The British Elite Athletes Association has recently started sessions educating athletes on the selection and appeal process in the run-up to the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Athletes will also be able to join an online workshop in April – with further details below.
Staff are delivering tailored workshops to athletes to explain their sport’s policy and procedure, their rights, and how to appeal a selection decision if needed.
The presentations, which are running throughout the build-up to Paris, are designed specifically to each sport’s policy and are delivered by one of our independent and expert Athlete Support Managers.
Athletes are walked through their sport’s full policy and the aims, purpose and process of selection, as well as given an understanding of being a reserve athlete and the deselection process. This helps to ensure they understand the system and know where to turn should they face any issues.
After a workshop with Pentathlon GB, Performance Director Georgina Harland said: “It felt important to break the policies down for those who may not have found the time to read it or may find selection policies difficult to decipher. And it was as important to make the connection with the BEAA so the athletes know they’re there to support them.
“There’s always going to be selection, always going to be people selected and not selected. That’s part of sport. It’s really important that as much as possible people understand exactly what it means to them before the heat of the moment. When selection is happening it becomes a more difficult time to understand what’s in the selection or appeals policy.”
Olympic champion and BEAA Ambassador Joe Choong undertook a workshop at his performance centre in Bath. He described it as “reassuring”, adding: “Understanding the selection process and, if needed, how appeals work is an important and often overlooked part of being an elite athlete. It’s reassuring to know the BEAA are reaching out to sports to ensure athletes know their rights, and that they are ready to provide support and advice on this topic during such an important year.”
On the back of these workshops we will also be hosting a live, online session exclusively for our members at 19:00 UK time on Wednesday, 10th April.
The workshop will last approximately 45 minutes and athletes will be able to ask questions directly to our expert Athlete Support Managers.
Those wishing to sign up should register here*.
The BEAA also runs workshops familiarising athletes with the high-performance system, as well as inductions to introduce athletes new to the World Class Programme. As part of our wider support we also review sports’ selection policies, sit as independent observers on selection decisions, and help to guide athletes through the appeals process.
Sports staff wishing to arrange a workshop with the BEAA should contact support@britisheliteathletes.org.
Athletes wishing to speak with a member of the support team should reach out through one of the below channels:
*World Class Programme athletes only.
