P
E
A
S
C
L
A
I
T
I
G
, D
E
L
R
A
E
I
L S
H
S
: P
O
T
O
P
H
National training
Centre
Regional
Performance Centres
Schools Sports Regional Hubs /
Partnerships Centres of Excellence
Individual Running Fencing Swimming Pony
shooting club club club club club
Far left: Katy Livingston won bronze at the
Individual Schools
2008 World Championships. Above: Heather
Fell winning gold at the Millfield World Cup
Allenby and Georgina Harland to name This model is already successfully op- Beyond this stage are ‘development
a few, while swimming clubs have been erating in some parts of the country, athletes’ (normally aged 16 to 18 years)
the other main source of talent. especially Yorkshire and Humberside. who also attend regular sessions at Hart-
It doesn’t really matter where modern Children interested in the sport are then pury and additionally receive financial
pentathletes originate however. Four invited to taster sessions and/or short assistance with training costs. At ap-
years ago, Pentathlon GB introduced a courses in fencing and/or shooting be- proximately 18 years of age, a significant
Schools Biathlon Championship, with fore being handed on to clubs. number of these athletes go on to be-
regional qualifying events, as a recruit- Pentathlon GB’s High Performance come a part of the Podium Programme
ment vehicle into the sport. The success Centre is based at the University of at the High Performance Centre – where
of this competition has encouraged the Bath. This is where senior athletes are several of them are supported financially
national governing body to extend it developed under the watchful eye of as full-time athletes. Running in parallel
to include lower tiers of competition so the performance team which comprises and, in some instances, in unison with
that by the time the athletes have quali- coaches, sports scientists, sports physi- this is the TASS (Talented Athlete Sports
fied for regional and national events cians and physiotherapists, strength and Scholarship) programme for athletes in
they are more than capable of being conditioning experts, lifestyle counsel- full-time education but with the poten-
competitive when they transfer to open lors and sports psychologists. There tial to become podium athletes. They
Pentathlon GB regional events. is also access to a 50m pool, shooting receive funding and support while pur-
Working through School Sports range and fencing salle. suing full-time studies.
Partnerships (SSPs) and their local The World Class Pathway Programme
authority, schools with access to swim- underpins this structure. Young athletes Regional Performance Centres
ming facilities and somewhere to run (normally between the age of 14 and One noticeable gap in the structure was
are being encouraged to organise low- 16 years old), who are identified as tal- the lack of support for the athlete at
key biathlon events (comprising as ented and having the potential to be regional level on a more day-to-day ba-
little as a one length swim and a 1,000m future international modern pentath- sis as well as a stepping stone approach
run) and to take part in organised letes, are selected for specialist training into the Pathway programme. To bridge
SSP events in some of the country’s camps at the academy based at Hartpury this gap, a model has evolved compris-
larger towns and cities. College in Gloucestershire. ing four regional performance centres
Issue 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84