ADP ATHLETES INVITED TO APPLY FOR SPORTSAID (ENGLAND)

BF invites ADP athletes to apply for SportsAid support for the year 2020/21.

Athletes who have signed up for, and paid the annual subscription, for the Athlete Development Programme for the 2020/21 season will be invited to apply for SportsAid Core awards or Backing the Best awards.

The invitation to apply will be emailed to all registered athletes on the ADP, with athletes encouraged to check their email inboxes, especially junk or spam inboxes. Athletes who have signed up for and paid the annual subscription for the ADP but have not received an email by Tuesday 17th November should contact [email protected]

THE SPORTSAID AWARDS

SportsAid is a charity that aims to support talented young athletes in England. It does this by nominating athletes for awards, which provide access to a variety of resources including webinars, workshops for parents and athletes and access to resources to support their growth as athletes. In addition to this, there is the possibility of financial support, depending upon the award that an athlete receives.

There are two awards that athletes will be able to apply for, an athlete may apply for both, but can only be in receipt of one award. BF has a limited number that it can nominate to SportsAid. For 2020/21, that number is as follows –

Core Awards – 10

Backing the Best Awards – 10

The differences in each award are detailed below, followed by the eligibility criteria –

CORE AWARD

The SportsAid Core award is funded through charitable donations, and in addition to the support detailed above, will give access to potential financial support of up to £1,000. This is dependent on SportsAid’s ability to raise funding, and means that an athlete may receive all, part or none of that amount. However, they will be able to access the additional support that SportsAid offers.

BACKING THE BEST

The Backing the Best Award is designed to provide assistance to the highest potential athletes who, due to financial constraints, may otherwise struggle to compete or train. In addition to the support detailed above, a Backing the Best award will come with financial support of up to £5,000. In order to ensure that support is going to those most in need, in addition to the eligibility criteria laid out below, Backing the Best applications will only be accepted from households that have a gross annual income of less than £55,000.

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

SportsAid awards are aimed at supporting athletes who have ambitions to compete at the highest level, representing Great Britain at Senior World Championship or Olympic level. With this in mind, an athlete should consider applying for a SportsAid award if they meet the following criteria –

• Have been competing on the European Cadet Circuit or Junior World Cup Circuit (excluding Manchester Cadet Foil International, London Cadet Sabre International and Eden Cup), for the last year.
• Reasonable expectation to be selected for the Cadet or Junior European Championships 2021, or of having achieved the qualification criteria
• Reasonable expectation to be selected for the Cadet or Junior World Championships 2021, or of having achieved the qualification criteria
• Reasonable expectation of selection for the U23 European Championships and be aged under 21 – For Backing the Best

For both of these awards, there are limited places available, this means that should more applications be received than there are spaces available, the following criteria will be used to prioritise athletes for support –

• Junior British ranking, and performances at international level
• Cadet British ranking (if relevant) and performances at international level
• Attendance at Athlete Development training camps.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

An athlete is considered eligible for a SportsAid award if they meet the following criteria –

• Be a member of British Fencing’s Athlete Development Programme for the year 2020-21
• Be in structured education
• For Core Award – be under 18 years of age
• For Backing the Best – be under 21 years of age
• Have a realistic prospect of meeting one or more of the performance standards set out above
• Hold a UK passport
• Represent England as their home nation. Scottish and Welsh athletes should apply for SportsAid Scotland and SportsAid Wales respectively, while Northern Irish athletes should consider applying to the Mary Peters Trust. For more information about these programmes please go to – https://www.britishfencing.com/athlete-development-programme-zone/athlete-funding-support/
• If an athlete is in receipt of a TASS award, they are ineligible for a SportsAid Core Award

TIMELINE

Friday 13th November – Applications open for SportsAid Core or Backing the Best

Friday 27th November, 17:00 – Deadline for applications

Monday 7th December – Applicants informed if they are successful or unsuccessful

Monday 21st December – Deadline for successful applicants to submit personal information to the SportsAid online portal

April 2021 – Financial support begins for successful applicants

WHAT ABOUT ATHLETES WHO DO NOT REPRESENT ENGLAND?

Athletes who are not based in or representing England, should look at the athlete funding page of the ADP Zone, which details funding opportunities for athletes across all the Home Nations.

WHAT SUPPORT IS OUT THERE FOR CLUBS AND COACHES?

Sport England has announced a new, £16.5m Return to Play fund to help the sport and physical activity sector during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Additional guidance can be found at the dedicated pages for clubs and coaches. Please also consider signing up for and supporting the #SaveOurSports petition to provide support for sports throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

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