Commonwealth Games Scotland, with support from sportscotland, today announced a new initiative designed specifically to enhance the winning opportunities of Scottish athletes and coaches on the world stage. The Achieve 2014 programme has been created to offer a select number of talented athletes and coaches the opportunity to gain critical knowledge and experience of a multi-sport environment to assist their own preparations for medal success in Glasgow 2014 and beyond.
The project will cost up to £144,000 and includes funding from Commonwealth Games Scotland and an award of £20,000 from sportscotland, with discussions also ongoing with a number of other funders.
Post Games studies and reports on athlete success at multi-sport Games have consistently highlighted that the environment experienced is significantly different to that which most athletes and staff encounter at their own single sport championships. However with prior multi-sport Games experience, team members are better able to cope with this unique environment and are more likely to perform and deliver to their full potential.
Achieve 2014 will offer targeted athletes and coaches identified by sports in the Glasgow 2014 programme, the opportunity to travel to the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games for a five or six day learning experience. Each team member will be afforded the opportunity to observe their own or similar sport in competition and, if time permitting, other sports competing during their stay. Each Achieve 2014 Team member will complete specific learning tasks, daily event logs and, upon return, complete a brief report on their personal experiences throughout the whole event.
Assigned to each Achieve 2014 Team member will be an athlete mentor or coach mentor who will work closely with the individual athletes and coaches prior to departure, during the 2010 Games in Delhi and afterwards to ensure the time spent in Delhi is utilised to achieve a robust, performance related outcome. Today the search started for the mentors who will be recruited by the end of April 2010.
Selection of athletes onto the Achieve 2014 Team will be through a nomination process in partnership with Scottish Governing Bodies of sport and sportscotland. It is anticipated that this opportunity will be offered to up to two athletes and/or one coach per sport.
