We’re committed to supporting our local athletes to be able to perform at their best in order to achieve success. 

That’s why, in partnership with The Gannochy Trust, we’ve created the Talented Athlete Scheme which gives local athletes free access to our gyms, facilities and pools so they can prepare to win without the worry of how they’re going to pay for their training.

We recently caught up with Stevie from our Sports Development team to find out more about the scheme and the amazing athletes who benefit from it.

What is your position within Live Active?

I have a brilliant job as I get to be part of both climates of sport, the climate of performance and the climate of development. In the climate of Performance my role as Sports Development Officer and lead for Performance Sport Coaching and Volunteering allows me to be at the centre of people development, whether that is with athletes helping them to achieve their athletic goals or working with coaches and volunteers to assist them in developing themselves or their club through training and qualifications. 

In the climate of development, I work closely with clubs and hubs in the Kinross-shire area predominantly with the River Tay Community Sports Hub and the Bridge of Earn Hub where I gain so much energy and enthusiasm from the local people who are using the power of sport to develop their own communities.

How long have you worked for Live Active?

I actually started working for Perth and Kinross Leisure, PKL back in the day from 2001 before having the opportunity to travel the world through sport. I came back to Perth and started to work with Live Active in 2019 and it has been a great 4 years, even with the challenges that the world has thrown at us since then.

What do you love most about your job?

This is going to sound really cheesy, but it is the PEOPLE, the sports community of Perth, the coaches, the volunteers, clubs, participants and administrators across Perth & Kinross are so enthusiastic and want to do well for their sports, no matter if that’s helping someone to achieve a gold medal performance or to help someone just move around and have better mobility, health and wellbeing. 

Do you take part in any sports or activities in your spare time?

Like millions of people around the world, I am a frustrated golfer, I love golf and last year I achieved my 2022 goal of become a 6 handicapper. I haven’t played as much this year, however my new target is to get myself down to a 4 handicap.

Tell us more about the Talented Athlete Scheme.

We’re committed to supporting our local athletes to be able to perform at their best in order to achieve success. Working in partnership with the Gannochy Trust, the Talented Athlete Scheme provides eligible athletes with free access to all Live Active Leisure gyms, facilities and swimming pools. 

To be eligible for the scheme an athlete must:

• Be a resident of Perth and Kinross or are a member of a Perth and Kinross Club 
• Represent their sport at any of the following standards:
  • Regional Institute of Sport
  • Scottish Institute of Sport 
  • Scottish/British/European/World Championship Title Holder 
  • Scottish or Great Britain squad member  

Tell us more about the Emerging Athlete Programme.

Working in partnership with the Gannochy Trust, local clubs and national governing bodies, the Emerging Athlete Programme has been designed to create a holistic approach to athlete development which provides athletes competing at Regional, National and International level with the training that is needed for each individual to perform at their best.

We provide the following for each athlete:

• Personalised S&C Programme created by S&C specialist Gil Stevenson
• 2 x coaches S&C training sessions per week
• 1:1 Athlete Lifestyle 
• 1:1 Athlete/Coach Meetings
• Athlete Life Nutrition
• Athlete Life Psychology 
• Talented Athlete Scheme Membership (free access to all Live Active Leisure, gym’s, facilities & pools)
• Online Compete with character programme of 10 lessons hosted on FreshLearn.

Our aim is to provide each athlete with a solid foundation that will allow transition to Regional SIS or National SIS programmes as smoothly as possible.

This video featuring Judo Athlete Gregor and Sprinter Lois explains more about the programme and how it helps them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmsZHjmZC4

What recent successes have some of the athletes on the programme achieved?

All our athletes are Team Scotland and/or Team GB in their chosen sport and the level of competitor that we have in our programme is extremely high.

Miller Hetherington from Salle Ossian recently competed in Istanbul and placed 5th. This was the highest-ranking placement for a GBR male cadet Sabre fencer this season. There were 128 international fencers at this competition.

Miller is also in the running for selection for the European Championships and World Championships for 2024 as the GBR cadet team.

Caitlin Sandilands is a judo player and recently competed and achieved bronze medals in The Scottish Judo Championships in both Junior and Cadet categories and is doing great things.

Gregor Miller also a judo player achieved Gold in the men’s Scottish Championships and is competing at GB level.

Lois Garland representing UHI won the 200m gold medal at the Scottish Student Athletics Indoor Championships and also ran for Team Scotland this year, gaining her Scotland vest. Lois is coached by local performance coach Alan Erickson.

Lewis Patterson was the Scottish Superbike champion of 2022 and Chloe Grant is part of the Formula 1 Training Academy.

Hannah McHugh who also works for Live Active as a lifeguard at Perth Leisure Pool is currently training and competing in Norway for ski cross.

Former EAP athlete Connor Graham has won a host of events this year including Junior Ryder Cup, youngest ever player on the Walker Cup Team and has just signed a scholarship with the Texas Tech in the USA for golf.

The list of achievements from our local athletes is unbelievable!

What’s your top tip for up-and-coming young athletes who aspire to compete in their sport professionally?

Compete against the person you see in the mirror every day, your biggest competitor is yourself.