uka race agency service

Q: What is the Race Agency Service?

A:  This service allows UKA to act as a race agent for athletes on the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) who do not as yet have their own agent.  The aim of the service is to enable athletes to access appropriate European competition opportunities. These high quality competitions can make a significant impact on an athlete’s performance levels, increase competition experience and may also enable athletes to meet championship qualification standards at planned times of the year.

Q: Who is the Race Agency for?

A: The Race Agency service is for WCPP (Podium and Development) athletes who have not signed up with their own race agent. Occasionally even athletes with an agent struggle to get a place in a key event; in this case the Race Agency can also help out.

Q: How do I access the service?

A:

• Firstly you must agree your competition programme with Charles van Commenee or Neil Black. The service is intended to provide PLANNED competitions at key times of the year.  Normally requests to find competitions at short notice will be refused.

• Only Charles or Neil can “book” a Race Agency event for you.  Athletes and coaches can approach Ian Hodge directly to plan competitions, however nothing will be confirmed, booked or paid for without Charles’ or Neil’s approval.

• You can request an entry into a specific competition or you can ask the Agency to find an event at a specific level on a specific weekend. (Examples: Can you get me into the Erfurt High Jump event?  Can you find me a 2.30m high jump competition for the last weekend in May?)

• Once you have agreed a competition, a member of UKA’s HQ staff will contact you to make specific arrangements (e.g. flights, contact details, etc.)

Q: Do I ask Charles van Commenee or Neil Black to “book” an event for me?

A:

A &B Individual Event Athletes ask Charles van Commenee.

All other Podium and Development athletes ask Neil Black.

Q: What will the Race Agency service do for me?

A:

• The service will try to get you into the competition that you request, or find a suitable alternative. 

• It will negotiate with the meeting organiser to arrange your airport transfers and accommodation at the event.

• It will book and pay for flights to the competition for you. (Note that most flights are from main UK airports on scheduled airlines.)

Q: Can I take my coach with me?

A: Normally the answer is no, however this may be possible for very young or inexperienced athletes. NB: NORMALLY THESE ATHLETES’ COACHES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO STAY IN THE ATHLETES’ HOTEL. In this case we will book a separate hotel on the coach’s behalf.  If you need your coach to accompany you, ask Charles van Commenee or Neil Black in advance.

Q: What percentage of my prize money does the Race Agency take?

A: None.  Should you win any money it is yours to keep.

Q: How many times a year can I use the Race Agency?

A: We will arrange up to two Race Agency events per athlete per year.

Q:  Can I access more than two competition opportunities through this programme?

The competition (Race) Agency budget is limited and so we are restricted to helping you for a maximum of two events.  However you may be able to use the Additional Programme Budget to pay for more competitions.  Ask your Additional Programme Budget holder (Charles van Commenee or Neil Black) well in advance if you need more than two competitions.

Q: Can I fly from my local airport?

A: In general UKA will book your flights to the main local organising committee (LOC) airport, where someone from the LOC will meet you and take you to the competition or hotel.  Often we will do this on scheduled flights (not budget airlines).  This may mean that you will need to travel to one of the main UK airports rather than your nearest local airport.  We do this because we know from experience that it makes it much easier to fix travel issues that occur occasionally (for example if airplanes are late, or if you need to change your plans due to injury).

Q: What happens if I change my mind and don’t travel to a competition booked for me?

A: If you cannot travel to a Race Agency competition due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. a late injury verified by WCPP doctors) then UKA will absorb all of the costs.  However if you simply miss a flight, arrange an alternative competition or simply decide not to compete – you will have  to refund all expenses incurred by UKA (including the flight costs).

Q: What are the best contact details to use?

Charles van Commenee  cvancommenee@uka.org.uk

Neil Black  07774 800 044   nblack@uka.org.uk

Ian Hodge 07711 731 370   ian.hodge@fasttrackagency.com

For any other question contact Pauline Holmes on 0121 713 8425 or pholmes@uka.org.uk