Snowsport England (SE) and Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS ) are proud to be continuing to build on their established partnership; providing expert support services to identified performance Development Athletes progressing to GBS World Class Plan. Snowsport England have welcomed TASS’s recent positive changes and are excited to see the benefits work for the selected athletes for the Milan/Cortina cycle (Olympic and Paralympic).
Through a co-ordinated approach utilising discipline athlete profiling, What It Takes To Develop/Win strategies and athlete performance behaviours, SE has worked with GB Snowsport to identify a cohort of athletes for the 2022/23 seasons.
SE will also bringing the coaches of these athletes closer to the process. This will help grow the skillsets of the coaches, allowing them to manage multi-disciplinary expert support and be more specific in athlete annual and cyclical plans. SE also hope to have an impact on providing expertise and upskilling to TASS support staff in Snowsports and our unique de-centralised training environments across Europe.
The programme will be overseen by Mark Ritchie (SE Pathway Manager) and he will be bringing his expertise to aid athlete and coach development in tandem together, including the TASS local delivery site.
Mark Ritchie says “Snowsport England is delighted to continue our strong partnership with TASS for the forthcoming season. We have worked closely with GBS World Class Plan coaches and SE coaches to select and nominate athletes to TASS based on their criteria. I will work closely with the athletes, their coaches and local delivery sites to make sure athlete and personal development is progressive and impactful. We thank TASS for their continued and evolving support.”
“To know that there will be the combined expertise of TASS and Snowsport England working together to further the development of athletes is important and positive. I am really excited for the future of Snowsports at an elite level with this partnership in place and cannot wait to continue training and my development as a result.” – Charlotte Holmes GBS FIS & Team Evolution Alpine Athlete linked to University of Central Lancashire.
SE have nominated and selected 13 athletes to date across 6 disciplines. It is recognised that this is Year One of the new cycle with TASS. We hope to grow the number of available TASS athlete spots in Year Two of the cycle and we know the athletes are already starting their induction with TASS across their delivery site network.