£1M to fund Scottish sport stars of the future
Thursday 31 August 2006
sportscotland is continuing its support to the six Area Institutes of Sport with a Lottery funded award of £1,021,500 for the next 12 months to help develop the country’s most promising young sporting talent.
Established for six years, the 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. Since 2001, a total of 116 athletes have progressed from the Area Institutes to the Scottish Institute of Sport.
A number of Scotland’s sports stars have benefited from the support services of the Area Institute Network. Kate Cullen, who trains at the East of Scotland Institute, won bronze in the 25km Points Race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and Chris Baillie of the West of Scotland Institute took silver in the 110m hurdles. Other impressive achievements include alpine skier Roger Cruickshank who, thanks to the rehabilitation treatment he received from the Highland Institute of Sport after suffering a career threatening injury, competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. In addition, Tim Baillie, Grampian Institute of Sport canoeist and recently crowned UK Champion, finished fourth in the Canoe Slalom C2 World Cup event in Athens in May.
There are currently over 364 athletes across 16 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 and science, strength and conditioning and athlete career and education services.
Most recently, curler Kerry Barr (East of Scotland Institute) and swimmer Robbie Renwick (Grampian Institute) have been inducted into the Institute. Kerry won a bronze medal at the European Youth Olympics in 2005, placed first at the European Junior Challenge in 2006 and was the 5th player for Team Wood at this year’s World Women’s Curling Championships; Robbie was a sliver medallist at the Commonwealth Games in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
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 £1,021,500 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 (£1,021,500) from sportscotland is an annual award and is divided, as follows, among the six Area Institutes: Central Scotland Institute of Sport (£140,000); East of Scotland Institute of Sport (£236,000); Grampian Institute of Sport (£140,000), Highland Institute of Sport (£115,500), Tayside and Fife Institute of Sport (£160,000) and West of Scotland Institute of Sport (£230,000).
- The Area Institutes are partnerships between local agencies involved in the development of performance sport along with sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport.
- Sixteen sports are currently supported by the Area Institute Network: Core sports are athletics, badminton, curling, golf, hockey, judo, rugby and swimming; athletics and swimming also support elite athletes with a disability. Network sports include canoeing, cycling, sailing, snowsport, squash, tennis, triathlon and waterskiing.