London 2012 - It Could Be You

Anna Bebington - one of the first products of GB Rowing's World Class Start Programme
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Talent Identification and Confirmation – the hunt for London 2012 talent

Stepping on to a medal rostrum at the Olympic Games is one of those dreams that rank alongside scoring a goal in the FA Cup Final – common to many… but out of reach for the majority.

Winning an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal means that you have taken on and beaten the best opposition that the world has to offer. The ability required to achieve such a daunting task is a rare commodity and identifying those that have what it takes is no easy task. UK Sport is therefore leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of achieving fourth on the London 2012 medal tally.

In partnership with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and targeted National Governing Bodies, UK Sport is committed to systematically unearthing precocious athletic talent, leading to possible participation in specialist fast-track programmes towards London 2012.

Talent Identification (TID) is both an Art and Science involving a complex blend of scientific knowledge and assessment, alongside coaching art. It is designed to proactively seek out those that possess the raw material for World Class success, and respond positively to an intense training and competition environment.

On average it takes six to eight years for a promising sportsman or woman to get to the point where they can deliver medals on the world’s senior stage. It’s a long hard journey. Only those who are tactically aware, physically and mentally strong, coachable, and able to make significant sacrifices will survive.

The scientific approach of identifying talent involves a series of rigorous assessments and filters to detect individuals that have ‘higher probability’ for podium success. It’s not a fool proof system. There are no guarantees – only opportunities and choices. The role of the coach is also instrumental throughout the filtering process, most importantly during the Talent Confirmation phase which seeks to “test drive” the athlete in a more sports-specific training environment.

The system has to be smart enough to select individuals based on their future abilities and the standards required to deliver medals in five years time. Not just current performance abilities being produced here and now.

THE PROJECTS

Within the UK’s high-performance system, UK Sport sets the strategic lead and provides guidance on the field of Talent Identification, Selection, Confirmation and Olympic / Paralympic Development. UK Sport also works in close partnership with targeted NGB’s identifying critical talent gaps in their existing selection systems, and also facilitates the sharing of best practice across the wider UK sporting landscape.

The English Institute of Sport (EIS) acts as the support delivery agency with specialist Talent Identification staff working in partnership with NGBs implementing tailored programmes to detect and build greater stockpiles of World Class talent for the high-performance pipeline.

UK Sport have undertaken a number of special Talent ID initiatives and projects in order to ensure Great Britain achieves its aspirational goal of fourth in the London 2012 Olympics (see links below).

Girls4Gold

Pitch2Podium

Talent Transfer

Sporting Giants

Latest Sporting Giants applicant update - 30 January 2008