{"id":25621,"date":"2024-05-16T11:21:45","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T11:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=25621"},"modified":"2026-03-11T17:46:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:46:43","slug":"plenty-more-can-be-done-to-support-womens-talent-pathways-never-let-a-lack-of-funding-be-an-excuse","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/plenty-more-can-be-done-to-support-womens-talent-pathways-never-let-a-lack-of-funding-be-an-excuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenty More Can Be Done to Support Women\u2019s Talent Pathways \u2013 Never Let a Lack of Funding Be an Excuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 16 May 2024 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Plenty More Can Be Done to Support Women\u2019s Talent Pathways \u2013 Never Let a Lack of Funding Be an Excuse<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/plenty-more-can-be-done-to-support-womens-talent-pathways-never-let-a-lack-of-funding-be-an-excuse\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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Emma Springham and Matt Jefferson of British Triathlon speak of their organisation\u2019s efforts to level the playing field for coaches.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By Rachel Woodland and Lottie Wright<\/h6>\n
When Emma Springham was promoted to British Triathlon\u2019s Olympic Pathway Coach in January 2023, her appointment was seen as a no-brainer inside the organisation.<\/h6>\n

\u201cEmma was an exceptional coach who was a perfect fit for the role she applied for,\u201d said Matt Jefferson, who serves as British Triathlon\u2019s Head of Performance, People, and Culture Development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t compromise on having the right coach with the right athletes to meet a \u2018quota\u2019 or strategic aim,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe took her development seriously, worked with her and supported her as a person and a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of you will know from experience that this is not always the case for women coaches and practitioners at numerous organisations across the high performance world.<\/p>\n

Springham and Jefferson joined the Leaders Performance Institute for the April Women\u2019s High Performance Community call so they could share their insights into equality of opportunity at British Triathlon.<\/p>\n

Setting the scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Triathlon is founded on equality \u2013 men and women compete in the same activities over the same distances. It\u2019s also a relatively young sport, which frees it of the history and shackles that hinder some other sports.<\/p>\n

Whilst there\u2019s wider work happening at British Triathlon around participation, for the team approaching representation within coaching, their first step is to match the athletes that they\u2019re working with.<\/p>\n

A strand of the recently launched High Performing Coach Strategy is \u2018to build a coaching workforce that is representative of the wider triathlon community.\u2019<\/p>\n

British Triathlon\u2019s female coach mentoring programme<\/strong><\/p>\n

To action this, Michelle Hayden, British Triathlon\u2019s Head of Coaching, led the creation of a female coach mentoring programme that used existing performance team members and those known to the organisation as mentors. The programme involved a series of engagements, with some access to high performance environments and coaches. It also included giving access to high performance coach development work, specifically during British Triathlon\u2019s annual Performance Learning Week. A WhatsApp community for the group was created, as well as one for all the female coaches who applied.<\/p>\n

British Triathlon requested applications to be submitted in a video format with applicants explaining a bit about themselves and why they felt the programme would support their development. Over 30 people applied, generating over six hours of video. British Triathlon watched each and every video so they could give each applicant feedback.<\/p>\n

The videos also helped Jefferson gain an understanding of perceptions of high performance coaching and barriers to female coaches progressing within the sport; and people\u2019s previous experiences revealed that part of making performance coaching roles attractive is to make sure they are fully understood.<\/p>\n

\u2018Never compromise the person for performance\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Springham, Jefferson and the wider system have become increasingly aware of the potential barriers for women entering an elite environment. For example, three athletes on their programme took time out to have children during this shortened Olympic and Paralympic cycle. For coaches, there is the question of access and opportunity.<\/p>\n

To address the question for coaches, British Triathlon, before they assume there is something wrong with the coach as an employee or prospective employee, will consider whether their jobs were attractive to women, and, if not, how do they make them more attractive? Considerations included:<\/p>\n