Routes to Sporting Excellence in the UK

• The identification of potential elite athletes has been formalised and organised by UK sport. This organisation develops elite athletes by identifying potential talent in sport.
• UK Sport: an organisation whose aim is the development of the UK's sportsmen and sportswomen. It is funded jointly by the governement and the National Lottery.
• Testing Phase 1: a range of generic physical and skill-based tests; also includes an in-depth analysis of each athlete's training and competition history.
• Testing Phase 2 and 3: tests in functional movement screening, medical screening, performance lifestyle workshops and psychology and behavioural assessments.
• Confirmation phase: selected athletes embark on a 6-12 month confirmation phase during which they are immersed in the sport's training environment; unsuccessful athletes are provided with opportunites to continue the sport through the club system.
• #DiscoverYourGold: over 20 sports are involved in #DiscoverYourGold, a partnership between UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport and a range of National Governing Bodies, targeting 15-24 year olds to be fast tracked into the world of high-performance sport.
• UK sport develops elite athletes by supporting an athlete's lifestyle.
• UK sport develops elite athletes by supporting an athlete's coaching.
• UK sport develops elite athletes by supporting, through research, sports science and sports medicine, via the English Institute of Sport.
• UK sport develops elite athletes by providing a world class programme or pathway to success.
• Podium: athletes with realistic medal-winning capabilities at the next Olympic or Paralympic Games.
• Podium Potential: athletes whose performance suggests that they have realistic medal-winning capabilities at the subsequent Olympic or Paralympic Games.
• The main role of UK Sport is to invest National Lottery funds and income from central government to maximise the performance of UK athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and global sporting events.
• UK Sport invest about 70% of its income in two ways: to national governing bodies, enabling them to operate a World Class Programme; funding athletes directly through the Athlete Performance Award.
• The role of the national institute of sport is to provide sports science and technological help to elite sportsmen and women.
• The role of the national institute of sport is to work with coaches and sports administrators to help improve the performance of their athletes.
• The role of the national institute of sport is to give technical support that enables athletes and coaches to optimise their training programmes, maximise competition and improve their health and availability to train.
• The English Institute of Sport has a dedicated team of sports scientists who support coaches and their athletes.
• Success is measured by medals won and the number of medallists developed.
• Schools, colleges and clubs provide PE for all young people and often extra-curricular activities and clubs for those who are keen to participate or who might excel in a particular sport.
• The government supplies schools with funds to support school sport and the development of elite sports performers.
• Elite coaches are sent to primary schools to improve sports provision.
• Sport England encourages schools and colleges to link with community sport to increase sports participation and the likelihood of students realising their potential and becoming elite performers.
• Schools and colleges offer qualifications ins port at GCSE and A Level. All these have sports performance as part of the qualification.
• Schools and Colleges often run sport teams, playing fixtures. This helps to develop sports talent in the UK.
• Advanced Level Apprenticeships in Sporting Excellence offer a structured training and development route across a number of sports for talented young athletes.
• Sports clubs are often in leagues or national competitions, which enable those with talent to gain competitive experience.
• Sports clubs nurture and encourage talent, often giving financial concessions and providing coaching and guidance to develop sports performers.
• Most higher education institutions offer university sports scholarships or bursaries. This enables access to special support services.
• Many top sports facilities are located at universities, so HE is increasingly involved in the development of sporting excellence in the UK.
• The Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS), and in Scotland the Winning Students Scheme (WSS) are both governement-funded sport programmes, delivered through a partnership between universities and NGBs.
• Some universities host centres of sporting excellence, which can be linked to a National Sports Institute.
• Drop out and failure in elite sport can be a result of poor performances, injury, pressures from outside sport such as family commitments, pressure from the media, or the stress relating to the financial impact of training, travelling, competing and fulfilling commitments outside of sport.
• The programmes run by UK Sport include a lifestyle component that attempts to help athletes cope with the pressures and demands of elite sport. 'Lifestyle' is available to all athletes on World Class Programmes. Training advisers at the EIS give athletes the necessary skills to cope with the special demands of being an elite performer and to prepare them for life after sport.
• There are two levels of UK Sport's World Class Programme.
• Level 1 of UK Sport's World Class Programme is the world class podium meaning the individual has medal capabilities at the next Olympic Games.
• Level 2 of UK Sport's World Class Programme is world class podium potential meaning the individual has medal winning capabilities in future Olympic Games.
• Performance foundations are home nation talent pathways where highly talented athletes are first identified, confirmed and prepared to meet the increased demands of the world class environment.
• Athletes at the performance foundation level have the potential to graduate to podium potential within 1-4 years.
• National Age Group Programmes such as the English Girls U15's will hold training camps at the national institutes of sport such as Lilleshall or St Georges Park.