New BASES accreditation scheme to be launched in November 2006…

High Performance Sport Accreditation (HPSA) is the new BASES accreditation scheme designed to provide quality assurance of sport science support provision for the benefit of elite sport and to guide professional practice and development for sport scientists. BASES has undertaken extensive consultation with UK Sport and the Home Country Sport Institutes to develop an accreditation scheme that addresses the requirements of sport scientists and employers in high performance sport.

HPSA provides practitioners working in high performance sport with a professional pathway that guides their continuing professional development and provides a means of recognition within the high performance sport sector. HPSA will provide the 'next step' beyond Sport and Exercise Scientist accreditation for those practitioners with extensive experience of providing cutting edge sport science support to elite athletes. UK Sport is to continue their funding of this scheme through the training of reviewers who will then assess applications from September of this year. Applications will be assessed against professional competencies that have been identified both by BASES and key stakeholders as essential in the effective delivery of quality sport science support. Applications will be assessed in their demonstration of these competencies through a variety of sources:

• Review of a paper portfolio by HPSA reviewers
• References provided by clients and employers
• Observation of service delivery by a HPSA reviewer
• Interview and discussion of professional practice with a HPSA reviewer

Full details of the HPSA scheme, including application forms and guidelines, will be available on the BASES website soon. As sport continues to climb the political agenda in the lead up to London 2012, the HPSA scheme affords BASES and its members the opportunity to be at the forefront of sport science support to high performance sport. This is an opportunity that can not be missed - members with relevant experience and skills are encouraged to apply; similarly, those practitioners in the early years of their career in high performance sport should use the HPSA scheme as a guide for their career pathway and continuing professional development.