16 November 2023
Jersey’s first strategy for enabling athletes to thrive and perform nationally and internationally has been published.
Enabling Athletes to Thrive – A Performance Sport Strategy For Jersey sets out how Government intends
to deliver a performance system that enables Island athletes to achieve at their highest level.
It sets
objectives for:
- enabling talented athletes to be better supported and prepared for performance sport
- ensuring that coaches have the skills and qualifications to better support performance athletes
- making high-level competition and training easier to access
The Assistant Minister with responsibility for sport, Deputy Lucy Stephenson, said: “Living on an
island should not be a barrier to performance, nor should a person’s background or family
circumstances. Those with the talent and potential should be able to perform, and this strategy sets
out how we aim to support our athletes, coaches and community in the years to come.
“This strategy also places the wellbeing of athletes at its heart and recognises that effective support
has to include the transition out of top-level competition once they are no longer performing at
the highest level they can.”
If funding is approved in the Government Plan, a performance manager will be appointed to
implement the strategy by developing the performance pathway.
Deputy Stephenson added: “The strategy marks the beginning of a change in the way we recognise
the value of performance sport and support those directly involved in it. The creation of a
performance sport strategy was a ministerial priority for 2023, and a great deal of work has gone
into its development. I am grateful to everyone who has been involved; they have helped us to
identify the barriers which athletes face and, with investment that is set out in the Government
Plan, we will be able to initiate the schemes which will begin to address them.”
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