St Mary’s Staff and Athletes Attend TASS Celebration

Staff and athletes from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham were among those who celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) at the House of Commons last Wednesday. Established in 2003, TASS is a government funded programme that helps further and higher education institutions support top British athletes, by helping them balance their studies and training. St Mary’s is one of the 13 accredited institutions that deliver the core services, which include physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring, and strength and conditioning. The St Mary’s TASS recipients that attended the anniversary reception were Francesa Hall, who competes in women’s rugby; Judo competitor Tom Johnson and St Mary’s Strength and Conditioning Science student Adam Mattiussi, who competes in weightlifting. The support of TASS has seen Adam, who is the 77kg British Senior Weightlifting Champion, selected for the Great Britain Weightlifting Talent Squad. The squad creates lifters to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics. Also in attendance from The St Mary’s Clinic were Dr Charles Pedlar, Nick Cooper (TASS National Strength and Conditioning Lead) and Rory Brown (TASS National Physiotherapy Lead). St Mary’s has worked with TASS from the beginning and continues to support the development of talented young athletes. Dr Pedlar (Director of St Mary’s Centre for Health, Applied Sport and Exercise Science, encompassing The St Mary’s Clinic and Academic Director of Research) said, “The TASS programme is a key element of the high performance sport landscape at St Mary’s and continues to offer opportunities for our students and staff, helping athletes to balance their ongoing education with their training. At The St Mary’s Clinic we’re delighted to be involved in the programme.”