Swansea University’s Sporting Excellence Proves FanTASStic

Swansea University’s commitment to sporting excellence has been given a major boost by becoming the first institution in Wales to be awarded TASS Dual Career Accreditation.

Already the only establishment outside England to be awarded the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) approval, Swansea is leading the way in Wales by supporting talented athletes in education.

Double Olympic silver medallist swimmer Jazz Carlin and Commonwealth Games gold medal winning swimmers Georgia Davies and Alys Thomas are all former graduates from the scheme and the university currently has more than 40 scholars across many sports.

Davies was one of four Swansea University students who competed at the 2012 Olympics and Paralymics in London – Paralympic swimmers Matthew Whorwood and Gemma Almond and Paralympic boccia player David Smith were the others – and there were three current students and five alumni in the record breaking Team Wales squad at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

TASS is a Sport England funded partnership between talented athletes, education institutions and national governing bodies of sport. The Dual Career Programme helps students balance their academic study with high performance sport.

The Scheme helps athletes in education – aged 16-plus – to get the very best from their sporting and academic careers without having to choose between the two.

As a TASS Dual Career Accredited Centre, Swansea will be an important extension to the existing TASS Delivery Site network by providing student-athletes with the opportunity to access online notes or resources, arrange catch up sessions with lecturers, or even reschedule deadlines or exam dates in exceptional circumstances.

“We are very proud to become a TASS Dual Career Accredited Centre. It builds on our strong sporting tradition and recognises the excellence of our teaching and student support,” said Professor Martin Stringer, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Swansea University.

“The recognition of becoming an accredited centre will also help us to attract a greater number of talented athletes to the University, as well as building connections with other local sporting institutions.”