EIS: Improving Sporting Performance Brochure

IMPROVING SPORTING PERFORMANCE THROUGH SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVING SPORTING PERFORMANCE THROUGH SCIENCE, MEDICINE & TECHNOLOGY

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The EIS helps elite athletes to improve performance through the delivery of science, medicine, technology and engineering.

Our employees have more than 1,100 years of collective experience and work across more than 10 areas of expertise to provide a range of sport science and medical services to improve the health, fitness, training, preparation – and ultimately the performance – of elite athletes.

We are the team behind many of Great Britain’s most successful sports and our 300 employees deliver more than 4,000 hours of service a week to over 1,700 athletes. At the London Olympic & Paralympic Games we worked with 86% of the medallists and 27 of the 29 sports that won a medal for Team GB. These include Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Nicola Adams, Katherine Grainger, Ellie Simmonds, David

“The support UKA is able to provide me through the EIS plays a key role in my day-to-day training as well as competition. To have the edge in competition, you need to make sure you continually look to improve every aspect of preparation and the EIS helps me make the most of sport science and medical support in achieving that. ” Jessica Ennis-Hill, 2012 Olympic champion, Heptathlon

Weir, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Louis Smith, Rebecca Adlington and the women’s bronze medal winning hockey team.

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G ININ RA ES T ISE AMM TIM OGR P O PR

SERVICE P RIO RIT IES

AC L E CE SS AD IN G TO W O EXP RLD E RT IS E

IMPROVE ATHLETE HEALTH & WELLBEIN G

& T IFY E N T ID E N P TA L LO DE V E

EIS practitioners help coaches and Performance Directors to improve the performance of their athletes by delivering services which enable them to optimise training programmes, maximise performance in competition and improve the health and wellbeing of their athletes. Services are delivered by teams of practitioners and supported by specialist Research & Innovation (R&I) programmes.

We also have a dedicated team of scientists that work with

The scale and infrastructure of the EIS, which is the

coaches and Performance Directors to feed the pipeline

country’s largest provider of sport science, medicine and

of new talent into sports. Delivered in partnership with

technology, also provides a range of added-value benefits

UK Sport, our talent development work activities aim to

to the sports we work with. These include access to

identify, recruit and progress the most promising young

world-class performance environments, the opportunity to

athletes and put in place the systems, pathways and

connect with globally renowned experts, access to cutting

support to facilitate their transition from talented junior to

edge innovation and research programmes and working

elite international performer.

on a day-to-day basis with teams of practitioners that are

ION INNOVAT YING A & APPL G EDGE CUTTIN

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continuously developing and improving their knowledge through on-going education and training.

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METHODOLOGY

At the EIS we think of ourselves as ‘the team behind the team’ and aim to provide sports, coaches and athletes with the best package of support, delivered by the best people in the best possible environment.

The Performance Partnership Plan captures all the components (and accompanying technical indicators) and will typically be made-up of all, or some combination of, these three elements:

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SCIENCE AND MEDICAL STAFF A combination of practitioners from a range of disciplines which may include sport medicine, physiotherapy, soft

Our job is to increase the probability of an athlete being

The starting point of every Performance Partnership Plan

tissue therapy, strength & conditioning, physiology, performance psychology, performance nutrition, performance

successful. Our approach to doing this is based on creating

is to work with the head coach or Performance Director

analysis, biomechanics, performance lifestyle and pathways.

a partnership with the sport whereby EIS practitioners

and establish “what it takes to win” for their athletes. This

are embedded into the daily training routine of the

would be based on both the expert opinion of the coach

athletes to provide them with the science, medical and

and analysis of the technical indicators required to be

technology support they need to achieve improvements in

successful in a particular event or discipline.

performance.

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ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY Equipment, technology and accessories that can be used to support practitioners as well as specific projects.

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SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPORT & EXPERTISE

Once this has been set, the goal of winning is then broken

Projects, expertise and education to address specific performance issues and supplement the day-to-day service

Our relationships with a sport are headed-up by one

down into a prioritised plan to address optimisation of

provided by practitioners.

of our EIS Performance Leads. These are all experts in

training, preparation for competition and improving the

their field and serve as the primary contact for a coach or

health and wellbeing of the athlete or squad. A series of

Performance Director whom they work with to develop a

measurable technical indicators for each component of the

Performance Partnership Plan for the sport.

plan is identified to enable coaches and practitioners to evaluate success and track progress.

Once the Performance Partnership Plan has been agreed a performance support team of practitioners works with the athletes and coaches on a day-to-day basis at one of the nine EIS High Performance Centres or many partner sites. The EIS also travels with teams to training camps and competitions at home and overseas.

Evaluation and monitoring are integral to the process. Technical indicators are consistently measured and the Performance Partnership Plan reviewed to ensure it is delivering against its objectives and contributing to improvements in performance.

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1 SERVICE PRIORITIES Based on the approach set-out by the methodology, the services delivered by the EIS aim to help athletes and coaches to optimise training programmes, maximise competition day performance, improve athlete’s health and wellbeing and to identify and develop talent.

OPTIMISE TRAINING PROGRAMMES

MAXIMISE COMPETITION PERFORMANCE

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IMPROVE ATHLETE HEALTH & WELLBEING

IDENTIFY & DEVELOP TALENT

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EIS SERVICE PRIORITIES

OPTIMISE TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Ensuring athletes have a training programme which enables them to be in peak condition for major competitions is a critically important part of the services provided by the EIS to sports.

Our approach to training programmes aims to ensure

habilitation work to protect those parts of the body that

It may also include taking athletes to train at altitude to

To ensure the EIS remains at the front of technological

sports have the right level and blend of practitioner

will come under most strain and a system of monitoring

help their bodies acclimatise to conditions they expect

development and training science our practitioners also

expertise to enable their athletes to optimise training

and measuring to assess the impact of the programme.

to face at a particular competition or as part of training

undertake research or work with the EIS Research &

and achieve the technical indicators required to deliver

intervention to increase the mass of red blood cells

Innovation team to run special projects to investigate new

Services are delivered to athletes at EIS High Performance

(haemoglobin) in the blood, which is particularly beneficial

ways of tackling particular performance issues. This has

Centres, numerous partner sites as well as at training

in endurance sports. Alternatively these conditions can

led to numerous innovations that have helped to deliver

Training programmes are delivered by performance

camps and competitions around the world. These may

be re-created in the EIS laboratories where physiologists

improvements in sporting performance over the years.

support teams; a group of practitioners, embedded into

include warm weather training or camps with athletes

manipulate the training environment to replicate the

Specific examples include improving the aerodynamics of

sports under the leadership of a coach or Performance

from other countries, which are common in combat sports.

effects of altitude or reproduce the atmospheric conditions

bike design and the development of wrist splints for divers

Director, who work holistically to deliver performance

that an athlete can expect to face in a competition

which help to protect their joints when they hit the water

solutions.

destination.

at high speeds.

For example, a training programme to increase an athlete’s

One example of this is our work with British Cycling where

power may include input from a Strength & Conditioning

Performance Analysts and Physiologists have teamed-

Coach, a Physiotherapist, a Nutritionist and a Physiologist.

up to deploy a combination of video, GPS technology and

This team’s knowledge and expertise would combine

altitude simulation to replicate the experience of pedalling

to develop a regime that included exercises to improve

the actual routes of road cycling events around the world

strength and power, advice and guidance on nutrition, pre-

in the EIS laboratory at Sportcity in Manchester.

improvements in performance.

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CASE STUDY: IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY AND IMPACT OF ALTITUDE TRAINING ACROSS ENDURANCE SPORTS Altitude training (>1800 meters above sea-level) is a

The test works through a device which enables athletes

common part of many training programmes and aims to

to breath and re-breath the same air. A low dose of

improve performance by stimulating a condition known as

carbon monoxide is pumped into this and attaches

hypoxia which causes the body to increase the mass of red

itself to some of the haemoglobin molecules creating

blood cells (haemoglobin) in the blood. Increased levels of

carboxyhaemoglobin. By measuring this, EIS physiologists

haemoglobin improves the delivery of oxygen to muscles

are able to accurately calculate the total mass of

and leads to better performance, particularly in endurance

haemoglobin in an athlete’s body.

sports that place a high priority on the body’s capability to use oxygen to generate energy.

Working with our coaches is our sport science and medical team from the EIS. The team covers everything including medical issues and physio, strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology, lifestyle and performance analysis and has been a

This development has led to a step change in the EIS understanding of altitude training for endurance sports

Whilst this process works for some athletes and can lead

and means that physiologists are now able to measure the

to a high level of response, some find their response to

amount of haemoglobin in an athlete’s body before and

the stimulus provided by training at altitude is small or

after altitude training and thereby determine the extent to

negligible. These differences have placed a question mark

which they are a ‘responder’ or ‘non responder’.

over the effectiveness and value of running altitude camps, which are costly and fraught with logistical issues, and led

The insight has been applied across a number of

EIS scientists to look at ways to improve the efficiency and

endurance sports, including athletics, triathlon, swimming

impact of altitude training.

and cycling and means that coaches and Performance Directors can now be far more precise and better informed

In the course of the 2009-13 Olympic cycle, physiologists

in planning their altitude strategies and move towards a

massive factor in our success, giving our boxers a

from the EIS worked on a range of projects to increase

more individualised approach to this type of training which

understanding of altitude training which led to a significant

reflects the physiological make-up of the athlete.

performance edge over their opponents.

breakthrough in the development of a test using a carbon

Rob McCracken, Performance Director, GB Boxing

monoxide re-breathing technique to enable scientists to

Simon Mills, Performance Development Manager, British

measure the amount of haemoglobin in an athlete’s blood.

Triathlon, said: “Altitude training is a significant element

This breakthrough was a step forward from previous

of our annual plan and it is important that we have the

techniques that had only been able to measure the

right support to maximise the impact of this intervention.

“concentration” of haemoglobin in the blood rather than

Having more and better information about the science

the actual amount (“mass”).

behind altitude training and the performance gains our athletes have made has been vital and has influenced the way we have planned and delivered our altitude programme.”

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EIS SERVICE PRIORITIES

MAXIMISE COMPETITION PERFORMANCE

Enabling athletes to deliver winning performances in major tournaments and have the support they need to perform at their best in the heat of battle is one of the key objectives of the services provided by the EIS and as athletes get closer to major competitions this element of our service becomes more prominent.

Whereas optimising training is about helping athletes

Services to maximise competition performance cover

to build-up to peak physical condition and get the best

physical, mental and tactical aspects of preparation and are

long-term programme, our work to maximise competition

delivered by performance support teams of practitioners

performance is focused on the specific detail of getting

who aim to ensure athletes are in the best possible

things right on-the-day.

condition on competition day and have the capability to find the extra one per cent that may be the difference

It covers a vast range of sports and types of contests

between winning and losing a medal. This area of work

such as individual races (for example, athletics, swimming,

may also be supplemented by technology and engineering

cycling or triathlon), team races (such as the majority

projects delivered by the EIS R&I team to improve kit and

of rowing and canoeing events), races against the clock

equipment.

(such as cycling time-trials and some equestrian events), team matches (for example, hockey, rugby or football), one-on-one contests (such as combat sports or games

PHYSICAL From a physical point of view, a key aspect of our service

With most sports, some combination of an EIS

is to help athletes taper their training regimes so they

Physiotherapist, Nutritionist, Psychologist and a Doctor

remain in peak condition whilst reducing their training load.

will routinely travel to every major competition to ensure

Tapering strategies vary across sports and athletes and

consistent delivery of service and safeguard the health

our role is to advise on the best way to taper effectively

and fitness of the athlete. This is common across the vast

and, at the same time, adjust the service delivered to each

majority of sports we work with and was the case at the

athlete to reflect their reduced workload.

London 2012 Olympic Games where 46 EIS practitioners were accredited members of Team GB working with the

Injury and illness prevention is also a critical element of

athletes in the Olympic Village and 41 provided support

service as athletes move into the competition stages of

remotely by travelling into the Village on day passes.

their regime. Practitioners will focus on pre-habilitation work to protect those parts of the body most at risk of injury and ensure that athletes are regularly monitored for signs of illness or injury. Diets may be modified to reflect a reduced training load yet ensure the athletes consume the right amount and type of food to deliver the correct nutritional balance they need to perform.

such as squash, badminton and table-tennis) or skillsbased competitions against a field of athletes (for example archery, shooting or athletics field events).

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MENTAL

TACTICAL

Services to help athletes manage the mental challenge

Distraction was a particularly challenging performance

Another way in which the EIS provides support to athletes

or weakest. This can be used to influence how an athlete

of delivering their best performance at the biggest

issue at London 2012 where the unique situation of

during competitions is through tactical insights and

approaches contests against a particular opponent and can

tournaments are primarily delivered by the EIS

a home Olympics meant there was huge potential for

the work of our Performance Analysts who use video

often provide the extra one percent that is the difference

Performance Psychologists who work with the athletes

athletes to have their final preparations disrupted by

technology and data analysis to provide objective feedback

between winning and losing.

throughout their training programmes to help them

requests from those close to them. To help manage this,

and data to coaches.

develop the skills and capabilities to deal with a range of

the EIS performance lifestyle team worked with the British

situations and pressures.

Olympic Association (BOA) to deliver its “Friends & Family”

Performance Analysts work with coaches and athletes

is track cycling and the EIS has worked extensively with

programme across more than 30 sports.

throughout their training programme and their feedback

the British Cycling team for a number of years. It has a

can be used to help develop technique. However, during

group of Performance Analysts that travel with the team

Pressure training takes various forms and is focused on

One sport where performance analysis is very important

helping athletes to find a way of managing stress and

It involved hosting a series of workshops with athletes’

competitions their primary purpose is to provide feedback

to all major tournaments around the world and provide

preparing for events in a way that allows them to produce

friends and families prior to the games to explain how

and analysis on athletes and their opponents which can

the coaches and the riders with real-time analysis of their

their best. This involves helping athletes to work out

things would work during the Olympics. For each sport,

be used to influence tactics in competition. These insights

opponents that can be used to influence strategy and

competition day routines that suit them and develop

Performance Lifestyle Advisors were designated as central

can be used to highlight technical weaknesses in an

tactics from race-to-race during competitions.

mental “triggers” that enable them to manage pressure or

contacts for family and friends to call if they wanted to

opponent, pick-up trends in judges’ scoring or identify parts

aid motivation.

reach an athlete. In many cases, athletes were supplied

of a contest when an athlete or team is at its strongest

with new mobile phones for the duration of the Games Reducing distractions and leaving athletes free to focus

which meant they had more control over the people to

totally on performance is a critically important aspect of

whom they spoke.

mentally preparing for competition and our Psychologists and Performance Lifestyle Advisors have developed

TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING

a range of practices to help athletes limit external interferences.

Sports that work with the EIS also have the opportunity

areas of training science, performance medicine, equipment

to access the R&I team which deploys leading-edge

and coaching technologies, aims to achieve the marginal

technology, engineering and new research in science and

improvements that can be the difference between winning

medicine to help British athletes achieve improvements in

and losing a medal.

performance.

Examples of technology and engineering projects The R&I team is closely aligned with the EIS performance

developed by the R&I team to assist athletes include:

teams and works with them to help practitioners address

aerodynamic packages for cycling and winter sliding sports,

specific performance issues. The ambitious research and

customised wheelchairs for paralympians and innovations

development programme; looking at innovation in the

in boat and paddle design for aquatic sports.

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CASE STUDY: HIGH INTENSITY WARM-UP OFFERS A PERFORMANCE EDGE TO MIDDLE DISTANCE RUNNERS Although the warm-up is an accepted part of the race

“We wanted to find out if you could adapt what you do in

day routine for elite athletes, very little scientific research

the warm-up to see if it could enhance the physiological

into the efficacy of warm-up techniques exists, so in the

responses during performance and in turn if this could

course of the 2009-13, a group of Physiologists from

improve performance,” explained Dr Steve Ingham from the

EIS undertook a project to learn more about this area of

English Institute of Sport, who worked on the study with

performance.

colleagues, Dr Barry Fudge and Dr Jamie Pringle, along with Andrew Jones from the University of Exeter.

In track athletic running events athletes typically employ

Sport science and medicine are inextricably linked to performance and are areas that British Cycling has continued to embrace. However, analysis by statistics and technology whilst important, are not as fundamental as their interpretation and the creative use of such information. Over the past 10 years the EIS and Olympic sports have leapt ahead and are leading the way in the appliance of expertise and this is down to the breadth of experts they employ.

Sir David Brailsford, Performance Director, British Cycling 2003-2014

a warm-up procedure that includes low intensity jogging,

“The protocol was specifically designed to mimic the

mobilisation exercises and short duration fast running

routine of an athlete at a major competition, whereby an

‘strides’. The study aimed to compare this approach to

athlete would undertake the main body of their warm-up

warming-up for a middle distance race with a higher

but then find themselves in a holding area for between 20

intensity ‘priming’ warm-up and test the theory that a

to 30 minutes immediately prior to competition. This study

sustained bout of high intensity exercise could enhance

held the athletes for 20 minutes to simulate the call-room

performance.

conditions. The warm-up methods were also moulded to get the physiological systems up and running but that

The sample was based on a group of 11 (7 male, 4 female)

they would be still switched on after the simulated holding

well-trained, middle distance runners of national and

period.

international standard who were asked to complete two 800 metre time-trials on separate days on an indoor track

“Performance was faster in the primed athletes, their

preceded by two different warm-up procedures.

oxygen uptake during the 800m race was greater, and interestingly the racing profile showed that the athletes

In the first instance, the 800 metre time trial was preceded

fatigued less in the final 200-400m of the trial compared

by a traditional warm-up comprised of 10 minute self-

with a traditional warm-up. Whilst the magnitude of

paced jog and standardised mobility drills, followed by

the improvement might seem small 1.2 seconds (or

6x50 metre ‘strides’. The second, the warm-up comprised

approximately 1%), this would translate to 6 to 8 metres

of a 10 minute self paced jog and standardised mobility

difference in a race.”

drills, followed or 2 x 50 metre strides and a continuous high intensity 200 metre run at race pace. Blood lactate

The findings represent a significant insight into the

was measured before the time trials and VO2 max was

potential impact of warm-up routines on performance in

measured breath-by-breath throughout exercise.

middle distance running along with other similar sports that require a combination of speed and endurance.

The results showed that the second, higher intensity,

EIS scientists are continuing to work with a number of

‘priming’ warm-up appeared to be more effective and

athletics coaches on implementing the findings from this

improved stimulated performance in high-level track

research and have also shared them with a range of other

athletes, particularly in the latter part of the race, and has

Olympic sports that may benefit from the findings.

allowed athletes and their coaches to explore whether their current warm-up procedures provide optimal preparation.

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CASE STUDY: PENALTY CORNER ANALYSIS HELPS HOCKEY HIT THE TARGET

Penalty corners represent a significant scoring opportunity

The players were re-tested at six-week intervals over a six

in hockey and frequently account for more than a third of

month period to monitor progress and ensure they were

all goals scored in a tournament.

integrating the refinements into their technique on match days.

Improving the conversion rate of penalty corners has the potential to make a significant improvement in

The Women’s Assistant Coach, Karen Brown, said “The drag

performance and in their work with the women’s

flick is a very important skill in hockey and the 3D analysis

GB Hockey team, an EIS performance analyst and

work we did with the players allowed them to make

biomechanist have developed a method to help the team

some small alterations to their technique which not only

improve the technique of its players in this part of the

improved it and gave them greater power, but also gave

game.

them confidence that they were executing the technique correctly.”

Using video analysis technology, the pair deployed cutting edge 3D SIMI motion software to analyse the technique

The importance of penalty goals and working hard to

of the players when executing the drag flick, which is a

improve the players’ technique was validated in the

specialist scoring shot used during penalty corners.

critical third and fourth place play-off at the London 2012 Olympics when Great Britain’s women defeated New

Working with a small group of players, Alistair and

Zealand 3-1. All three goals can from penalty corners as

Matthew used two high speed cameras to film the players

Great Britain converted three of the six penalty corners

and obtain 3D footage which could then be digitised so that

they won in the course of the match. Speaking after the

it showed the chain of movements through the legs, arms

game, the scorer of Great Britain’s second goal, Crista

and the stick.

Cullen, said: “We’ve got one of the best penalty corner

It enabled them to show the athletes what they were

routines here at this tournament. We just had to keep

doing in great detail and with the help of their coaches they

winning them.”

looked at ways of refining their technique to maximise the power they could generate when striking the ball.

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EIS SERVICE PRIORITIES

IMPROVE ATHLETE HEALTH & WELLBEING

Injury and illness are two of the biggest factors that prevent athletes from achieving improvements in performance. They result in a loss of training days and cause athletes to miss major championships, so one of the most important areas of service provided by the EIS practitioners is our work to improve health and wellbeing and to reduce the incidence and protraction of injuries.

This form of rehabilitation is based on developing an

designed to support athlete rehabilitation which provides

individualised methodology for treating the athlete and

a residential service for athletes to work solely on recovery

a multi-disciplinary, whole-body approach to treatment.

and rehabilitation away from the pressures of their usual

It incorporates a wide range of experts from the first

training environment. It works in partnership with EIS

consultation, typically including a Doctor, Physiotherapist,

Doctors and practitioners from across the network and is

Strength & Conditioning coach and a Physiologist. As the

staffed by a full-time rehabilitation manager, Physiologist,

Research and analysis into understanding when athletes

Injury prevention techniques also include sport specific

athlete recovers, the team will be expanded to include a

Physiotherapist and Strength & Conditioning coach.

are most susceptible to injury is critical to this and

interventions designed to address particular types of

Performance Psychologist and a Performance Nutritionist

underpins the day-to-day work of practitioners in helping

injury risk that may be peculiar to a sport. For example,

to support the athlete’s mental well-being and ensure their

By providing the opportunity for athletes to live on-site for

to maximise athlete health and minimise days lost to

in the 2009-13 Olympic cycle, the EIS Physiotherapist and

diet reflects their rehabilitation needs.

weeks at a time, the IRU allows individuals to spend more

injury.

Doctor that work with the GB Boxing squad developed and

hours working on rehabilitation which enables them to

implemented a new way for the boxers to wrap their hands

The rehabilitation method is solutions-based and aims to

work more intensely with practitioners on a one-to-one

Much of this work focuses on prevention and developing

that led to a significant drop in the number of hand injuries

identify the specific problems an athlete faces and agree

basis as the athlete to practitioner ratio is much smaller

techniques and interventions that reduce the incidence of

sustained by the athletes.

the ‘solutions’ to overcome these along with the metrics

than those at a traditional training camp or performance

and objective indicators that can be used to track progress.

centre.

‘preventable’ injuries and illnesses. Services are delivered by inter-disciplinary teams of practitioners and take a

When injuries do occur the EIS has developed an approach

The process of rehabilitation is delivered intensively

whole-body approach with a focus on pre-habilitation work

to intensive rehabilitation that has shortened the time it

whereby the athlete’s treatment schedule is rigorously

Feedback from athletes that have spent time recovering

to make the athlete as robust as possible by strengthening

takes to recover and return to high performance training

timetabled from morning until evening over a period of

at the IRU is extremely positive and the facility has an

those parts of the body which come under most stress.

and elite-level competition.

weeks and months to allow for work on every aspect of

excellent track record of shortening the time it takes

their recovery in a series of 30 minute sessions.

athletes to recover from injury or surgery and return safely

These will vary from sport to sport so the regime for a

This has delivered a significant performance benefit to a

swimmer will be very different to that of a cyclist or a long

range of sports both by reducing the number of training

As part of its rehabilitation services, the EIS funds and

jumper. Monitoring by physiologists, who run tests to

days lost to injury and in a series of ‘race against time’

manages the Team GB Intensive Rehabilitation Unit (IRU)

measure how the body is responding to training regimes

situations where individuals have been able to return

at Bisham Abbey in partnership with the British Olympic

and environments, also provides intelligence and can act

to fitness in time to compete or be selected for major

Association (BOA). The IRU is a world-leading facility

as an early warning sign which enables practitioners and

championships.

to high performance training and competing at an elite level.

coaches to detect signs of injury or illness and take steps to prevent this worsening.

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CASE STUDY: INTENSIVE REHABILITATION WINS RACE AGAINST TIME TO SECURE A GOLD MEDAL I wanted to get back into training as soon as possible, my coach and the physiotherapist (Emma Deakin from the EIS) looked at the options for me to get running but at a reduced load and the underwater treadmill came up.

Although I needed more physiotherapy and have had to adapt my training whilst I recovered, I was able to train across all three disciplines.

Alistair Brownlee, 2012 Olympic champion, Triathlon

In March 2011, slalom canoeist, Etienne Stott, suffered a

Progress was good and once Etienne began to recover and

traumatic dislocation of his shoulder. It came less than six

regain strength in his shoulder he went to the Team GB –

months before the world championship which was also

Intensive Rehabilitation Unit at Bisham Abbey where he

the final qualifying event for London 2012 and plunged

spent two-weeks at the residential facility working solely

him into a race against time to recover and return to

on all aspects of rehabilitation.

competition to compete in the Olympic qualifier.

By the time Stott returned he was already back on the From the moment the accident happened speed was of

water just 10 ½ weeks since his operation and nearly two

the essence and because British Canoeing was supported

weeks ahead of schedule. He went on to prove his fitness

by a team of EIS practitioners, it meant the process of

for selection and at the world championships in Slovakia

recovery and rehabilitation could begin immediately.

in September 2011 Etienne and Tim Baillie won a bronze

An EIS Sports Physician, accompanied Etienne to the

medal and secured Olympic qualification. The pair topped

hospital where his shoulder was relocated and an EIS

this at London 2012 winning gold in the Canoe Slalom C2.

Physiotherapist, booked him in for surgery with a leading shoulder specialist.

Etienne said: “The speed at which everything came together was crucial not just in terms of my physical

The professional set up of the sport and the medical team at British Gymnastics now is amazing. When I suffered my knee injury ahead of London I thought it was the end.

But, within 48 hours I’d had a scan and was lined up for surgery – when I first started Gymnastics I remember it could take weeks even to get a scan. Every moment of my week was planned around my rehab and training.

Beth Tweddle, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Gymnastics

Normally this type of injury would warrant at least 12

recovery, but also my state of mind. It was ambitious, but

weeks out of the water followed by a gradual return to

in my mind it had to be done and I trusted my support.

training, however, with just 20 weeks to go until the world

The plan was managed really well so that I was always

championship selection, a plan was developed to help

raring to move on to the next stage of rehabilitation, whilst

shorten the period of rehabilitation and enable Etienne to

great care was taken at every level to ensure there were

return to full training in time to prove his fitness for world

no setbacks along the way. I had clear goals and always

championship selection.

understood exactly where I was on the plan, so I always felt I was moving forwards.”

A team of practitioners including a Physiotherapist, a Strength & Conditioning Coach and a Nutritionist worked with the Doctors to develop a recovery plan based on physio sessions to mobilise the shoulder, gym work, which began two weeks after the operation under careful limits, and nutrition support. An external sports psychologist was also part of the team.

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4

EIS SERVICE PRIORITIES

IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP TALENT

Whereas the other EIS service priorities are concentrated on helping to improve the performance of elite athletes already on world class performance programmes, this aspect of our work is more focused on the longer term and aims to create systems to deliver on-going, sustained success by developing pathways to identify and nurture future talent and facilitate its progression through the high performance system.

Other services include research projects to investigate key issues and provide sports with insights and a greater understanding of the route to excellence in elite sport.

We also help sports to identify and enlist new talent and have run a series of national recruitment campaigns.

The campaigns have traditionally focused on identifying key sporting characteristics indicative of future potential through a multi-phased assessment and trialling process and have assessed more than 7,000 athletes since 2007.

Working in conjunction with UK Sport, our activities are

development and look at a range of topics such as athlete

delivered by a team of sport scientists that focus on talent

profiling, tracking and benchmarking, and optimising talent

Over 100 athletes recruited through these talent

development and provide a series of services covering

development environments.

campaigns have been selected to participate in a world class talent development programme in sports including

technical support and education, benchmarking, research and recruitment campaigns to help sports and national

Benchmarking and helping sports to establish objective

rowing, canoeing and taekwondo. These athletes have

governing bodies (NGBs) improve their performance

indicators that enable them to measure and compare

made over 300 international appearances and won more

pathways.

the capabilities of athletes is a critically important part

than 100 international medals including one gold, one silver

of talent development. Our sport science professionals

and a bronze at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic

Technical support for pathway managers and coaches

have developed a series of specialist diagnostic tools to

Games.

includes a bespoke education programme comprised of

support and inform this aspect of the talent process and

residential workshops and international study visits to

deploy them to help sports benchmark their performance

enhance understanding of talent development and building

pathways and develop systems to measure the capabilities

world leading performance pathways. The workshops

of their athletes.

feature guest speakers with a proven track-record in talent

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Four years ago Helen Glover had never even stepped

CASE STUDY: SPORTING GIANT TURNS GOLDEN GIRL THANKS TO TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

foot in a rowing boat. Yesterday she stood by the

Rower, Helen Glover is one of the biggest success stories

Helen’s progress was rapid and in 2009 she won gold in

waterside in Eton Dorney clutching one of Britain’s

of our talent development work and won a gold medal

the senior single scull at Henley. In 2010 she delivered a

in women’s coxless pair at the London 2012 Olympics,

breakthrough performance, along with crewmate Heather

after being recruited into the sport in 2008 as part of the

Stanning, in the women’s pair by doggedly hanging on to

Sporting Giants Campaign.

the coat-tails of the reigning champions from New Zealand

first two gold medals. None of it would have been

to win a silver medal in the World Championships. The pair

possible had the Truro-based teacher not taken

Helen grew up in Penzance and played a range of sports

followed this up with gold in the 2011 World Cup series in

from an early age. By the age of 14 she was playing hockey

Munich and a victory over the world champions from New

the spontaneous decision to respond to an advert

for the England satellite squad and was the captain of her

Zealand in the final World Cup event in Lucerne.

seeking unusually tall and fit people to become

tennis to a high standard. When she left school, Helen

Two more victories in Belgrade and Lucerne in the first

decided to pursue her love of sport by taking a degree in

two World Cup events of 2012 meant they approached

Sport and Exercise science at the University of Wales and

London in confident mood and Helen and Heather did not

pursuing a career as a PE teacher.

disappoint at the Olympic Games when they memorably

potential Olympic athletes.....as part of the “Sporting Giants” scheme.

county team. She also swam competitively and played

took gold at Eton Dornay, less than five years after Helen Her career path changed in 2008 when she responded to

had first taken-up the sport.

an advert to try-out for the Sport Giants campaign. The

The Independent, 2 August 2012

campaign aimed to discover young people who could be

Helen recalled: “I remember sitting in a room in Bisham

fast-tracked into sports, particularly rowing, handball and

Abbey and someone saying: ‘A gold medallist in 2012 could

volleyball. The basic criteria was that candidates must be

be sat in this room. Look around you’. I thought: ‘Right, I’m

tall, a minimum of 6ft 3in for men and 5ft 11in for women,

going to make that me’.”

be between 16 and 25 and have some sort of athletic background.

She added: “I hope my story can be an inspiration for kids in PE or at home thinking about taking up a new sport. Just

Thousands attended the day, which included a series

go on, go for it - you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

of tests to determine the athletic capability of the respondents. Despite having never having rowed in her life, Helen exhibited many of the traits required to be an elite rower and in 2008 she was placed onto GB Rowing’s Start programme in Bath where she was coached by Paul Stannard.

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ADDED VALUE

As the country’s largest provider of sport science, medicine and technology with more than 300 employees the EIS has a scale and infrastructure which enables the athletes, coaches and NGBs we work with to secure a range of added value benefits in the form of world-class performance environments, continually developing practitioners, access to world-leading expertise and cutting edge innovation.

Better facilities and support from the EIS, on everything from nutrition to performance analysis, has moved us from being ranked seventh in the world to a team achieving bronze at the Olympics.

Hannah MacLeod, GB Hockey Olympic bronze medallist

PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS Through its network of nine High Performance Centres

All of our Performance Analysts and Biomechanists are

across England, the EIS is able to provide athletes and

supplied with leading-edge, high speed technology which

coaches with access to high quality facilities that are

they use to support their work and provide coaches and

up. It will be great to work in a gym that has been purpose-built for the

specifically designed for elite athletes.

athletes with access to thousands-of-pounds-worth of

needs of high performance athletes and I am sure it will be inspiring

technology and kit. Through our R&I team we also run Our sites are operated in conjunction with a range of

special projects to look at news ways of using technology

partners, including Sport England, local authorities

or develop new products and kit that have the potential to

and Universities. Many of these have benefitted from

improve performance.

significant financial investment in recent years and mean that athletes and coaches are able to train and work in

“The new gym will be a significant improvement on the previous set-

for all of us to train in an environment where we will be surrounded by elite athletes from other sports.”

Michael Jamieson, 200 metres breaststroke silver medallist

world-class facilities which include a range of features specifically designed for elite performers such as high performance gyms, physiology laboratories, medical and physiotherapy facilities, performance analysis suites and a vast array of technology and equipment.

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QUALITY PRACTITIONERS Our employees have more than 1,100 years of collective experience in the delivery of performance impacting sport

Numerous further opportunities for continuous personal

35 members of staff are currently enrolled in an MSc or

Our employees are also given opportunities to attend and

science, medicine, technology and engineering to elite

development exist through on-the-job learning, mentoring,

PhD. Since 2010, four practitioners have completed a PhD

speak at conferences and events around the world and

sport. Our experts have worked with hundreds of Olympic

access to technology, equipment and expertise and the EIS

or MSc and three have secured the IOC Diploma in Sports

develop relations with globally-renowned experts. This

medallists and more than three quarters of our staff have

National Conference. This is an annual, two-day event that

Nutrition.

culture of personal development combined with a rigorous

worked at one or more summer Olympic Games. The EIS

brings together all of our employees and creates a platform

medical expertise is world-class with 18 of our 22 Sport

to share knowledge, best practice and new insights

Underpinning all of this, the EIS aims to foster a culture

the athletes and coaches we work with and provides them

and Exercise Physicians are on the General Medical Council

and ideas. Together with other team focused learning

of continuous learning and personal development. We

with on-going access to practitioners that are continually

(GMC) specialist register.

experiences, such as our programme of workshops,

are improving the systems we have in place to collect,

developing their capabilities and increasing the level of expertise they are able to provide to sports and NGBs.

focus on professional advancement brings huge benefits to

forums and symposia, it helps to build and solidify the

share and disseminate leading-edge thinking and practice

Continuously developing the expertise and capabilities of

connectivity between the network of practitioners and

across all areas of expertise. This ensures practitioners

our practitioners is critical to the ongoing success of the

create opportunities to share and scrutinise case work and

have access to the latest developments in sport science

organisation and we place a great deal of emphasis on

new innovations in the practice and application ofscience,

and sport medicine in both their own area of expertise and

creating opportunities for EIS employees at all levels to

medicine, technology and engineering in sport.

those with cross-disciplinary applications.

extend their knowledge and expertise and, at the same time, acquire the skills required to have a successful career

Beyond these in-house opportunities, EIS practitioners

in high performance sport.

are also encouraged to continue their professional and academic development through publishing research

New joiners are provided with a tailored induction

or pursuing further qualifications. Financial support is

programme designed to suit the particular requirements

available for both and the EIS currently has a number

of the sport and the athletes they work with. This is

practitioners developing research projects into a diverse

especially important for younger practitioners, or those in

range of areas including tapering strategies, adaptation,

their first or second job, who may have less experience of

pressure training and the role of nutrition in strengthening

the specific demands of working with high performance

bones and reducing injury.

athletes and coaches on a day-to-day basis.

33

4000

300

Delivering more than

Employees

ACCESS TO WORLD-LEADING EXPERTISE In addition to our 300 employees the EIS also has links

This includes access to a team of Special Advisors and the

with a host of external associates which provide the

EIS’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) which was established

organisation with access to an unrivalled level of expertise

in 2013. The TAG is a collection of world-renowned experts

on sport science, medicine, technology and engineering.

from high performance sport and provides technical

It enables practitioners to seek advice, share knowledge

support and advice to the Board of the EIS and our

and call-upon expertise from inside and outside of

practitioners. It acts as a strategic sounding board for the

the organisation to help address issues and develop

organisation and provides connections and access to other

performance solutions.

world-leading networks, institutions and individuals that

hours of service per week

Whether it’s innovative research, unique collaborations or

All projects delivered by the R&I team are performance-led

developments through the EIS R&I team, sports working

and the scope of work covers anything from the research,

with the EIS benefit from its ongoing drive to stay at the

design and development of a new piece of equipment to

forefront of science, medicine, technology and engineering

new research to help better understand specific issues and

to improve sporting performances.

achieve breakthroughs in training science, performance

years collective experience

LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES The EIS worked with...

86% of Medallists

practitioners can contact for help and advice.

CUTTING EDGE INNOVATION

1100 with over

27/29

of medal winning sports

These include:

medicine and coaching equipment and technologies.

The R&I team is closely aligned with the EIS performance teams and works with them to help practitioners address specific performance issues or deploy technology and engineering to develop kit, equipment or new approaches to help athletes achieve the tiny improvements in performance that can be the difference between winning and losing.

Jessica Ennis-Hill

David Weir

Mo Farah

Sir Bradley Wiggins

Ellie Simmonds

www.eis2win.co.uk info@eis2win.co.uk

ENGLISH INSTITUTE OF SPORT National Office Sportcity Gate 13, Rowsley Street Manchester, M11 3FF Tel: +44 (0)870 759 0400