TASS proved to be a popular addition to an annual conference focused on creating new communities willing to share best practice in elite sport.

Craig Williams, our Network Manager, attended the International Athlete Services Forum (IASF) 2016 in Singapore.

And he returned to the UK determined to develop ideas as diverse as character development and mental health support.

The IASF conference was jointly organised by the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) and the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI).

And Craig explained: “The aims were to share best practices and research in high performance athlete lifestyle, career and education, programme management and practical service delivery.

“There were delegates from USA, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Asia. And the conference theme was building ‘Generative Communities and Conversations’.

“I felt the organisers achieved this and more. In the normally hyper-secret and competitive world of elite sport the sharing of knowledge, experiences and ideas was fruitful.”

Craig frequently flies the flag for TASS worldwide and – as well as sharing our best practice -he is keen to embrace new ideas that can benefit our network of staff and student athletes.

“There were a number of sessions that will have impact on TASS,” he added. “One of the aims of the Singapore Sport School is holistic student development of their talented sport students.

“One element of this is character development and they evaluate this by asking their student athletes to complete 360 reviews. In a world where we struggle to capture the impact of TASS this idea would be very worthy exploring.

“A fascinating presentation on the current state of mental health in New Zealand rugby – and a move towards generating resources for players, coaches, family and friends – was also very relevant in terms of what TASS could do in the future.”