Derbyshire Institute of Sport launched to help local athletes achieve greater success on the national and international stage

Some of Derbyshire’s emerging talented sports performers are to receive more support to help them reach their full potential in a move which aims to see more athletes from Derbyshire competing at future Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games.

The Derbyshire Institute of Sport (DIS) – a new support network which will provide athletes with access to high quality strength and conditioning, sports science and sports medicine services within Derbyshire – was launched on Wednesday, April 11.

The DIS has been established with the aim of helping selected athletes to achieve greater success on the national and international stage, and enhance the sporting reputation of Derby and Derbyshire.

Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council and the University of Derby are the driving forces behind this new initiative and they have agreed to work together to make some new and targeted investment in performance level squads and athletes with the aim of maximising the legacy from the London 2012 Games. They have invited Derbyshire Sport to play a lead role in coordinating this development on their behalf.

The DIS will aim to build on the best and get support where it is most needed, and initially seven sports – athletics, badminton, basketball, golf, hockey, swimming and table tennis - have been nominated as ‘performance sports’.

The majority of athletes supported by the DIS will be from these performance sports, with each governing body of sport nominating a number of athletes to be part of the DIS.

In addition, a small number of individual athletes from other sports will be supported, many of which will come from cycling, netball, sailing and squash, which have been identified as ‘development sports’.

Selected athletes, clubs and squads will be given access to improved coaching and training and competition facilities, as well as high quality strength and conditioning, sports science, physiotherapy and medical support within Derbyshire.

A team of strength and conditioning coaches and physiotherapists is currently being put together, who will work alongside DIS Performance Manager Andy Wood, who was previously Performance Director at GB Badminton and was the Badminton Head Coach at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics.

Derventio eXcel's Hannah Jones (2nd right front row) and James Latham (3rd left back row) were amongst several performance athletes that attended the launch of the Derbyshire Institute of Sport on 11th April 2012

The DIS was officially launched on April 11 at the Kirtley Building at the University of Derby’s Kedleston Road site in Derby, which has been chosen as one of the first two ‘hub’ sites for the DIS, and will provide many of the services required by athletes and coaches within the DIS.

The second ‘hub’ site, Brampton Manor in Chesterfield, was also officially opened on the same day.

Cllr Carol Hart, Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health, said: “The Derbyshire Institute of Sport will really help to put Derbyshire on the map as a sporting county.

“Many of Derbyshire’s most talented athletes already receive some support through the Podium bursary programme, but it has become clear that for athletes to reach the top of their sport they need more than financial assistance.

“Seeing more athletes from Derbyshire competing on the international stage will be fantastic for the county, and also provide role models for other local young people.”

Paul Robinson, Strategic Director of Neighbourhoods, Derby City Council, said: “We are delighted to work with the Derbyshire Institute of Sport and support our joint ambition to help boost the number of home-grown athletes competing on the national and international stage by 2015.

“Together with the planned new sport and leisure facilities for Derby, the work with the DIS will form part of our lasting Olympic legacy for the people of Derby.”

Professor John Coyne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “The University of Derby is excited to be a partner within the Derbyshire Institute of Sport. Through this partnership we will not only raise the performance of sports clubs and individuals within Derby, Derbyshire and the University, but will improve the position of Team Derby, which is the focal point for the development and delivery of sport here, in the British Universities and Colleges Sport league table.

“Sporting excellence is high on our agenda, so we are delighted that our Kedleston Road site is to be one of the first two ‘hub sites’ where athletes supported through the Derbyshire Institute of Sport can obtain the core sports science and sports medicine services they require.”

Lucy Shakespeare, Club Manager, Brampton Manor, said: "Brampton Manor is proud to be part of the Derbyshire Institute of Sport and to be supporting local young athletes by providing our facilities and expertise. We are very excited about the future of sport in Chesterfield and across Derbyshire."

DIS Performance Manager Andy Wood said: “Over the last year since I left my post with GB Olympic badminton I have had the opportunity to witness first hand some of the excellent work being done by athletes, coaches and clubs in Derbyshire and to see the vast amount of talent and potential that we possess in the county.

“I have met so many people who are passionate about developing sport in Derbyshire and with the excellent backing from Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council and the University of Derby, I believe that the Derbyshire Institute of Sport has a real opportunity to make a significant performance impact in providing the environment for these athletes to maximise their capabilities.”

David Joy, Director of Derbyshire Sport, said: “The Derbyshire Institute of Sport is an exciting new development, inspired by London 2012 and unique to Derbyshire.

“Derbyshire has of course produced many outstanding sportsmen and women who have achieved success at national, European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic levels and there are many youngsters in the county, who are showing the same potential.

“The Derbyshire Institute of Sport has been designed to help release this potential, to leave less to chance and to help ensure that more athletes fulfil their potential, particularly in those sports which have a strong base in Derbyshire.”

To find out more about the Derbyshire Institute of Sport go to www.derbyshireinstituteofsport.co.uk

The first wave of athletes who have been selected to be part of the DIS are:

Badminton      

• Tiara Samuel
• Daniel Hong
• Joshua Hong
• David Hong
• Grace king
• Ragnar Mularczyk
• Sophie Brealey

Basketball

• Josh Guddemi
• Rema Lascelles
• Martin Gayle
• Rishi Kakad
• Mark  Woodhouse
• Aaron Maher
• Troy Whittington
• Maddie Thompson

Swimming      

• Sarah Vasey
• Jodie Hawksworth
• Kane Haggett
• Hannah Jones
• Kevin Wallbank
• Ben Goodall
• Abbie Wood
• Harry Webster
• James Latham
• Tyler-Anne Black

Table Tennis   

• Isobel Ashley
• Abbie Millwain
• Ronan Kelly
• Tim Denby
• Callum Goodwin
• Jayden Budworth
• Alex Tilley
• Robin Pearson

Cycling

• Kim Bent
• Sam Lowe
• Adam Morewood
• James Shaw
• William Cheaney
• Hannah Blount

Netball

• Tyler Bexton
• Jessica Smith
• Elisha Cooper
• Isobel Beighton
• Harriet Wingfield

Sailing

• James Hadden
• Alice Woodings
• Joshua Haynes
• Toby Woodings

Squash

• Ashley Davies

Individual athletes

• Ellie Koyander (Skiing)

Notes to journalists

Andy Wood, who lives in South Derbyshire, was previously Performance Director at GB Badminton and was the Badminton Head Coach at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics.

He coached Simon Archer and Joanne Goode to Britain's first Olympic badminton medal, a bronze in Sydney 2000, and Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms to their silver in Athens in 2004.

In the 2006 World Championships, he coached all four of the finalists in the mixed doubles, with Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms winning gold and Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg taking silver.

Andy is a former professional UK badminton player with over 30 years professional coaching experience. He launched the 'Future Stars', a badminton coaching programme producing top international players including Donna Kellogg, Nathan Robertson, Anthony Clark and Tracey Hallam. From this, a winning culture and a hotbed of UK talent was established who needed specialist training facilities.

This led to Andy campaigning for and then successfully implementing the international Sports/Badminton Centre at Loughborough University.

Andy’s role as Performance Manager of the Derbyshire Institute of Sport is a two-days-a-week post.

The plan for sport for Derbyshire - “2012 and Beyond – A Plan for Sport and Active Recreation in Derbyshire 2010-2015,” was launched in December 2009. It can be downloaded here:

http://www.derbyshiresport.co.uk/Images/Plan%20for%20Sport%202010-2015%20web_tcm22-127447.pdf

The long term vision of the plan is: “To make Derbyshire one of the most active and successful sporting counties by 2020”.

Within the plan to 2015, there are three clear ambitions (or strategic goals) and nine action plans. The second ambition is: “To improve the talent pathways to enable more talented performers to fulfil their potential and as a result for more performers from Derbyshire to be competing at national and international level by 2015.”

The fifth of the nine action plans focuses on Talent Development, and the Derbyshire Institute of Sport aims to help meet the targets within this.

Derbyshire Sport is a county sports partnership and provides the strategic lead for sport in Derbyshire.  It is a partnership organisation made up of partners working together to improve the lives of the people in Derbyshire through sport and active recreation.  Sport England East Midlands is a major funder of Derbyshire Sport.

Partners include Amber Valley Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Erewash Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, South Derbyshire District Council, NHS Derbyshire County, Sport England, Sport Governing Bodies, Further and Higher Education, School Sport Partnerships, Local Sports Networks and the Derbyshire Schools’ Sports Association.