Get ready to "Find Your Greatness" as the UK begins its quest for its future athletes.

 

  The hunt for the next wave of UK athletes has officially begun, as the country celebrates Team GB's incredible achievement at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they won over 60 medals for the fourth straight games.

The goal of UK Sport's "Find Your Greatness" initiative is to find potential Team GB or Paralympics GB athletes from all throughout the country.

Applications are now being accepted through October 14, 2024, and are aimed at athletic, active 16–24-year-old UK citizens, including those with physical, visual, or intellectual disabilities. With 39% of British adults between the ages of 18 and 24 believing they may compete for Great Britain in LA in 2028, there is a chance for some of those ambitions to come true.

Young athletes in skeleton, cycling (track, mountain biking, BMX freestyle, and BMX racing), rowing, modern pentathlon, weightlifting, climbing, shooting, volleyball, handball, and all para sports are sought after by the campaign.

 

Numerous Olympic and Paralympic success stories, including rowing champion Helen Glover, skeleton gold medalist Lizzy Yarnold, taekwondo silver medalist Lauren Williams, and double Paralympic champion Emma Wiggs in paracanoe, have resulted from previous UK Sport athlete recruitment campaigns.

British athletes from the past and present, such as Nathan Hales, Erin McNeice, Rhianna Parris-Smith, and Emily Muskett, who have either participated in athlete recruitment programs themselves or are currently competing in the sports featured in Find Your Greatness, shared their stories of how their aspirations of becoming Olympians or Paralympians came true at the launch event, which was held at Graystone Action Sports in Salford.

   

Olympic sports will have regional testing in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, and Swansea in October, November, and December. Paralympic sports will have regional testing in Crawley in October, Sheffield in November, and Liverpool in February.

The Chair of UK Sport, Dame Grainger, said: "I've been lucky to see firsthand how athlete recruiting efforts can help identify future stars while also providing participants with a broader range of benefits and skill sets.

"The UK is a successful Olympic and Paralympic nation, and we are able to maintain our relevance on the international scene by running athlete recruitment campaigns such as Find Your Greatness." campaign strikes close to home, giving kids the chance to participate in sports they would not have otherwise had, and inspiring educators, coaches, and mentors to spot exceptional talent. They truly have the opportunity to serve as the young people's inspiration to apply.

"I'm excited to watch the talent that this campaign reveals and to accompany them on their ascent to fame. We hope that individuals will have the motivation and self-assurance to put themselves out there and discover exactly how far they can go since there is so much potential out there.

"Team GB and ParalympicsGB performances this summer will no doubt help inspire young people to take up sport, and this Government is working to improve opportunities so that our emerging talent has the best chance to succeed wherever they are from," stated Stephanie Peacock, Minister of Sport, Civil Society, and Youth.

 

"The future of sport in our country depends on developing new, accessible pathways to increase participation. UK Sport's Find Your Greatness program is a great opportunity for the next generation to try new sports and see if they can become the next Jonnie Peacock or Keely Hodgkinson."

Ellie Aldridge, the Olympic gold medallist in formula kite at Paris 2024, continued, saying, "Athlete recruitment programs like Find Your Greatness have been instrumental in my success." I had no idea what career route I would be taking when I applied in 2018. Here I am now, having attained gold in Paris 2024.

Every athlete has a unique route; you never know where you can end up or how far you might go in six years if you never take the risk. However, if you never take that leap of faith, you might never find out. You can learn so much about yourself and your potential from competing in an Olympics, even if you don't place on the podium.

   

"I think those who think they have the potential or know others who do, should just go for it! I couldn't recommend this program more!"

"Our experience tells us there are people out there with the potential to be Olympic or Paralympic champions, but they may not have had the opportunity to connect with the right sport or have the necessary support network to succeed," said Natalie Dunman, the director of performance for British skeleton.

"The main goal of Find Your Greatness is to provide young people with undeveloped athletic ability with the chance to realize their full potential.

 

"We're thrilled to be involved in the launch of Find Your Greatness - Through initiatives like this, British Skeleton has discovered Olympic and World Champions. We are confident that the next great sports talent in Britain exists, and we eagerly await the chance to assist these people in taking the first step toward qualifying for the Olympics.

To find out more about the Find Your Greatness athlete recruitment programme visit: findyourgreatness.co.uk