Athlete Support Structure In Scotland Physical Education Essay

In this report I will look at the support available to athletes progressing up the sporting ladder toward elite level. I will research, identify and describe the functions of the agencies and structures that are in place to help support these athletes throughout Scotland, looking at areas such as management structure, facilities, funding, talent identification and the partnerships each of these agencies have with local governing bodies and local authorities.

Sportscotland is the national agency for sport in Scotland. They invest in resources made available by the Scottish Government and National Lottery to help support people throughout Scotland to participate, develop and achieve their full potential in sport. The Sportscotland head office is located in Glasgow with the Institute of Sport HQ located in Stirling.

Management Structure - The current chief executive Stewart Harris, was appointed in November 2005 after holding positions as Acting Chief Executive and Director of Widening Opportunities. The chairperson for Sportscotland is Louise Martin, who was appointed as chair in mid 2008. She had previously served two spells on the board in 1998 & 2005. Louise is joined by a further 10 members on the Sportscotland board who "meet regular basis to provide strategic guidance to all areas of work". (1)

Facilities - Sportscotland currently has three National Centres across Scotland. These are located in Glenmore Lodge, Cumbrae and Inverclyde. Glenmore focuses on solely on teaching beginners, coaching intermediate and advanced performers and providing assessments for instructors and leaders. However, Inverclyde has had its facilities designed to cater for the development of elite sportspeople in a variety of sports. These facilities are also available for community sport and programs. And finally Cumbrae, with its water sports centre and instructor training facility, offers facilities for water sport athletes and instructors of all levels. All three centres offer a wide range of courses for individuals, groups and schools. The fundamental goal of these centres is to develop the skills of professional athletes and national squads, as well as the skills of coach's, instructors and sports leaders.

Funding - Sportscotland is a National Lottery funded organisation and is governed by the National Lottery distribution rules. The funding is split between seven priority areas which are as follow; School and Community sport, performance development, high performance sport, quality facilities, coaching and volunteering, stronger partners and stronger Sportscotland.

Talent Identification - Talent Identification starts at grass roots level through a Sportscotland organisation known as Active Schools. They encourage youngsters to participate in sport, running after school clubs and activities in the schools. They put forward potential talent to the local and regional clubs or organisations. The children can then work their way to elite level through the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Partnerships - Sportscotland currently has two programmes running to help improve the Sports Partnership Approach. These two partnership programmes are running with Tayside & Fife and Central regions. Sportscotland also has an ongoing partnership with the National Lottery who donates money to help fund Sportscotland and the many smaller organisations and outreach programs it is involved with.

Scottish Institute of Sport

Scottish Institute of Sport is the arm of Sportscotland, which works with partners in order to try and build greater success for Scottish Sport, focusing solely on working with elite athletes, to help them toward competing at the very highest level. The SIS currently supports around 700 athletes in 30 different sports.

Management Structure - Due to the fact that the Institute of Sport is a Sportscotland outlet, it is run by the same board members as Sportscotland. Chief Exec, Stewart Harris, Chair Louise Martin and the other ten members, run the Sportscotland board.

Facilities - There are six area institutes and the Sportscotland institute of sport - located in Stirling - that have come together to form one performance network. The six areas and what they specialise in are as follows;

Central Scotland - Stirling University - Sport Centre

East of Scotland - Herriot Watt University - Centre for Sport & Exercise

Grampian Region - Aberdeen - Aberdeen Sports Village

Highlands & Islands - Inverness - Inverness Aquadome

Tayside & Fife - University of Dundee - Dundee

West of Scotland - The Palace of Art - Paisley, Glasgow

Funding - Scottish Institute of Sport relies on funding from the National Lottery. They receive a total of £5 million per year in which they use to fund the following; all session athletes attend with specialists such as physiotherapists, doctors, nutrionists and sport psychologists. They also pay for their athletes to use top of the range facilities for free, giving them the opportunity to maintain their fitness at the highest level with the latest equipment at no charge. Athletes do not receive money personally from the SIS.

Talent Identification - The SIS have a close affiliation with all Scottish Governing Bodies. This close partnership enables the Institute to choose athletes from a variety of sports, based on their ability and their potential to perform at the highest level of competition on the world stage. The final decision however, lies with both the SIS and the Governing Bodies as to whether an athlete progresses to the highest level.

Partnerships - As I mentioned above, the SIS have a close partnership with all SGB's, maintaining their talent identification program. They also have a partnership with Sportscotland, working together to bring Scottish sport forward. The National Lottery is also another close partner, funding the Institute on a yearly basis.

Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport

Based in Dundee, the Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport helps to support athletes within the region, aiming toward performing within elite level. TFIS is part of the Scottish and Area Institute of Sport network.

Management Structure - The current chairperson of TFIS is Frank Hadden. Hadden takes charge of the of the Executive Committee meetings which are held twice a year. These meeting include representatives of each of TFIS' partners. Alongside Frank is vice chairperson, Brian Ewing. Brian is also representative of the University of Dundee. There are another 20 members who complete these meetings including representatives from Angus, Tayside & Fife and Perth & Kinross council.

Facilities - TFIS is based at the University of Dundee, therefore the facilities used by athletes and staff, is also based here. These facilities are listed below.

Indoor facilities; (all situated on campus)

A state-of-the-art gym, complete with the latest technology such as mp3/mp4 personal viewing screens. The first gym in the UK to have such technology.

2 new dance and exercise studios

3 glass-backed squash courts

A designated strength performance centre

A specialised combat studio for boxing and martial arts

2 indoor sports halls. (2)

Outdoor facilities;

A 33-acre sports ground complete with changing facilities, pavilion and flood-lit training area.

4 all-weather training courts.

A water activities centre, providing sailing on the Tay Estuary by the River Tay. (2)

Funding - TFIS receives funding from both local partners and the Sportscotland lottery fund.

Talent Identification - The Scottish Institute of Sport and the Area Institutes of Sport, work in tandem with all National Governing Bodies. This helps ensure that each programme meets the needs of the athlete. However, it is the responsibility of the NGB's to draw up the selection criteria to determine whether or not an athlete is capable of the move up to Institute level.

Partnerships - TFIS have a number of partnerships with the following organisations; University of Dundee, Angus Council, Dundee City Council, Dundee Leisure Trust, Fife Council, Perth & Kinross Council, Perth & Kinross Leisure, Sport Tayside & Fife, Sportscotland and finally, the Scottish Institute of Sport.

National Lottery

Camelot is the licensed operator of the National Lottery UK. It helps to maximise returns to the Good Causes in the most efficient way possible.

Management Structure - Camelot's current Executive Director is Dianne Thompson. She is responsible for the management of the company. The board is made up of another three posts, two of which are Independent non-executive directors. These positions are currently held by Gerry Archer CBE and Sir Patrick Brown. The third position is held by Lee Sienna, who is the current chairperson of the company. However, the executive director can nominate another non-executive director to represent it on the board. This position is known as Shareholder-nominated non-executive director and is held by Wayne Kozun.

Facilities - As I have previously mentioned in the above section, the National Lottery provide funds of around £5milion each year, to Sportscotland who then use these funds to provide and upgrade facilities, projects and programmes throughout Scotland. Some of this money is given to the Scottish Institute of Sport and the Area Institute network, who use their share to support their athletes.

National Governing Bodies

A governing body is an organisation that oversees a sport in Scotland. They are described by Sportscotland as the "guardians and custodians of their sport". The main role of any SGB is to construct and deliver a plan which will help develop and bring forward their respective sports. These plans determine how each sport will be executed locally, regionally and nationally.

Management Structure - All SGB's are made up of volunteers, all of which are from a sporting background, such as individuals, teams and club members. Their fundamental aim of this group is to help encourage participation in sport on a national scale and to continue supporting those who already participating by helping them excel as best as they possibly can in their chosen sport.

Facilities - SGB's are spread all across the country, working closely with the local authorities to produce more efficient facilities. However, some SGB's have their own facilities. For example the Scottish Football Association (SFA) has ownership over the national stadium, Hampden Park, which is seen as a promising investment.

Funding - SGB's receive funding from Sportscotland. There are two ways funding can be accumulated by these SGB's, both financially and non financially. Sportscotland only invests in SGB's that have been appropriately assessed, that have shown their commitment to equity, drug free sport and child protection. From 2011, Sportscotland have stated that they will no longer invest in any SGB that does not meet these two requirements. SGB's must also provide a current, long term plan lasting at least up to 3-4 years before Sportscotland can invest.

Talent Identification - Refer to Talent Identification in the Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport section.

Partnerships - As I have previously mentioned earlier in my report, SGB's work closely with the local authorities and the Scottish Institute of Sport, maintain their talent identification program. They also have a close affiliation with Sportscotland who invest in these SGB's regularly.

Conclusion

After completing my research and constructing this report, I do feel there is significant support available for athletes across all levels of sport here in Scotland. However, I do feel there is room for improvement and due to my coaching experience over the past two years, working directly with children across a variety of age groups, I feel this improvement should be aimed at, and focused on, grass roots level. As I mentioned earlier there is great support for athletes already integrated in the system at regional and elite level and just as much support is directed to increasing overall participation in sport. However, in amongst all of this, I feel there is a large amount of home grown talent being overlooked, with many promising athletes "slipping through the net". More so in high profile sports, such as football, where the focus nowadays lies further afield, with teams aiming to find the next budding, foreign superstar. I believe the same trend is becoming apparent in other sports. In my opinion, there should be a more hands on scouting system in place, which can be seen at grass roots level and throughout local communities at clubs, games, tournaments and events. Or the introduction of a programme with a similar strategy to try and tackle the growing problem of overshadowing home grown talent, the very talent that Scotland as a whole is desperately craving.

2010 Sportscotland, Who Are We (http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/ChannelNavigation/About+us/TopicNavigation/Who+we+are/Meet+the+Board/

2010, University of Dundee, Sports Facilities (http://www.dundee.ac.uk/main/sports.htm)

2010, Sportscotland, Governing Bodies (http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/governingbodies)