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Scottish sport stars of the future to prosper from sportscotland Area Institute funding

Tuesday 1 November 2005

sportscotland has committed nearly £900,000 to the Scottish Area Institute network over the next 12 months to help develop the country’s most promising young sporting talent.

All six Area Institutes will benefit from sportscotland Lottery funding, totalling £898,450, to develop performance sport.

“It is essential that we continue to encourage the development of Scotland’s most promising young athletes...”

A number of Scotland’s most promising young sports stars have benefited from the support services of the Area Institute network, including 1500m gold medallist at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, Morag McLarty, and Jayne Clason, a Grangemouth judo player who won a bronze medal at the US Open last month. Both athletes are members of the Central Scotland Institute of Sport.

The funding towards the Area Institutes Network, which offers selected athletes access to coaching programmes, facilities and support services delivered by experienced coaches, will help nurture the next generation of talent who will ultimately feed into the Scottish Institute of Sport and hopefully go on to enjoy medal success on the world stage. Former Area Institute athletes Olympic hockey player Graham Dunlop (West) and badminton European Junior bronze medallist Callum Menzies (Central) have recently been inducted into the Scottish Institute of Sport and are just two among many who have successfully progressed through the Institute network.

There are currently over 320 athletes across 15 sports from tennis to waterskiing who benefit from Area Institute support. All members have access to essential services to help their performances, including support facilities, coaching, sports medicine, sports science, strength and conditioning and performance lifestyle as required.

Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland, said: “The Scottish public value seeing great Scots succeed in the sporting arenas of the world, and we believe the ongoing funding and development of the Area Institute network is key to our future success as a nation. This is why we have committed a further £898,450 of sportscotland Lottery funding to support it.

“The network forms an integral part of the Scottish Institute of Sport, and it is essential that we continue to encourage the development of Scotland’s most promising young athletes and give them access to essential support services, wherever they live, work or train.”

  • The funding (£898,450) from sportscotland is an annual award and is divided, as follows, among the six Area Institutes: Central Scotland Institute of Sport (£130,200); East of Scotland Institute of Sport (£190,000); Grampian Institute of Sport (£100,250), Highland Institute of Sport (£123,000), Tayside and Fife Institute of Sport (£145,000) and West of Scotland Institute of Sport (£210,000)
  • The Area Institutes are partnerships between local agencies involved in the development of performance sport along with sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport.
  • Area Institutes act as feeders to the Scottish Institute of Sport, creating a clear pathway for each athlete to reach the very top in their chosen sport.
  • This network offers athletes access to coaching programmes delivered by experienced coaches. This includes access to training facilities available locally and a fully integrated strength and conditioning programme.
  • To complement and support the provision of this technical and tactical expertise, Area Institutes provide access to sports science, sports medicine and athlete career and education services.
  • Fifteen sports are currently supported by the Area Institute network: athletics, badminton, canoeing, curling, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, rugby, snowsport, squash, swimming, tennis, triathlon and waterskiing. Athletics and swimming also support elite athletes with a disability.
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