Diploma in Sporting Excellence(DiSE) formerly AASE Frequently Asked Questions

The Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE), formally the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) is a two-year programme that provides a unique sporting qualification designed to meet the needs of young athletes who have the realistic potential to achieve excellence in their sport and are seeking to perform at the highest level.

Athletes progress through a series of face-to-face and online workshops, progress review meetings, observations of training and competition finishing with an offshore training camp in year two. The focus of the programme is the principles of developing into a senior international athlete, alongside mentoring support and guidance for Further Education and employment. The programme aims to complement and enhance their club coaching programme.

At the end of the programme, learners graduate with a Diploma in Sporting Excellence, a level 3 qualification which carries UCAS points.

Who is it for?Athletes aged 16 who demonstrate excellence in the following aquatic disciplines: Swimming, Para-Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming and Water Polo. It is primarily focused on athletes on the England Talent Pathway or athletes that have been identified through World Class or other talent ID programmes. The programme is designed to be taken alongside further education i.e. BTEC in Sport or A Levels.

Athletes must:

• Be 16 years of age (Born between 01/09/2001-31/08/2002)

• Have completed GCSE exams in the Summer of 2018

• Live and train in England (and be a British Citizen)

• Be going on to a full programme of study in Further Education (FE) i.e. A Levels or BTEC qualification

• Meet the requirements of the England Programmes Swimming Selection Policy or have been selected by the Swim England Talent Development Officer for your discipline.

Who runs the programme and where is the programme delivered? Dudley College (SportPark Hub, Loughborough) is responsible for the DiSE programme in Aquatics working closely alongside Swim England and its associated disciplines.

The programme is delivered nationally by a national team of dedicated Sport Assessors. They are responsible for helping the athlete work towards the diploma in partnership with the athlete’s coaches and support staff to ensure they are supported throughout the delivery of all the elements of the DiSE programme. Assessors will visit each athlete every 10-12 weeks to carry out a progress review meeting at a venue of the athlete’s choice, and observe the athlete training or competing. Workshops will be offered at a North and South venue, and travel costs will be subsidised.

What does the programme involve? Athletes enrolled onto the DiSE programme are required to prove that they have all the attributes, both in skill and knowledge, to develop their performance and represent the sport in a positive light.

To support athletes throughout the two-year programme regular progress reviews and observations are scheduled. Workshops, a highly subsidised offshore training camp, and workbook assessments all form part of the review process. Evidence is submitted by the athlete to demonstrate competence. This can include training diary extracts, food diaries, race plans and reviews, goal reviews and video evidence or professional discussions.

What units will the diploma cover?• Develop and understand own technical skills to achieve

excellence in a sport

• Develop and understand own tactical skills to achieve excellence in a sport

• Develop and understand own physical capability to achieve excellence in a sport

• Develop and understand own nutritional programme to achieve excellence in a sport

• Develop and understand own psychological skills to achieve excellence in a sport

• Manage and understand own lifestyle to achieve excellence in a sport

• Develop and understand how to develop own career in a sport

• Communicate effectively with other people to achieve excellence in a sport

• Understanding communication and teamwork to achieve excellence in sport

• Work in a healthy and safe way at training and competition venues

• Understanding health and safety at training and competition venues

• Understanding the Duty of Care in Sport review and its effect on Sport Performance.

What benefit is the DiSE to me? As an elite athlete you will benefit by understanding the necessary skills and abilities required to become a senior international athlete, such as nutrition, mental skills and physiology. You will then be empowered to have a greater impact upon your own training and the outcome of each session, thus making the most of your potential. After the final completion of the programme you will have a level 3 Diploma in Sporting Excellence. UCAS points are available for successful completion of the course.

When does the DiSE start?Athletes will be invited to attend a 1-day Induction where you will find out more about the programme and what will be expected from you along with your enrolment on to the programme.

Discipline Induction Day (Diving, Synchronised Swimming and Water Polo athletes)

Saturday 1st September 2018

Loughborough University

Swimming Induction Day

Sunday 9th September 2018

Dudley College of Technology, West Midlands

Swimming

• Molly Renshaw, Olympic Finalist

• Sarah Vasey, World Championship Finalist

• Jocelyn Ulyett, British Champion

• Alice Dearing, 10KM Junior World Champion

• Caleb Hughes, European Bronze Medallist

• Max Litchfield, World & Olympic Finalist

• Adam Peaty, Olympic & World Champion

• Timothy Shuttleworth, World Bronze Medallist

• James Wilby, Commonwealth Champion

• Jacob Peters, Commonwealth Finalist

• Niamh Robinson, Commonwealth.

Para Swimming

• Jessica-Jane Applegate, Paralympic Champion

• Hannah Russell, Paralympic Champion

• Josef Craig, Paralympic Champion

• Thomas Hamer, Paralympic Silver Medallist

• Ollie Hynd, Paralympic, World & European Champion

• Lewis White, Paralympic Medallist

• Matthew Wylie, Paralympic Champion.

Diving

• Tom Daley, Olympic Bronze Medallist

• Matty Lee, World Silver Medallist

• Chris Mears, Olympic Champion

• Owen Weymouth, International Cliff Diving Champion

• Noah Williams, Commonwealth.

Synchronised Swimming

• Katie Cark, London 2012 Finalist

• Jenna Randall, London 2012 Olympian

• Asha Randall, London 2012 Olympian

• Yvette Baker, London 2012 Olympian

• Olivia Allison, London 2012 Olympian

• Anya Tarasiuk, World Championships finalist 2013

• Hannah Green, World Championships finalist 2013

• Anastasija Bates, World Championships finalist 2013

• Samantha Wilson, World Championships finalist 2013.

Water Polo

• Sophie Jackson

• Connor Carpenter

• Anya Clapperton

• George Reader

• Thomas Manley

• Ben Stephenson

• Jordan Elliot

• Aaron Winstanley

• Ashley Castle

• Benjamin Ray

• Rebecca Yates.

Which Aquatic athletes have previously enrolled on the DiSE?

Swimming Selection Policy 2018 Cohort1.1 Up to 120 swimmers born between the 1st September 2001 and 31st August 2002 are eligible to join the programme in September 2018.

1.2 Swimmers must be based and educated in England and have been a British/EU citizen for at least 5 years.

1.3 Swimmers must be based within an appropriate training environment and be undertaking in the region of 16 hours per week of pool/ land-based training.

1.4 Swimmers must be able to demonstrate their commitment to achieving excellence in swimming.

2. Pool Swimmers born between the 1st September 2001 and 31st August 2002 who achieve a top 6 ranked performance (between the 1st March and 5th August 2018) in an Olympic event (pool) will receive automatic selection to the programme. British rankings will be used for purposes of selection but only swimmers registered as English are eligible for the programme.

3. Open Water Swimmers achieving a top 3 overall (all home nations) finish in the 16 years and 17 years (5km) age groups at the British Open Water Championships will receive automatic selection to the programme. Only swimmers registered as English are eligible for this programme.

4. Further Selections Additional selections to supplement points 2 and 3 will be based upon highest FINA point scores in Olympic Pool events.

5. Discretionary Selections All selections are made at the absolute discretion of the Swim England National Talent Officer and SEA Technical Lead.

6. Para- Swimming In order to be considered for selection onto the programme the Para athletes must:• Hold BS/IPC classification S1 to S14• Achieve 500 British Para-Swimming Points in at least one event.• Demonstrate the required commitment level, within an appropriate

environment, to be capable of achieving their potential within the sport• All selections are subject to the approval of the National Performance

Director for Para-Swimming.

Find out more about DiSE

If you are interested in finding more about the programme and how you can become an DiSE graduate then email Rachel Weston at rachel.weston@dudleycol.ac.uk or call 01509 640 456