Strengthening our commitment to Talent and Performance Development for the next four years
England Athletics is pleased to announce that the organisation has successfully secured a further four-year investment from Sport England to support our Talent and Performance Programmes.
This significant funding will enable England Athletics to continue supporting the development of athletes and para-athletes in the talent pathway, underpinning the UKA World Class Programme and transitioning athletes into senior GB&NI teams.
Furthermore, this funding will allow the organisation to invest in the future champions of the sport, creating a sustainable network of support services, and creating optimal performance and talent development environments for athletes to thrive.
By aligning England Athletics goals with Sport England’s strategic priorities, the organisation aims to deliver key objectives, focused on delivering inclusive positive environments for athletes striving to become elite performers.
This long-term investment reflects Sport England’s confidence in England Athletics’ vision and strategy. Over the next four-years, these resources will:
- Enhance and grow the network of Talent Hubs, which provide vital coaching and sport science services for junior and senior athletes.
- Address gaps in the performance system for non-UKA funded athletes.
- Expand opportunities for coach development within the talent pathway and support the next generation of performance coaches.
- Provide international competition experience for developing junior and senior athletes.
Sarah Benson, England Athletics’ Director of Talent and Performance, said:
"We are deeply grateful to Sport England for their continued support and investment in our vision for talent and performance for athletics in England. This partnership reflects a confidence in our pathway to support the progression of athletes into the UKA World Class Programme and the high-performance competition scene."
"We also want to extend our thanks to partners at London Marathon Events, TASS, and all the Talent Hub staff at the University of Birmingham, Leeds Beckett University, Loughborough University and St Mary’s University for their ongoing support. Together we’ve created a foundation of excellent development environments, and we look forward to building on this success in the next four years."
What does this investment mean, and how does it link to other areas of the sport?
Key questions answered:
How is England Athletics funded to support talent and performance?
Sport England is our core funding partner in the talent pathway. Sport England provides England Athletics with a four-year funding investment to deliver on our core priorities.
In addition to our Sport England investment, we have a partnership with London Marathon Events to invest in our Talent Hub sites at the University of Birmingham and Leeds Beckett University. TASS (Talent Athlete Scholarship Scheme) provides support services in each of our hub sites including physiotherapy and strength and conditioning.
In a similar way to that in which Sport England funds our talent pathway, UK Sport works closely with all four of the Home Country Sports Councils (Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport Wales and Sport NI) to support the alignment of investment into talent and performance programmes within both British and Home Country sport’s governing bodies.
What do we spend this funding on?
Talent investment from Sport England is ringfenced to support the development of around 1000 junior and senior athletes in the talent pathway from the age of 16, across all event groups in track and field, and para-athletes who have an event at the Paralympic Games. These are athletes who have been selected for the Youth Talent Programme, Junior Talent Programme and Senior Programme. Furthermore, our investment supports many performance athletes based at Talent Hub sites who benefit from coaching and sport science support services locally.
What can we not use this funding for?
We do not fund our Commonwealth Games team from Sport England talent investment. There is a separate funding process through Commonwealth Games England to support the preparation of senior athletes likely to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.
We cannot use this funding for individual athlete grants in the way that UK Sport National Lottery funding does for athletes selected onto UKA’s World Class Programme.
Additionally, we cannot fund grassroots or club development activity with Sport England talent and performance investment. There is a separate investment funding process from Sport England to support grassroot sport development.
How does England Athletics decide how to prioritise spending?
Our investment priorities focus on where we believe the largest number of athletes will benefit from support. This is informed through:
- Consultation with the talent and performance community
- Research and evidence from talent development practices around the world
- Guidance and support from our funding partners
- Feedback from athletes and coaches within the talent pathway
Through investing in an infrastructure of performance and talent development environments, a network of support services for athletes, and supporting the development of coaches with the aspiration to help athletes at the highest level, we are confident we will connect with a greater number of athletes to enhance and support their development.