, the biggest year-on-year increase, both as a percentage and in absolute terms, based on the figures in the report, went to UK Athletics (see tables below).

The payments are detailed in UK Sport's annual report ©UK Sport



Asked to explain the increase, UK Athletics said the figures did not correspond with its own immediate assessment of what it had received and that it was looking into the matter.

Governing bodies receiving the biggest year-on-year increase in absolute terms:

1.    UK Athletics                                           £3.82 million ($6.5 million/€4.8 million)

2.    British Rowing                                       £2.95 million ($5 million/€3.7 million)

3.    Royal Yachting Association                   £2.73 million ($4.6 million/€3.4 million)

4.    British Swimming                                    £2.38 million ($4 million/€3 million)

5.    British Amateur Boxing Association        £1.83 million ($3.1 million/€2.3 million)

6.    British Cycling Federation                      £1.76 million ($3 million/€2.2 million)

7.    British Equestrian Federation                 £1.73 million ($2.9 million/€2.1 million)

8.    British Canoe Union                                £1.36 million ($2.3 million/€1.7 million)

9.    British Triathlon Federation                    £1.3 million ($2.2 million/€1.6 million)

10.  England Hockey                                      £1.28 million ($2.1 million/€1.6 million)

Governing bodies receiving the biggest year-on-year increase as a percentage:

1.    UK Athletics                                               420 per cent

2.    British Ski and Snowboard Ltd                 294.5 per cent*

3.    SportScotland                                            277.6 per cent

4.    British Amateur Boxing Association            245 per cent

5.    British Triathlon Federation                        237.7 per cent

6.    British Bob Skeleton Association                219 per cent

7.    Sports Taekwondo Ltd                               183.1 per cent

8.    Disabled Target Shooting of GB                159.8 per cent

9.    British Blind Sport - Goalball                      156.3 per cent

10.  Royal Yachting Association                        148.7 per cent

* 2012-13 payment made to British Ski and Snowboard Federation