IF you are a young road racer who has talent and dream of being a future World Champion then the ACU is urging you to enrol for one of five fully funded places in the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) for a career boost.

The course has been established by the ACU and MSA jointly with Loughborough College and is designed for 16-18 year-olds (some exceptions apply up to 24-years of age). It is designed to give elite road racers with potential grounding in skills needed to help them succeed on and off the track including vehicle dynamics, sports science, human performance, engineering and management.

Running since 2004 the most notable athlete to take the course is double swimming Olympic Gold medallist Rebecca Addlington. Students will work for two qualifications that will help their racing and be transferrable to other careers in the future, they are: Level 3 NVQ in Sporting Excellence and alongside this they can study for a BTEC National Certificate or National Diploma in Sport (or continue with regular A-levels). A recognised coaching qualification is included in the BTEC/Diploma.

Applicants must have five GCSEs, grade A-C, including grade C in Maths and English and be competing at national or international level already. The course will be based largely at the student’s convenience and accommodating their sporting commitments rather than on site at Loughborough College and lasts for 15-months, starting in August 2010.

ACU Business Development Manager Dave Luscombe said: “This is a fantastic course that gives aspiring young racers a credible educational qualification while at the same time helping them to focus on their career and maximise their chance for success. Everything from sports nutrition to mental skills, physical conditioning and how to plan and manage your lifestyle and career are included – it is a fast forward button for any racer’s career.

“Not only will these skills be useful – critical – to the rider’s race career, they will also stand in good stead if they have to go into the general employment market at some stage in the future, giving recognised educational qualifications.”

There are five fully funded places for road racers being offered through the ACU (similar programmes for riders from other disciplines are being explored) and interested racers should apply in the first instance by 23rd July 2010 to:

Dave Luscombe
ACU Academy
ACU House
Wood Street
Rugby
CV21 2YX.