27 October 2009

UKA, the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom, today announced those athletes invited onto the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for the 2009/2010 season.

Reflecting British athletics’ most successful year for almost two decades, a third of the total number of athletes selected for the funding programme are  top eight finishers from the 2009 World Championships and 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games – more than double the number of athletes qualifying under this criteria at the same point in the last Olympic cycle.

2009 also saw British athletes enjoy the best ever results at the five  age group competitions and the ongoing development of more than 30 age group medallists will be supported as part of the new round of funding, demonstrating the increasing strength and depth of athletics talent in the UK. 

 The programme, which runs annually from December to November, is split into two levels of funding; Podium and Development, each with strict criteria and standards which must be met in selection and maintained with the support of UKA staff.

Amongst the names included at a podium level are 2009 World Championship medallists Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu, Lisa Dobriskey, Jenny Meadows and both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay medal winning men’s teams along with wheelchair racer David Weir who won five medals at the 2008 Paralympics and is currently ranked number one in the world.

Development level athletes, 65 of which have been named, include promising talent such as James Brewer, Hannah England, Stephanie Twell, Daniel Lucker, Hollie Arnold and Ola Abidogun, as well as 2009 junior age group medallists Katarina Thompson, Ben Williams, Chris Clarke and Lawrence Clarke.

A new programme – UKA Futures, which derives from the former WCPP Talent level funding will support athlete and coach pairings working towards international representation. Further details including criteria, application and selection process will be announced shortly

UKA Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce this year’s funded athletes. The criteria and selection process has been redeveloped to be much clearer and more transparent for all involved and I am confident it has produced a crop of athletes who will deliver to the aims of the programme, namely success on the global stage.

“What is really significant is that the number of podium athletes has increased dramatically, these athletes are put onto this level of funding as a direct result of their performances over the last 18 months, which clearly demonstrates increased levels of world class performance – a clear indication of the impact our lottery funding is having.

“To have such a strong set of athletes on the programme really pays testimony to the depth of talent we have within the UK. With these athletes available for international team selection, 2010 with World Indoors, European Team Championships and European Championships is certainly something to look forward to where we can build on the progress of 2009.”

Peter Eriksson, Head Coach- Paralympic , said: “As with our Olympic counterparts, the Paralympic WCPP is about winning medals on the global stage and our criteria reflects that.  I have no doubt that the athletes brought onto the 2009/2010 WCPP programme will take us in the right direction and produce better performances.

“2009 has been an exciting year for the Paralympic Programme, we have created strategy, built a grass roots scheme and developed a performance pathway supported, thanks to the lottery playing general public, with significant funding, and this will take us to 2012 and beyond.”

Andy Turner (Sale) is returning to the WCPP and is determined to be part of Britain’s growing success: "I am delighted to be back on the World Class Performance Programme. Last year was a difficult time for me, but it was the wake-up call I needed.

“I definitely over-competed last year and that experience and the impact it had injury wise made me realise just what a blessing lottery funding is by allowing us to peak for the big events and perform where it counts. I am looking forward to embarking on a winter of tough training and repaying the faith shown in my ability in 2010."

Information relating to the WCPP, including the Selection Policy, can be found on this link

Full Funding List (both Olympic and Paralympic), in alphabetical order:  

Podium:

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey* (Sutton); Larry Achike (Shaftesbury Barnet); Emma Ania* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Andrew Baddeley (Harrow); Victoria Barr* (Rugby & Northampton); Martyn Bernard (Wakefield); Michael Bingham* (unattached); Michael Bushell (Birchfield); Elizabeth Clegg (Edinburgh AC); Tasha Danvers (Croydon); Kate Dennison (Sale); Marlon Devonish* (Coventry Godiva); Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford); Montell Douglas* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Nathan Douglas (Oxford City); Tyrone Edgar* (Newham & Essex Beagles); Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield); Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles); Emily Freeman (Wakefield); Daniel Greaves (Charnwood AC); David Greene (Swansea); Katrina Hart (Birchfield); Sophie Hancock (Unattached); Phillips Idowu (Belgrave); Jade Johnson (Herne Hill); Ian Jones (East Cheshire); Jeanette Kwakye (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Steven Lewis (Newham & Essex Beagles); Chris Martin (Mansfield Harriers); Germaine Mason (Birchfield); Lee McConnell* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Jenny Meadows (Wigan); Stephen Miller (Gateshead Harriers); Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex Beagles); Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet); Tom Parsons (Birchfield); Jo Pavey (Exeter); Gemma Prescott (Unattached); Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County); Martyn Rooney*(Croydon); Ben Rushgrove (Team Bath AC); Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes); Nicola Sanders* (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow); Goldie Sayers (Belgrave);  William Sharman (Belgrave); Hazel Simpson (Jarrow & Hebburn AC); Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield); Nathan Stephens (FDSW); Charlene Thomas (Wakefield); Rob Tobin* (Basingstoke & Mid Hants); Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex); Andy Turner (Sale); Laura Turner* (Harrow); David Weir (Unattached); Daniel West (Unattached); Claire Williams (Carmarthen); Conrad Williams* (Kent); Simeon Williamson* (Highgate Harriers); Shelly Woods (Unattached); Mara Yamauchi (Harrow)

*Strike four relay teams from Berlin

Podium Relay:

Richard Buck (City of York); Chris Clarke (Marshall Milton Keynes); James Dasaolu (Croydon); Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlet); Ashlee Nelson (City of Stoke); Anyike Onuora (Liverpool); Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes); Andrew Steele (Trafford); Richard Strachan (Trafford); Kadi-Ann Thomas (Marshall Milton Keynes)

Development:

Ola Abidogun (Shaftesbury Barnet); Jonathan Adams (Unattached); Phyllis Agbo (Thames Valley); Hollie Arnold (Cleethorpes AC); Daniel Awde (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); James Ball (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); Paul Blake (Dorchester); James Brewer (Cheltenham & County); Niall Brooks (Sale); Eilidh Child (Pitreavie); Lawrence Clarke (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow); Hannah Cockcroft (Halifax Harriers); Rowena Cole (Coventry); Martin Crutchley (Cannock & Stafford AC); Luke Cutts (Dearnside); Aled Davies (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); David Devine (Liverpool Harriers); Hannah England (Oxford City); Eden Francis (Birchfield); Gianni Frankis (Newham & Essex Beagles); Claire Gibson(Kilbarchan); Thomas Green (MMK); Curtis Griffith-Parker (Cambridge); Lloyd Gumbs (Shaftesbury Barnet); Louise Hazel (Birchfield); Sophie Hitchon (Blackburn); Sarah Holt (Sale); Johanna Jackson (Redcar); JJ Jegede (Newham & Essex Beagles); Chris Kirk (Newham & Essex Beagles); Thomas Lancashire (Bolton) Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun (Kent); Nigel Levine (Bedford & County); Daniel Lucker (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); Mervyn Luckwell (Marshall Milton Keynes); Emma Lyons (Sale); Jenny McLoughlin (Unattached); Jack Meredith (Liverpool); Brett Morse (Birchfield); Kieron Murphy (Birchfield); Daniel Nobbs (British Wheelchair Athletics Association); Elaine O’Neill (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Emma Pallant (AFD); Emily Pidgeon (Stroud); Callum Priestley (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Charlotte Purdue (AFD); Michael Rimmer (Liverpool Pembroke); Toby Sandeman (Thames Valley); Sally Scott (Gateshead); Perri Shakes-Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets); Vicky Silk (Ashford AC); Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par); Alex Smith (Sale); Peter Smith (Kingston upon Hull); Katarina Thompson (Liverpool); Stephanie Twell (AFD); Benjamin Williams (City of Stoke); Rhys Williams (Cardiff); Paul Willis (Halifax Harries); Bethany Woodward (Southampton); Nathan Woodward (Tamworth); Richard Yates (Trafford); Leevan Yearwood (Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets)