Support for local athletes attracts £3k boost from Stagecoach

A dedicated grant supported by sportScotland to help sportspeople in Orkney with the costs of attending competitive and training opportunities has received a £3k boost from Stagecoach.

The Athlete Travel Award Scheme is a partnership between sportScotland and participating local authorities - Orkney Islands, Western Isles, Shetland Islands and Highlands Councils. It’s aimed at helping ‘elite pathway’ athletes – athletes with potential to reach elite levels of competition and performance - from the Highlands and Islands gain better access to competition and training opportunities without having to relocate from their communities.

The £3k boost from Stagecoach for Orkney’s scheme will mean support can be extended to even more local athletes in coming rounds.

Eight athletes were supported in the most recent round of grants.

Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Gwenda Shearer, said: “I would like to thank Stagecoach for coming forward with this support – especially at this crucial time when athletes have missed so much and faced such extensive disruptions. It will really help the Council and sportScotland assist more local athletes get back on track with high level training and competition. I would also thank the Council’s Community Sports team and sportScotland for their ongoing support of the scheme.”

David Beaton, Managing Director at Stagecoach Highlands said: "We are really proud to be supporting local elite athletes to progress their training and ultimately competition in the early 2022 season. We can't wait to hear how this support has assisted them in achieving their future goals."  

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive, sportScotland, said: “Athletes have experienced exceptional challenges due to the COVID 19 pandemic impacting on their training and competition schedules, particularly for those in communities like Orkney where travel is so important. Now more than ever, the athletes need support to get their careers back on track so it’s great to have this additional resource from Stagecoach which will complement the existing support from sportScotland and Orkney Islands Council.”

The 2021-22 scheme offered a more flexible application process to address ongoing uncertainty over the sporting calendar due to the pandemic, with two application rounds – the first took place in July, and the second round is now open, covering travel for the period January – April 2022.

Athletes who applied in the first round are eligible to apply to this current second round too - however the maximum any individual will receive in total for 2021-22 is £1,500.

Applications for the second round close on Friday 29 October at 5pm.

sportScotland has allocated each of the three 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.

The amounts received by successful applicants will be based on a number of criteria including their forecasted Competition and Training schedule, understanding of the 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, visit our Sports Development page or email Joanne Cairns.