An initiative to help young sportspeople develop their skills will run for a fourth successive year, thanks to two Island companies.

Since 2015, the Isle of Man Sport Aid Academy has educated and trained youngsters.

The academy was created as a legacy of the Isle of Man Sporting Excellence Programme, which was led by double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes and her colleagues at Kelly Holmes Education.

Over the last few years, athletes from more than 20 different sports aged between 13 and 17 have benefited from expert help and advice.

These have included workshops, interactive group sessions and inspiring talks from 30-time stage winner of the Tour de France, ’Manx Missile’ Mark Cavendish; Olympic shooter and Commonwealth Games medallist Tim Kneale, World Championship swimmer Charlotte Atkinson, Olympic cyclist Marie Morgan and visually impaired Paralympian cyclist Ian Sharpe.

Since the launch of the programme, more than 150 young sportspeople have attended workshops and heard from experts on a range of topics including ’commitment to excellence’, ’resilience, determination and persistence’, ’respect’, ’discipline and self-regulation’, ’nutrition’ and ’rest and recovery’.

Isle of Man Sport Aid Sports performance co-ordinator Chris Quine said: ’The Isle of Man Sport Aid Academy has been a truly wonderful initiative.

’To see so many young people so engaged and ready to learn has been highly rewarding and all the athletes and parents have bought into and benefited from this commitment to excellence.

’The academy is a unique opportunity to learn lessons which can be applied to the athletes’ sports, as well as their future careers and lives.’

Sponsors SMP Partners and Newfield have agreed to continue their support for the scheme for a further 12 months.

’The renewed sponsorship of the programme into a fourth year is great news and is only possible because of the generous support of SMP Partners and Newfield,’ said Mr Quine.

’This coming year will be our most ambitious yet as we develop a programme that will enable the athletes to select specific workshops that they feel will be most beneficial to them.’

Mark Denton, managing director of independent trust and corporate services firm SMP Partners, said: ’Our decision to support the academy followed on from our sponsorship of the Isle of Man Sporting Excellence Programme and it has simply been a natural progression and one which continues the ethos of equipping our young people with the skills to achieve excellence.

’To see the athletes, parents and coaches also take active roles has been encouraging and we are proud to continue our support for the next generation of elite athletes.’

Mark Reynolds, a director with e-gaming company Newfield, said: ’Newfield wanted to support an initiative which would deliver real benefits for the island’s young people and the academy has achieved this aim.

’We’re absolutely delighted with the success we’ve seen over the last three years of the programme and the level of enthusiasm shown by the participants has been evident.

’So many young people have been and continue to receive the support and knowledge required to work towards becoming high performance athletes. Whether in their sporting pursuits or prospective careers, it will play a key role in helping each of them achieve their ultimate goals and future successes.’

The first Isle of Man Sport Aid Academy workshop of the new academic year will take place tomorrow (Friday) and will again take place at St Ninian’s Lower School at Bemahague in Onchan.