Jersey Sport has been commissioned by the Government of Jersey to design, administer and develop a £120,000 Performance Sport Programme to deliver the ‘Enabling Athletes to Thrive’ Strategy which was published in November 2023.
The Performance Sport programme will be piloted in 2024 and reviewed for considered delivery in 2025 and beyond. During this pilot, the Performance Sport programme will support a targeted and focused pool of talented athletes who are currently performing at or have the potential to perform at the highest level in their respective sport.
Jersey Sport are committed to establishing and delivering a high-performance programme that inspires, supports and develops local sport organisations to produce and equip talented athletes, coaches and officials with the attributes and resources to pursue careers in professional or elite sport to international and world levels. Acknowledging this ambition, the pilot Performance Sport programme will mark the start of this journey. It will be designed in collaboration with industry experts, local sport organisations and other key stakeholders who have a passion, experience and knowledge of performance sport.
To gain the best possible insight into the current sporting landscape and identify the level Jersey’s athletes are currently at, athletes from Olympic, Paralympic, non-Olympic, professional sports (including recommendations by coaches/sporting club administrators) are invited to submit an Expression of Interest to indicate their current level of participation in their chosen sport(s).
Athletes may be based on island/in programmes on the UK mainland (University/Professional Clubs/NGB Talent Pathways) or even based overseas.
Selected athletes who fit the ‘Podium’, ‘Podium Potential’ or ‘Talent’ Performance Profiles will then be invited to make a formal application – which will enable them to be considered for funding to support their training, competitions and living costs.
To be eligible for consideration, athletes must qualify in any, or all, of the following categories
1) Podium (Elite)
Athlete who has won titles/medals/represented his/her country at a senior level in a major international sporting competition (eg. Olympic Games/World Championships) including athletes participating in professional teams/non-Olympic sports. Athlete possesses a strong medal potential in international competition, in the near future (<4 years).
2) Podium Potential
Developing athletes who demonstrate the potential to deliver international success/medal winning performances on the world stage at senior competition level in the future (<8yrs).
3) Talent (Development)
Athletes who have demonstrated they have the potential to perform at a world class level and have been selected in National Age Group Squads/Regional Squads and/or by their national governing bodies to the England/Scotland/Ireland/Wales Talent Pathways.
Thank you to everyone who got involved. Submissions for Expressions of Interest closed on 15 September 2024.
To ensure the available funding is used for maximum benefit to athletes and administration costs are minimised, Jersey Sport will establish and work in partnership with a Performance Sport programme working group. Jersey Sport will support the coordination and administration of this initiative by facilitating marketing resource, website development, grant administration, stakeholder liaison and ongoing working group support.
The working group will contribute to the programme design – including eligibility criteria, application process, resource requirements and support/service provision for the 2024 pilot. They will also work in partnership with Jersey Sport to design a longer-term, holistic programme for athletes, coaches and officials which will consider other elements of the Government of Jersey strategy, including more detailed success and feedback measures within the parameters of the Performance Sport programme funding and remit.
During its pilot year, key objectives of the Performance Sport programme will be to:
During the pilot year, given the required timing and desire to maximise impact, the Performance Sport programme will largely be a grant-based scheme, whilst exploring how multi-disciplinary support services through sector specialists can be offered and utilised.
Funding will be directed at individual athletes. Team sport athletes will be in scope, but the Performance Sport programme will not support whole teams at this stage. The pilot programme will initially focus on supporting athletes rather than coaches or officials, however, there is a desire and need to expand this remit in the near future.
Whilst the pilot will be largely grant based, there will also be consideration to the support services needed for athletes, coaches and officials to maximise their potential. Through partners and industry practitioners, Jersey Sport (with support of the working group) will investigate offering a multi-disciplinary support package that will form the service provision of the Performance Sport programme, such as:
Jersey Sport will recruit around 6-8 individuals to the Performance Sport programme working group who can bring valuable knowledge and diverse experience to the design, implementation and review of the programme. All individuals must meet at least one of the following criteria:
‘Expressions of Interest’ have been received from the sporting community and the working group will now be formed.
READ THE PERFORMANCE SPORT WORKING GROUP TERMS OF REFERENCE
June-July 2024
July-August 2024
September-October 2024
November-December 2024