Over 60 young athletes enjoy DiSE Camp at National Training Centre
The Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme got 2025 off to a flying start with a varied range of workshops, land training sessions, Q&A and collaborative ‘Taskmaster’ activities
Both year-groups currently following the two-year DiSE programme engaged in a learning and development programme around mental skills.
In the workshop programme, those in their first DiSE year were encouraged to consider who their vital support networks (also known as ‘Team You’) are, as well as looking at whose expertise they could draw upon for future dual career plans. Meanwhile the second years considered the concepts psychological load and the importance of life balance as part of their focus on lifestyle support. Dr Katie Sparks, Sports Psychology Lecturer, said, “One of the key messages that athletes took away is the importance of being aware who the best person is to reach out to at difficult times or hot spots. Support systems are key for helping resilience!”
Tom Staten, Sports Performance Psychologist also shared psychological skills training tips to manage breathing and stress factors linked to ergo tests.
Land training sessions led by the GB Rowing Under 19 Team physio and a UK Sport Institute Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach helped all athletes develop their squat range and hip mobility, which clearly turned out to be good fun too.
The weekend culminated with a Q&A session with Chris Bartley, former Olympic Lightweight medallist and now a coach at Reading University BC. Chris talked with passion about his support network (Team You) who supported him through his rowing career and how that has evolved now he works to inspire student rowers on a daily basis.
British Rowing’s DiSE Programme Manager Loretta Williams commented, “It was so good to see athletes across both cohorts of the DiSE programme engaging in workshops and land training sessions with enthusiasm. Some of the best collaborations came from the evening’s ‘Taskmaster’ activities, where athletes demonstrated key transferable skills that we develop as rowers – teamwork, communication and resilience to name just a few.”
Want to find out more about the Diploma in Sporting Excellence?
Applications for the Septemmber 2025 DiSE cohort are expected to open in May 2025.
