sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards allows senior women to go full-time

Scotland’s women’s hockey team will train full-time in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games thanks to funding from the sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards (SAPAs) scheme.
The £60,000 investment from sportscotland will enable the squad, of approximately 20 players, to focus on an intense training schedule as they aim to maximise their chances of landing a medal in Glasgow.
To help them achieve their Games targets, 62 high performance athletes are receiving individual awards, and coupled with team awards for hockey, cycling, and badminton, the total investment for the second round of SAPAs is £456,917.
Starting in June this year, the women’s hockey squad will train five days a week for three months, and, although investment details for next year are still to be finalised, sportscotland’s expectation is that the squad will take up another period of full-time training immediately prior to the Games.
Mike Whittingham, Director of High Performance at the sportscotland institute of sport, explained that backing the team in this way is vital to ensure the athletes are the best prepared they have ever been to perform on the world stage.
He said: “Scotland women’s hockey team have been improving their world ranking year on year, but if they are to continue to develop and win consistently at this level we need to allow them to train and compete on a level playing field with the likes of Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, and India.
“All of these teams receive athlete personal awards to enable them to balance work and sport in order to compete at the highest level.
“The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow presents a fantastic opportunity for Scotland to win a women’s team medal and with the right coaching and support team in place, as well as increased contact time with the coaches, hopefully the players will deliver.”
The team funding will allow Scottish Hockey to deliver an increased skills development programme, increased tactical programme, and supervised squad strength and conditioning programmes through the sportscotland institute of sport.
Callum McLeod, Performance Manager for Scottish Hockey, said:
“Year on year, we have been increasing the demands placed on our Scotland players in order to meet the targets we set ourselves.
“As a result, the players need more time to balance their hockey commitments with their work, education, and life in general.
“The sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards will enable the players included in our senior women’s squad to place more focus on their training and performances on the field.
“We’d like to thank sportscotland for this great opportunity, and also the employers and institutes of further and higher education for their cooperation in helping us to deliver this programme over the next two years.”
Scotland player Ailsa Wyllie, who has won 100 caps, added:
“To have received this backing from sportscotland will help the team immeasurably as we aim to get on the podium in Glasgow.
“The whole squad is committed to the full-time training programme and we can’t wait for it to get started.
“This investment will help ensure that we are the best prepared we have ever been going into a major championship, and with the passionate home crowd behind us too it will give us a massive chance to realise our goal.”
£456,917 has now been allocated in this the second of three yearly SAPA announcements covering 15 sports, which is a significant increase from the first investment of £204,000, revealed during financial year 2011/12.
When the third and final SAPA round is announced sportscotland will have invested over £1 million and supported well over 100 high performance athletes. So far, with a further year to go, £660,917 has been invested in the SAPAs, including Commonwealth medallists athletics’ Eilidh Child, shooting’s Jennifer McIntosh, and weightlifting’s Peter Kirkbride.
Within the second year’s investment, badminton and cycling have also received team medal support awards of £30,000 and £40,000 respectively.
The sportscotland high performance awards (SAPA) were established as a three-year initiative specifically targeted at potential medal-winning athletes for Glasgow 2014, covering financial years 2011/12, 2012/13, and 2013/14. This initiative is one of many planned to make a difference to our Scottish athletes as they prepare for a home soil Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow.

Scotland Women will train full-time in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games thanks to funding from the sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards (SAPAs) scheme.

The £60,000 investment from sportscotland will enable the squad, of approximately 20 players, to focus on an intense training schedule as they aim to maximise their chances of landing a medal in Glasgow.

To help them achieve their Games targets, 62 high performance athletes are receiving individual awards, and coupled with team awards for hockey, cycling, and badminton, the total investment for the second round of SAPAs is £456,917.

Starting in June this year, the women’s hockey squad will train five days a week for three months, and, although investment details for next year are still to be finalised, sportscotland’s expectation is that the squad will take up another period of full-time training immediately prior to the Games.

Mike Whittingham, Director of High Performance at the sportscotland institute of sport, explained that backing the team in this way is vital to ensure the athletes are the best prepared they have ever been to perform on the world stage.

He said: “Scotland women’s hockey team have been improving their world ranking year on year, but if they are to continue to develop and win consistently at this level we need to allow them to train and compete on a level playing field with the likes of Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, and India.

“All of these teams receive athlete personal awards to enable them to balance work and sport in order to compete at the highest level.

“The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow presents a fantastic opportunity for Scotland to win a women’s team medal and with the right coaching and support team in place, as well as increased contact time with the coaches, hopefully the players will deliver.”

The team funding will allow Scottish Hockey to deliver an increased skills development programme, increased tactical programme, and supervised squad strength and conditioning programmes through the sportscotland institute of sport.

Callum McLeod, Performance Manager for Scottish Hockey, said:

“Year on year, we have been increasing the demands placed on our Scotland players in order to meet the targets we set ourselves.

“As a result, the players need more time to balance their hockey commitments with their work, education, and life in general.

“The sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards will enable the players included in our senior women’s squad to place more focus on their training and performances on the field.

“We’d like to thank sportscotland for this great opportunity, and also the employers and institutes of further and higher education for their cooperation in helping us to deliver this programme over the next two years.”

Scotland player Ailsa Wyllie, who has won 100 caps, added:

“To have received this backing from sportscotland will help the team immeasurably as we aim to get on the podium in Glasgow.

“The whole squad is committed to the full-time training programme and we can’t wait for it to get started.

“This investment will help ensure that we are the best prepared we have ever been going into a major championship, and with the passionate home crowd behind us too it will give us a massive chance to realise our goal.”

Ailsa Wylie

The sportscotland high performance awards (SAPA) were established as a three-year initiative specifically targeted at potential medal-winning athletes for Glasgow 2014, covering financial years 2011/12, 2012/13, and 2013/14. This initiative is one of many planned to make a difference to our Scottish athletes as they prepare for a home soil Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow.

 

 

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