Athlete Travel Award Scheme Applications Open

The Athlete Travel Award Scheme was launched in 2018 and has so far supported 30 Orkney athletes to progress their journey in sport. Applications will open for the 2022-23 cohort of athletes on Friday 25 March.

The grant is aimed at supporting sportspeople across the Highlands & Islands with the costs of attending competitive and training opportunities is open again for applications from Orkney athletes.

The Athlete Travel Award Scheme is an ongoing partnership between sportscotland and the participating local authorities in Highlands & Islands - Orkney Islands, Western Isles, Shetland Islands and Highlands Councils; Orkney Islands Council are extremely grateful to also have a partnership with Stagecoach which allows us to enhance and extend our programme in Orkney.

The Scheme helps ‘elite pathway’ athletes – athletes with potential to reach elite levels of competition and performance, from the Highland & Islands region gain better access to competitive and training opportunities without having to relocate from their communities.

The scheme had to be altered slightly in 2021-22 to allow for circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 2022-23 scheme will revert back to just one application for the year with applications covering the period from April 2022 – March 2023.

Athletes are eligible to apply for up to £1,500 with applications open from Friday 25 March and close Monday 11 April at 5pm.

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive, sportscotland, said:

“Now in our fourth year of support for this scheme, sportscotland continue to recognise the specific challenges faced by athletes in the Highlands & Islands, so it’s important that we can provide support through schemes such as the Athlete Travel Award Scheme to the athletes located in some of the most remote and rural parts of Scotland.

This can only be done by working in partnership with the Local Authorities in Highland & Islands and we are proud of the fact that this scheme is just one element of our support to aspiring athletes in Orkney, as we also support the delivery of services through sportscotland institute of sport input into the local performance development programme in Orkney.

The Athlete Travel Award Scheme will hopefully provide that additional support to talented athletes from Orkney with their travel costs to competitions, and contribute to them taking part at Regional, National and International levels within their chosen sport.

It is fantastic to hear the athlete stories from those who have benefitted from awards in the past and we look forward to continuing to work with Orkney Islands Council and Stagecoach to support more island athletes.”

sportscotland has allocated each of the Local Authorities £10k, with the Councils then required to top this up with £2k of their own funding plus the equivalent of £3k of management and administrative time, Stagecoach will also invest a further £4.5k for 2022/2023, with the funding boost from Stagecoach for another year allowing us to support more Orkney athletes.

The amounts received by successful applicants will be based on a number of criteria including their forecasted competition and training schedule, understanding of their Sports Performance Pathway and National Rankings. The application process also requires athletes to evidence how the grant will improve their performance, provide them access to quality training opportunities and improve their sports or club environment.

To find out more and download application forms, please visit https://www.orkney.gov.uk or email Joanne Cairns, Community Sports Hub Officer at joanne.cairns@orkney.gov.uk.