The ATS National Athletics Academy

The Athletics Trust Scotland (ATS) National Athletics Academy is a two-year education programme for talented track and field athletes that aims to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will be essential in helping them achieve the overall outcomes of the programme.

The Academy was set up in 2013 to better support and direct young athletes, their coaches and parents as they progress towards senior status. The Academy has previously been supported by long term sponsor 4J Studios however, as of 2024, we are delighted to announce that the National Athletics Academy will be supported by the Athletics Trust Scotland.

We feel that, when partnered with hard work and dedication, the opportunities, support and guidance offered will help prepare the athlete ‘team’ for the challenges ahead – ultimately assisting and guiding them to fulfil their performance potential in the sport as seniors.

New National Academy Brochure coming soon.

The aims of The ATS National Athletics Academy are:

• Improved retention rate of our best age group athletes into the Senior ranks
• Increased representation on Great Britain (GB) U18, U20 and U23 teams en-route to Commonwealth Games (CWG) and beyond
• Increased representation on GB Senior teams and GB Performance Programme
• Greater number of young athletes on future CWG teams and beyond

The benefits of the programme include:

• Coach education opportunities
• Athlete education opportunities
• Parent education opportunities
• Subsidised event-specific competition opportunity
• Physiotherapy/Functional movement screening support
• Event-specific physical preparation testing & Monitoring
• Physiology Testing (Endurance athletes)
• Media training
• Physiotherapy/Nutritional support

Requirements for the 2024-2026 Programme:

Athletes

• Under 18 on entry into the Academy
• Year of birth 2007 & 2008 on selection
• Scottishathletics Member

Coaches

• Scottishathletics Licenced Coach (Athletics Coach Qualification or equivalent)

ATS National Academy Standards

ATS National Academy Paralympic Standards – Women

ATS National Academy Paralympic Standards – Men

Please contact the National Talent Manager for any further information: Allan.Hamilton@sa.uniondigital.uk

Expectations:

• Engage with the programme and maintain communication with your event group point of contact (POC).
• Attend National Athletics Academy Activities
• Complete and engage with 6 month reviews
• Annual end of year survey
• Agree to and sign up to the SA Team Agreement

Members of The ATS National Athletics Academy from November 2024 are listed below, graduates can be found here

Year 1

Athlete	Club	Powerof10	Coach	Powerof10
Dylan McCulloch	Central AC	Profile	Francis Smith	Profile
James Alexander	Garscube	Profile	Alex Chalmers	Profile
Andrew Baird	Ross County	Profile	Ross Cairns	Profile
Luc Macleod	Banchory Stonehaven	Profile	Robert Macleod
Annie Mclean	Shettleston	Profile	David Watson	Profile
Holly Whittaker	Aberdeen AAC	Profile	Frank Gauld / Margery Swinton	Profile Profile
Anna Reid	Aberdeen AAC	Profile	John Davie	Profile
Cara Murphy	Law & District	Profile	Thomas Mctaggert	Profile
Kishi Aremu	Livingston	Profile	Bob Douglas	Profile

Year 2

Athlete	Club	Powerof10	Coach
Joshua Mungin	Kilbarchan AAC	Profile	John Rodger	Profile
Rhys Crawford	Aberdeen	Profile	Nichola Crawford	Profile
Craig Shennan	Giffnock North	Profile	Dudley Walker	Profile
Jamie Connor	Giffnock North	Profile	Dudley Walker	Profile
Andrew McWilliams	Lasswade	Profile	Linda/Kirk Smith	Profile
Holly Ovens	Fife AC	Profile	Steven Doig	Profile
Scarlett Wilson	Giffnock North	Profile	Lynne MacDougall	Profile
Matilda Brockley	Annan	Profile	Linda Nicholson	Profile
Louis Whyte	Moorfoot	Profile	Linda Nicholson	Profile
Bruce Robb	Pitreavie	Profile
Abbey Kennedy	Kilmarnock	Profile	Jim Green	Profile
Omar Bajo	Edinburgh AC	Profile	Bill Walker	Profile
Tehillah Ikechukwu-Okonkwo	Law	Profile	Thomas McTaggart	Profile
Millie McClelland-Brooks	Inverclyde	Profile	Norrie Hay	Profile
Matthew Power	Livingston	Profile	Celia Peerless	Profile
Sam Fernando	Fife AC	Profile	Steven Doig	Profile
Anastasia Cotorobai	Pitreavie	Profile	Francis Smith	Profile

Note 1: The list above reflects the coach and club that each athlete was working with when they entered the Academy