British Athletes Commission
.jpg) | |
| Public | |
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
Key people |
Pete Gardner, chief executive Karen Pickering, chair |
| Website | www.BritishAthletes.org |
The British Athletes Commission (BAC) was set up in 2004 to represent the interests of athletes in Great Britain to the key decision makers in sport, and to help athletes in member sports set up and maintain athlete representative structures within their sport.
The BAC is an independent organisation representing the views of athletes to major decision making bodies such as the BOA, UK Sport and NGBs.[1]
The mission of the BAC is to ensure that UK athletes in world class performance systems train and compete within a fair, supportive and transparent system, which gives them the best opportunity of reaching their sporting goals, and helps prepare them for success in life after sport.
Structure
- Chief Executive: Pete Gardner
- Chairman: Karen Pickering
The Executive consists of:
- The Chair (4 yr term)
- The Vice Chair (4 yr term)
- Up to six other members (2 yr term)
There are also places on the executive for non voting members from the BAC partner organisations, UK Sport, the British Olympic Association, and the BPA.
The work of the BAC falls into 6 areas (represented issues) with at least one director responsible for each. The represented issues are:
- Olympics Karen Pickering (summer) Adam Pengilly (winter)
- Paralympics – Giles Long
- World Class Sport –
- Anti doping –
- Non Olympic Sport – Graham Gristwood
- Athlete Services – Leon Taylor
Specific Responsibilities
Olympics
Areas of operation:
- Advise and assist the British Olympic Association in preparation and organisation to send teams to the Olympic Games
- Produce an Olympic Athletes Report after every Winter and Summer Games and follow up findings with key stakeholders in British sport
- Obtain Team Members Agreement—consult with Olympic athletes for feedback for the British Olympic Association
- Give feedback and advice to the BOA on Olympic camps, holding camps, and passport plans
- Feed athlete views and opinions into LOCOG via Athletes Panel
Areas of Representation:
- Representation on the IOC and EOC Athletes Commissions responsible for electing and sanctioning the British nominations for the IOC and EOC AC
- Up to two representative seats on the NOC
- A seat on the British Olympic Association Executive for the Olympic Director if person is an Olympian.
- Athlete representative seat on each of the BOA Steering Groups
- Seat on the LOCOG athlete panel for the Olympic Director if person is an Olympian
On important decisions that require each of the Olympic Sports to vote, the representatives from British Athletes Council from the Olympic Sports votes by email, post or telephone.
Paralympics
Areas of Operation:
- Advise and assist the BPA in preparation and organisation to send teams to the Olympic Games
- Produce a Paralympic Athletes Report after every Winter and Summer Games and follow up the findingswith key stakeholders in British sport
- Obtain team Members Agreement and consult with the athletes from the Paralympic sports for feedback to the BPA
- Give feedback and advice to the BPA on Paralympic camps and holding camps and other scheme
- Handle NPC matters
- Feed athlete views and opinions into LOCOG via the athletes Panel
Areas of Representation:
- Representation on the IPC Athletes Commissions and any other Paralympic International Committees; responsible for electing/sanctioning British nominations for these positions
- Up to two representative seats on the NPC (negotiated)
- Seat on the BPA Executive for the Chair of the Paralympic WG if person is a Paralympian (to be negotiated)
- Athlete representative seat on any relevant internal committees
- Seat on the LOCOG athlete panel for the Paralympic Director if person is a Paralympian
On important decisions that require each of the Paralympic Sports to vote, the representatives from British Athletes Council from the Paralympic Sports will be asked to vote by email, post or telephone.
World Class Sport
Areas of Operation:
- Work closely with UK Sport on all matters regarding World Class Performance
- Advise UK Sport on changes proposed to Athlete Personal Awards
- Advise UK Sport on changes proposed to Athlete Agreements
Areas of Representation:
- Athlete representation on International Federations and forums
- Representative seat on the United Kingdom Sports Council, to be negotiated
- Athlete representative seat on any relevant internal committees, to be negotiated
On important decisions that require each of the World Class Sports to vote, the representatives from British Athletes Council from the World Class Sports vote by email, post or telephone.
Anti Doping
- Advise National Anti Doping Organisation on all aspects of the National Anti-Doping Program
- Report feedback information from athletes to support development of the whereabouts system
- Communicate with other international athlete commissions to bring about effective change and harmonisation of anti-doping regulations
- Make recommendations to WADA and WADA Athletes commission
- Regularly survey athletes as to opinions on the BOA by-law
Non Olympic Sport
- Working to integrate and support athletes from non Olympic sports
- Ensuring athletes in Non Olympic Sport have access to all BAC benefits and services
Athlete Services
- Communicate with current service providers, including UK Sport, BOA, and Home Country Sports Institutes, to assist, and where possible, to enhance current provision of services to athletes
- Facilitate service provision where there is a defined need
- Ensure there is not duplication of service provision