SUMMER 2008; IF YOU ARE ENTERING AN EVENT FOR JUNE/JULY, PLEASE,PLEASE, CLICK THE 'INVITE ALL' OPTION ON YOUR ATHLETE INVITATION LIST.

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY BUSY 7 WEEKS FOR BOTH VISIT REQUESTS AND BEIJING PREPARATIONS.

Are you interested in asking a successful athlete to visit your school / organisation?

athlete visits can be both motivational and inspirational for  young people. The athlete's stories and experiences of sport and life, can illustrate many messages. High achieving athletes are great role models through their achievements and illustrations of how to overcome obstacles when striving for a challenging goal.

• Athletes
• The Schools / Organisations Registration and Booking Process
• Fees
• No Replies from Athletes
• Hints

athletesDIRECT offers to bring world class sport personalities to your event. Schools / organisations can use an athlete visit for many events, requests include;-

• Visit a sport and health week.
• Present at an awards ceremony.
• Act as a motivational speaker.
• Participate in a school fundraising event.
• Speak at an assembly.
• Open a sports day.
• Questions and answers with Gifted and Talented Students.
• Provide a closing speech at regional teachers conference.

ATHLETES

The athletesDIRECT list is continually expanding. The list currently includes; Nick Gillingham(Olympic Medallist Swimmer), Clare Strange (Paralympian Wheelchair Basketball), Bryan Steel (Olympic Medallist Cyclist), Danny Crates (Paralympic Medallist Athlete), Debbie Smith (Adventure Racer) and young athletes such as Brooke Graddon (Commonwealth Games Diver.)
For a full list of athletes available please access the Athlete Bios section.

All athletes are required to complete our lengthy registration profile, providing testimonials enabling screening of their speaking abilities. This is a voluntary registration and therefore all the athletes are deeply interested in inspiring young people.

It is expected that the athletes will be accompanied by a member of staff from the organising institution at all times.

THE PROCESS for SCHOOLS & all ORGANISATIONS

Register your school / organisation

• Register your school via the Schools Tab  > Registration page of the website. PLEASE USE YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESS. Once registered you may access your web page from any location.
• Registration will require you to return a security verification code. Once the code has been returned a 2nd email will confirm your registration and indicate your account has been activated.

Research the athletes 

• View basic details of our registered athletes in the Athlete Bios section on the public web pages.
• Once the school is registered and you have entered your event details, you will be provided with a list of athletes able to travel to your location. Using the links on this list you may view the full profile and images of these athletes for research.

Enter Your Event Details and send invitations to Athletes. 

• Schools > login >Event tab > create a new event: enter event(s) details on your Event page. (Please do not include any double spacing when typing text)
• Select individual, or 'Invite All' , athletes from your list to your event. Invitations will be sent via the system once all the 3 security phases have been confirmed.  

Athlete replies and selection

• Monitor your athlete replies using  "Schools login > Events Page > Manage Event". Athletes will have replied to indicate their interest in attending the event, or to decline your invitation.
• Contact and chat to the interested athletes, confirm alll the details of the visit and agree the fee. The contact details of the interested athletes are now available to view.
• Select the athlete most appropriate for your event.
• CONFIRM the selected athlete for the visit using "Schools login > Events page > Manage Event > Confirm ". This will also generate an automated message to decline the offer from the remaining interested athletes.
• Schools and Athletes are responsible for confirming and agreeing all visit details and fees.

Athlete Fees and evaluation, after the visit.

• The visit is successfully fulfilled and the athlete invoices the school directly.
• Return to your webiste to complete the very brief, evaluation on your Events page. This evaluation provides vital data for the athletesDIRECT reporting. Your cooperation is very much appreciated.  Schools > login > Events > Leave Feedback.

FEES

• For state funded schools and non-profit making organisations, the athletes have agreed to offer their services for a fee from £100 - £300 plus travel expenses.
• For profit making organisations and large Independent schools the athletes can propose an unrestricted fee influenced by their current market value.
• For large Charities the maximum suggested fee is £500.
• All financial transactions are agreed and conducted directly between the athlete and the school.
• The website registration and introduction service is provided free of charge by the British Athletes Commission.

NO REPLIES FROM ATHLETES

In the unlikely situation you do not receive any replies to your visit invitation within 5-7 days, please contact the scheme administrator on This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

No replies appropriate for your event?

If the athletes who have responded are inappropriate to your visit, please cancel your current event and re-submit the event making sure that you add a note to say this is a re-send and could any previous respondents please reply again.

HINTS ON MAKING THE MOST OF THE SCHEME

1. If possible send requests within 3 months of the date. Athletes are more likely to have their schedules confirmed for this period. Invitations can be sent up to 3 days before the event.
2. Try and keep visits to less than 4 hours, it is difficult for some athletes to fit in longer sessions during the day, especially if there is travelling time also involved.
3. Provide as much detail as possible about the event, this allows the athletes to judge whether the demands fall within their personal competencies.
4. Be prepared to give the opportunity to meet the athletes who do not have 'big media profiles'. They also are incredibly inspirational and successful.
5. Consider the younger athletes for teenage groups. These athletes have not only competed at International level, but usually passed their school exams/ A Levels at the same time. They are fantastic role models for time management and determination.
6. Use the 'Invite All' option. By inviting a large number of athletes will increase the likelihood of your date and time being available to a selection of visitors. Please also bear in mind major competition dates, when athletes will not be available.

Any queries contact the scheme administrator at the British Athletes Commission Office via  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

"Very simple, quick and efficient - especially as we have been trying tfor years to get good guest speakers and have found it very difficult."       Bedford Modern School, Bedford, June 2007