BOA Athlete Career Programme

BOA LAUNCHES ATHLETE CAREER PROGRAMME@BOA

The programme will be delivered in cooperation with the established networks of Performance Lifestyle in the Home Country Sports Institutes (HCSIs), and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust (DKH Legacy Trust), which focus on giving athletes the skills and training needed to allow them to take up the employment opportunities available through the networks.


The BOA Athlete Career Programme will:

• Provide placement support for athletes, through the extensive network of the Adecco group in the UK. A pilot has been started, and a number of athletes have been successfully placed.

• For example - Craig Figes, GB Men’s Water Polo Captain: Late last year, Craig Figes was contemplating whether he could afford to stay on the GB Water Polo programme. He was working part-time as a geography teacher at Manchester Grammar School and, with no Lottery Award at that time, was struggling to make ends meet. Craig worked closely with David Platt, his Performance Lifestyle Adviser, to try and identify other employment opportunities in Manchester that might fit in with his training and teaching schedule. The pilot scheme with Adecco came at the perfect time and the proactive work by the Manchester Adecco branch led to Craig joining the Environmental Division of Bruntwood in less than six weeks. Craig commented that “all in all, the experience has been a very positive one. Adecco helped immensely and the placement with Bruntwood has enabled me to get through a tough financial period and, most-importantly, stay on the GB Water Polo team and continue to pursue my Olympic dream.”

• Following the London 2012 Olympic Games, a series of workshops and an Athlete Career Fair will be provided to enable those retiring following London 2012 to focus on competing until the Games, and be properly supported afterwards in their transition.

• Provide access to the Adecco suite of over 6,000 online training courses, on topics such as presentation skills, project management and computer software programmes. Career workshops will also be run to help athletes start planning for their career after sport.

• Give athletes needing to train abroad access to the international support network of the IOC Athlete Career Programme provided by Adecco, through the BOA Passport Scheme.