UK Sport

International Leadership Programme seeking fourth intake of participants

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UK Sport 29 April 2010

UK Sport’s International Leadership Programme (ILP) last week launched a recruitment drive for a fourth year.

Accepting nominations from Olympic & Paralympic sports, the ILP will aim to build on the success of previous years and competition for places on Year 4 is expected to be high. All individuals nominated are required to be responsible for increasing the sport’s influence internationally and to gain a place on the programme applicants will be required to undergo a rigorous selection process.

Commenting as an ILP Alumni member, John Derbyshire, Performance Director of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) said:

“The ILP has been extremely valuable to me and the time taken to participate has been a significant and worthwhile investment. I greatly benefited from involvement and the impact on the RYA international strategy has been clear to see. I am sure the RYA will continue to put candidates forward for future years of the programme”

UK Sport works with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Olympic and Paralympic sports to develop International Influence Strategies outlining how the NGB plans to increase its influence within the International Federation to which it affiliates. However such strategies would be meaningless if the NGB does not have people within its structures with the skills to be able to deliver on the aims and objectives contained within them.

By developing the cross cultural competencies of NGB representatives charged with delivering this increased influence, the International Leadership Programme (ILP) aims to ensure the UK’s sporting interests on the world stage are represented by the very best international operators.

Ben Calveley, UK Sport’s Head of International Relations added:

“The ILP has proven to be an invaluable experience for our recent Year 3 graduates. Having the right people in the right places to promote the UK’s sporting interests is essential and it was encouraging to see a number of Year 3 participants taking on increased international responsibilities during the programme period. With new aspects to the programme already in the planning stages I am confident Year 4 will build on the success of previous years”

The ILP programme year will commence in early July with a group Induction. Participants will then commit approximately nine days over the course of the year to attend three residential training modules and three one day events. Training will cover themes such as the operating environment of international sport, negotiating and influencing and multi-cultural working.

Launched in 2006, the ILP is one of several UK Sport people development programmes and is part of UK Sport’s commitment to ensure that the UK is able to contribute to the development and governance of international sport.

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