Local Communities Fund: Talented Athletes

The Talented Athletes Fund is currently closed for new applications

The council is keen to continue to support a wider range of local athletes by expanding on its previous Talented Athletes Programme to:

  • Support Nottinghamshire athletes aspiring to compete or already competing at the highest level in their sporting category
  • Encourage up-and-coming athletes
  • Provide more support to athletes who face the greatest challenges, particularly athletes competing in disability / parasports who may require expensive adapted equipment, clothing, or have higher transport costs.

Eligible athletes can be awarded grants of up to £1,000 over 12 months to help support the costs of entering sports competitions including:

  • Travel costs
  • Training and coaching
  • Equipment

If you can answer ‘yes’ to the following questions, then you are eligible to apply:

  • Do you live within the Nottinghamshire County boundary? For more information, please read the FAQs [PDF].
  • Have you represented your country within the last 24 months and / or are you nationally ranked within the top 10 in your age?
  • Do you compete in a sport or discipline that is recognised by Sport England and governed by a National Governing Body (NGB) that is also recognised by Sport England, or a National Disability Sports Organisation (NDSO)? Sport England has produced a list of recognised sports and governing bodies which you can check.
  • Is there someone from your NGB or NDSO who can provide an endorsement for your application? Note that the application form asks for the name and email address for someone from your NGB or NDSO who is willing and able to endorse your application. When you submit your application, an email will be sent to your NGB or NDSO contact to request an endorsement for your application.

Please note:

Applications from athletes under the age of 18 must be completed by a legally responsible adult, for example a parent or guardian.

Applications received from individuals aged 18 or over will only be considered if they: 

  • Compete in a sport that is recognised by the National Disability Sports Organisation (NDSO), are up to the age of 25, and meet the criteria for funding.
  • Are competing in the sports elite talent pathway (Veteran, Masters or adult age group standings will not be taken into consideration).

To improve our grant process, we have introduced a new online system. This new system brings lots of benefits for applicants, such as saving applications part-way through, downloading applications, and uploading supporting information.

Register and apply on https://grants.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/

Before starting your application, it is strongly recommended that you read all the guidance on this webpage, including the information in the Frequently Asked Questions [PDF].

All applicants will need to confirm that they have read and agree with the Council's Privacy Statement.

Terms and Conditions

If your application is successful, the applicant must be willing and able to comply with the Talented Athletes Fund's terms and conditions, including:

  • award are a contribution towards the athlete’s sporting endeavours as stated in the application for funding.
  • it will be the athlete’s responsibility to inform us if their circumstances change after submitting their application.
  • athletes are expected to act as a Sports Ambassador for Nottinghamshire, which may include acknowledging NCC funding, allowing for photographs to be taken for publicity purposes and more. Further information about the Sports Ambassador role is provided in the FAQs.
  • athletes complete a short monitoring questionnaire after a year.
  • the athlete agrees to repay the grant to the council if the grant is not spent within the agreed timeframe, or the applicant spends the grant on items which are not permitted under the terms and conditions of the funding agreement.

Tell us about your achievements

Towards the end of the agreed funding period we will ask funded athletes to complete a brief survey about the past year in their chosen sport. This helps ensure that the aims and objectives of the Fund are being met, and allows athletes to provide feedback about their experiences.

Examples of questions we may ask in the survey.

Privacy Statement

All applicants need to confirm that they have read and agree with the Council's Privacy Statement.

Decision-making

All applications will be reviewed by the County Council against the funding criteria. The County Council will carry out relevant checks on the information provided as appropriate.

Elected Members make the decisions regarding funding awards. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible after completion of the decision-making process. This could be approximately 12 weeks after the closing date.

Fraud Response

The Council takes a zero tolerance stance towards fraud and corruption and will investigate and take the necessary action in cases of suspected fraud in line with the Council's Fraud Response Plan.

  • Information about National Governing Bodies and National Disability Sports Organisations is also available from the Active Notts website. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please email Sports Nottinghamshire who can assist with identifying the relevant NGB for your sport: info@activenotts.org.uk.
  • The Free Access to National Sports People (FANS) Scheme provides sports people at a national level with free access to activities such as: fitness, swimming and aerobics run through local sports facilities. FANS aims to assist elite sportspeople to achieve their full potential by reducing the financial burden of training costs.
    Links to further information about local FANS schemes across Nottinghamshire is available here [PDF]. Please note, the information is up to date at the time of publication.
  • If you’re looking for funding to support a physical activity or sport project, individual, school or coach in the Nottinghamshire or Nottingham area, Active Notts may be able to help you find the grant or bursary to get you the assistance you need: https://www.activenotts.org.uk/get-funding
  • Sport England: https://www.sportengland.org/

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