Interns required for Fast-track Practitioner Programme
SubscribeUK Sport 10 May 2007
UK Sport’s Fast-track Practitioner Programme (FPP), now entering its fourth year, is looking to recruit 10 new interns across the disciplines of physiotherapy, strength and conditioning, physiology, nutrition, performance analysis, psychology and biomechanics.
The FPP operates in partnership with the Home Country Sports Institutes and National Governing Bodies, and is designed to fast-track some of the nations best young support talent to a position where they have the skills and expertise required to work with elite athletes.
A total of ten internships within the English Institute of Sport (EIS) are being advertised from today. The posts run for 12 months and are supported financially by UK Sport and the respective Home Country Sports Institutes/National Governing Bodies.
Each intern will be based at one of the Home Country Sports Institute sites, receiving an overall package worth over £20,000, inclusive of salary and personal development allowance, professional development workshops and mentoring support. Successful interns will undertake a sustained learning experience under the guidance of an experienced mentor, and will receive on the job training and undertake exchange visits. They are challenged to develop their specialist skills as quickly as possible so that they have the essential toolkit for working in high-performance sport.
“In the UK, we are setting ambitious performance targets with all sports as we prepare for Beijing and then for the London Olympics. Our world class aims have to have world class back-up if they are to be realised”, said Liz Nicholl, UK Sport’s Director of Elite Sport. “The Fast-Track Practitioner Programme is about doing just that – taking talented performers in crucial disciplines and finding ways in which we can make them even better.”
Margaret Hicks, EIS Regional Manager in Sheffield and the Fast Track Practitioner Programme Co-ordinator for the EIS, stressed the importance of the scheme.
“The intern programme has established itself as an extremely valuable framework for the accelerated development of young sport science and sport medical practitioners,” she said. “The Institute is able to create an environment which helps support, nurture and challenge individuals and a very high proportion of interns gain employment within the British High Performance System,” she added.
Natalie Dunman, a recent graduate of the programme who is now working full time as a talent identification co-ordinator with the English Institute of Sport explains more: “The programme is an unrivalled opportunity to develop as a sports science practitioner. As a physiology intern, I was exposed to a World Class High Performance environment on a daily basis. Through the programme I was also able to visit other EIS and Home Country Institute sites and meet numerous expert practitioners and coaches, gaining a real insight and understanding of how high performance sport in Britain operates. I learnt more in 12 months than I thought was possible”.
The importance of the programme was further emphasised by Sarah Craven, UK Sport’s Sport Science and Sport Medicine Assistant, who is responsible for co-ordinating the programme.
“The scheme is aimed at helping the participants get as much guidance and experience as possible at this early stage in their careers,” said Craven. “We know that athletes need the best preparation if they are going to succeed at the highest level and this includes having the top people around them. These practitioners are a vital part of that process and we aim to help them get off to the best possible start in their journey towards excellence.”
