Demand for access to Edinburgh Leisure top-class sporting facilities from talented athletes is growing year on year, as participants look to get to their peak fitness in the hope of representing their county or country at major sporting events, including the Olympic Games.

The Edinburgh Talented Athlete Support Scheme (E TASS) is a City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Leisure funded programme that represents a strong and unique partnership between talented athletes, National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB’s) and the Scottish Institute of Sport Network (SISN). E TASS aims to provide free access to Edinburgh Leisure’s gym, swimming pool and track venues, to support talented athletes to achieve more, develop to their full potential and accomplish world class performance levels.

Gary Hocknull, Sports Development Manager at Ediburgh Leisure explains: “Being able to deliver the E TASS programme supports Edinburgh Leisure’s values of providing opportunities and support to athletes to participate, progress and achieve in sport and makes a clear statement that we invest in athletes and sport at all levels.

“All athletes accepted onto E TASS enjoy free access to Edinburgh Leisure gyms, swimming pools, and athletics tracks for recovery, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and endurance training. Access is made available for athletes’ own individual training requirements and does not apply to club or National Governing Body squad training. Competition is tough with demand growing year on year. For 2024/2025, we received applications from 158 new, and 108 from existing athletes.

“With only 150 spaces available on ETASS, Edinburgh Leisure works closely with NGB’s and sportscotland to ensure our support reaches the right athletes. Consideration is given to applicants in postcode areas identified through the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SMID). The performance levels of these athletes range from those beginning their elite sporting journey to those that have achieved success at international events.

Scottish number one at target shooting, Seonaid McIntosh, is supported by the E-TASS scheme and is hoping to medal in Paris. Seonaid said:  “Having the support of the ETASS scheme has been fundamental to my success in shooting as it complements my rifle training and improves my fitness with the ability to use Edinburgh Leisure’s fantastic sporting facilities across the city.”

McIntosh became the World Champion at the 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships in the 50m Prone Rifle event.  In 2019 she became Britain’s most successful female rifle shooter of all time, winning five World Cup medals (including the first World Cup Gold to be won by a British Woman). She also became the first British Woman to rank World #1 for the 50m Rifle Three Position event and became European Champion in the 300m Rifle Prone event with an equal World Record score.

Rory Brogan, a talented athlete and rugby player explained why E TASS has been crucial for his training. “The membership went really well in the way that it gave me a place to go for Strength and Conditioning. As a young person at school, I don’t have a lot of money to spend on gym memberships, so having this Athlete scheme massively helped boost that. Furthermore, the Edinburgh Leisure gym I went to at Meadowbank is great for athletes, as it has space for plyos, plenty of squat racks etc. I made the Scotland U20 relay team, and we set the record when we competed down in Cardiff in August 2023. Furthermore, I got into the wider Scotland U18 rugby team.

To qualify for E TASS athletes must be resident in Edinburgh and a member of an Edinburgh constituted sports club. The athlete must also represent their sport at any of the following standards:

• Scottish Institute of Sport (SISN)
• Scottish/British/European/World Championship Title Holder
• Scottish or Great Britain Squad Member
• Regional Development Squad