QOC and Aspire Academy announce framework to develop Qatari champions

‘... will enable Qatar to be fully unified in our approach to identifying, developing and nurturing talented athletes’

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) in partnership with the Aspire Academy have today announced the completion of ‘Kun Riyadi’ [Be an Athlete], a unique Athlete Development Pathway (ADP) model that seeks to produce a new generation of Qatari sporting champions.
The three-year project involved the input of multiple stakeholders, sporting entities and world-class sport development experts from the Aspire Academy to create a framework unique for Qatar.
Commenting on the ADP, QOC president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, said: “Producing world-class Qatari sporting champions is a fundamental part of Qatar’s vision for sport. Whilst Qatar has made considerable progress on the sporting field in recent years, highlighted by our three silver medals in the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, we are keen to build on this success and continue to increase the performance of our athletes across a wider range of sports.
“The ADP is a robust framework that will enable Qatar to be fully unified in our approach to identifying, developing and nurturing talented athletes at every stage of their career, from early childhood to post-retirement, enabling them to reach their full potential. It is the first of its kind in the Mena region and is another example of how Qatar is always striving to break new ground in the development of sport at every level. We are very excited to see the outcome and we look forward to a bright future for sporting excellence in Qatar.”
Speaking about the project, Aspire Academy director general Ivan Bravo said, “The success of the ‘Be an Athlete’ project is a tangible, practical and operational outcome of our long-standing cooperation with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) under the guidance of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani. We are thankful to the QOC for entrusting the Academy with this critical initiative.
“This project was born out of the need to provide a structured and strategic model to allow Qatar to develop athletes to their full potential. This necessitated us to develop an integrated platform, which incorporates all stages of athlete development, including personal information, performance data, career and financial management, federation information and technical analysis for coaches.
“Our team of world-class experts from the sports department, in collaboration with colleagues from across the Academy teamed up with our partners from the QOC and Qatar sports federations to implement this remarkable initiative. The needs, requirements and specifications from different federations were taken into account to create a truly comprehensive model. I believe that such an ambitious project will have a significant and positive impact on athletic development for generations to come. It will hone our athletes’ talents, enabling them to achieve their maximum potential from young age throughout their careers.”
The Qatar ADP is a five-stage model that provides a comprehensive framework for developing skills at critical periods in athlete’s development.
During early childhood from ages 0-7 years, the programme is designed to encourage active play and exploration to help children develop motor skills that will help them become effective at running, jumping and throwing later on in life.
The programme for participants aged 8-12 years builds on this by providing a foundation of skills, such as speed, agility, spatial awareness, co-ordination, rhythm, and dynamic balance, all of which serve children well in a range of sports.
Once participants reach 13-18 years of age, the talent identification, development and refinement phase provides a more tailored programme specific to children’s individual needs. This involves programmes in areas such as mental aptitude to ensure ADP athletes are ready for the intensity of modern competitive sport.
The 4th phase starts when participants are 19 years of age and involves creating tailored practice, training, competition, and recovery regimes. This is the most intense stage and will see athletes put through their paces to maximise their potential.
The final stage of development is particularly important for ensuring that athletes’ remain active after their careers and impart their knowledge and experience to future generations participating in the pathway. Athletes can enter this stage at any age depending on whether they decide to revert to playing sport at a recreational level or remain in the professional sphere as a coach or official.
The ADP was developed following a review of talent development frameworks in several successful sporting nations and involved the input of international experts from a variety of sports to ensure its sports talent development efforts are successful and unique to Qatar.
The framework includes 39 sport specific models, each tailored to enable optimum development within different sports and disciplines, including para-sport and women in sport. It will be rolled out with an innovative Athlete Management System that centralises data gathering of all athletes, including sport science data, learning progress and injury history. This will enable insights into athletes’ training to be gathered, which will also help to shape and improve future training programmes.
The development of the ADP included the consultation of all national federations, and multiple Qatari government departments and stakeholders to ensure that everyone involved in its delivery is optimally working towards a shared vision where athletes can learn, develop and thrive.
The completion of the project will see the QOC take ownership for its roll out, working closely with and supporting its national federations at every stage, and regularly monitoring and reviewing progress. KPIs and financial guidelines will be set to ensure that specific technical goals are met within the pre-determined budgets and in line with the overall vision of the ADP. An in depth ADP encyclopaedia has been produced to support its delivery, which includes background information, guidelines, processes and techniques.