Syllabus coverage
- Describe an elite performer as: at the top of the performance pyramid / having reached excellence
- Describe an elite performer as: of national / international / Olympic standard
- Describe an elite performer as: a professional / paid
- Describe an elite performer as: being achieved by few people
- Evaluate the benefits and limitations of adopting an elitist policy for excellence in sport
- Explain the provision needed for excellence in sport: sufficient funding, high-quality facilities, high-quality coaches, high-level competition, science support (medicine, biomechanics, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychology)
- Explain pathways to excellence: specialist schools, clubs, academies, selection procedures and talent identification, college/university, scholarships, (national) governing bodies, regional and national squads
Part of the AS Level PE 8386 syllabus 8386.
What makes a performer elite
Cambridge defines an elite performer through four descriptors, and they work together: where they sit in the performance pyramid, the standard they perform at, whether they are paid, and how rare they are.
Learn all four, because any question asking you to describe an elite performer is really a question about these four, each with a word of explanation.
| Descriptor | What it means | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| At the top of the performance pyramid / having reached excellence | The pyramid widens from mass participation at the base to a very narrow peak, and the elite performer occupies the peak | A performer selected for a national team from a large starting group of club players |
| Of national / international / Olympic standard | Their performance has been measured against the best of their country, their continent or the world | Competing for a national squad, or selected for the Olympic Games |
| A professional / paid | They are paid for competing or training, so the activity is their job or main source of income | A sponsored or salaried performer who trains full time rather than around work or study |
| Being achieved by few people | Very few performers from the base of the pyramid ever get there, because the standard rises with every level | Hundreds of thousands play a sport; only a squad of a few dozen competes internationally |
The performance pyramid
The performance pyramid is the best way to picture excellence, because it shows both the pathway and the scarcity. Each level is narrower than the one below it.
At the base is mass participation — everybody taking part at school, in clubs and in the community, for fun, health and social reasons. Above it comes the performance level, where performers train seriously and compete regionally, and then the elite level at the peak, where regional and national squads, professional performers and international competitors sit.
Two things follow from the shape. First, each level feeds the one above it, so a wide base of participation produces the champions of the future — the pyramid is a pathway, not just a picture. Second, as the performer rises, the number of people who go with them falls sharply, which is why excellence is achieved by few.
Movement between levels is not automatic. Performers are selected into each level, and they also drop out at each level when they are not selected, lose interest, are injured or cannot afford to continue.
An elitist policy: the benefits and the limitations
An elitist policy means concentrating money, facilities, coaching and competition on the performers most likely to succeed at the top, rather than spreading the same resources thinly across everyone. Cambridge asks you to evaluate it, so you need both sides and a judgement.
The case for it is that standards rise. Performers given full-time coaching, sports science support and high-level competition improve faster, so a country wins more medals and gains the national pride, sponsorship and media profile that come with success. Supporters also argue that elite success creates visible role models and a clear pathway, which motivates people at the base of the pyramid.
The case against it is that only a few benefit. Money spent on a small squad is money not spent on facilities, coaching and sessions for everyone else, so participation at the base can fall. Selection is also fallible: performers are missed or dropped, and the pressure to justify the investment can push performers towards over-training or prohibited drugs.
A defensible judgement is that some concentration is necessary, because excellence is by definition achieved by few and broad participation alone will not produce international standard performance — but the base has to be funded well enough to keep supplying talent, and that is where elitist policies usually go wrong.
- Benefit: raises standards and produces success at national and international level.
- Benefit: targeted funding and facilities are used efficiently, rather than spread thinly.
- Benefit: success brings role models, national pride, media coverage and more sponsorship into the sport.
- Limitation: few benefit — the mass of participants pays for the achievements of a small group.
- Limitation: grassroots provision can suffer, so participation at the base of the pyramid falls and the talent pool shrinks.
- Limitation: selection can miss talent, and the pressure to justify funding can encourage unethical behaviour.
The provision needed for excellence
Provision is what has to be supplied for a performer to reach the top. The syllabus lists five elements, and science support is really five more, so learn the headings first and then one example under each.
| Element of provision | What it supplies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sufficient funding | Money for coaching, equipment, travel, accommodation, competition entry and the performer's living costs | Without it the performer must work or study alongside training, so training time and quality are limited |
| High-quality facilities | Specialist, well-maintained venues and equipment available at the times training needs them | A swimmer needs a competition-length pool; a track athlete needs a track and suitable gym; poor access limits the training that can be done |
| High-quality coaches | Qualified, experienced and often full-time coaches | Technical correction and appropriate training loads raise performance; poor coaching embeds faults and increases injury risk |
| High-level competition | Regular competition against performers of at least equal standard, at regional, national and international level | Performers are only tested against the best; easy wins hide faults that will appear at the top |
| Science support: medicine | Ongoing medical care and advice | Illness, injury and medical conditions are managed promptly, keeping the performer training and protecting long-term health |
| Science support: biomechanics | Analysis of the body's movement, using video and measurement | Technique faults are identified precisely, so the performer becomes more efficient and faster, higher or stronger |
| Science support: rehabilitation | Structured recovery programmes after injury | The performer returns to training sooner and with less risk of re-injury than an unsupervised return would allow |
| Science support: nutrition | Advice on energy intake, body composition, hydration and timing of meals | Correct fuelling supports training, recovery and competition weight, so performances are not lost to poor diet |
| Science support: psychology | Training in concentration, arousal control, anxiety management and confidence | Performers cope with the pressure of selection and of major competitions, so they perform to their ability when it counts |
Pathways to excellence (1): schools, clubs, academies, college and university
A pathway is the route a performer travels from taking part at the base of the pyramid to competing at the top. The syllabus lists eight elements, and the first four are the places where performers are developed.
Specialist schools concentrate expertise in a sport or a group of sports: more teaching time, better facilities, coaching and a change to train seriously while still in education. Clubs are where most performers begin, providing coaching, teams and competition at a level appropriate to their age and standard, and they are the base from which talent is spotted.
Academies are the next step: selective, high-intensity training environments linked to a club or a governing body, usually with education built in, which coach a small number of performers almost full time. College or university continues the pathway for performers who are older, offering high-level facilities, coaching, competition and sports scholarships, so a performer can keep competing and training while they study.
The pathway matters because a performer who has the ability but no route out of the local club will not reach the national squad. Provision at each stage is what converts talent into excellence.
- Specialist schools develop talent early, with expert teaching and better facilities inside education.
- Clubs provide the first serious coaching, regular team competition and the point where talent is seen.
- Academies select the most promising and train them intensively, usually with a club or governing body and alongside education.
- Colleges and universities keep the pathway open after school through higher-level coaching, facilities and competition.
Pathways to excellence (2): identification, selection, scholarships, governing bodies and squads
The second half of the pathway is about being found, being funded and being placed at the right level.
Talent identification is the process of spotting performers with potential, through scouting at club and school competition, trials, fitness and skill testing, and sometimes measurement against the typical profile of elite performers in that sport. Selection procedures then decide who enters each squad or programme, using trials, performance standards, coach observation and competition results.
Scholarships fund fees, coaching, equipment and living costs so that talent is not lost for reasons of money — they are what make the pathway open to a performer whose family could not otherwise pay for it. National governing bodies are the organisations that run the sport and the pathway: they train and appoint coaches, organise competition, run regional and national squads, and invest the money that comes from government or sponsorship.
Regional and national squads are the representative levels where the pyramid narrows most sharply. Performers are selected into them, train together at camps under better coaches, and compete at a higher standard, which is the last step before the elite level. Being outside a squad means being outside the pathway.
What it takes for a performer to reach the elite level
The syllabus describes the elite performer and the provision and pathways that produce them. Putting those together gives you the answer to the question at the end of the topic: what factors are required for a performer to reach the top?
The structural factors come straight from the syllabus: the performer has to be identified as having potential, kept on a pathway through school, club, academy and on to a squad, and given provision of the required standard — funding, facilities, coaches, competition and science support. Remove any one of those and the performer stalls at whatever level their local provision supports.
The other half is what the performer brings: sustained commitment and training time, the willingness to keep performing when selection is a failure rather than a success, the resilience to recover from injury and the discipline to use the support offered. Talent without that application does not survive a system that narrows at every level.
That is the honest summary of the topic: excellence is achieved by few because the pyramid narrows from both directions — the provision becomes more exclusive and the demands on the performer become greater.
- Identified: talent must be spotted through scouting, trials, testing or the club system.
- Pathway in place: schools, clubs, academies and college or university must each offer the next step.
- Provision of the right standard: funding, facilities, coaches, high-level competition and science support.
- Access without cost: scholarships or funding so that talent is not lost for financial reasons.
- Personal application: commitment, training time, resilience, coping with selection pressure and using the support given.
- Support around the performer: family, coach and governing body keeping the pathway open across each narrowing level.
Key terms you must be able to define
- Elite performer
- A performer at the top of the performance pyramid who has reached excellence: of national, international or Olympic standard, usually professional or paid, and one of very few.
- Performance pyramid
- A model of sport in which participation is widest at the base and narrows through the performance level to the few elite performers at the top, showing both the pathway and how rare excellence is.
- Elitist policy
- Concentrating resources — funding, facilities, coaches and competition — on the performers most likely to succeed at the highest level rather than spreading them across all participants.
- Talent identification
- The process of spotting performers with the potential to reach a higher level, through scouting, trials, testing or comparison with elite performance profiles.
- Selection procedure
- The method used to decide who enters a squad or programme, such as trials, performance standards, coach observation and competition results.
- Academy
- A selective, high-intensity training environment linked to a club or governing body where a small number of talented performers are developed, usually alongside their education.
- Specialist school
- A school that concentrates resources, teaching time, coaching and facilities on one sport or a group of related activities in order to develop talented pupils.
- Scholarship
- Financial support for a talented performer covering fees, coaching, equipment or living costs, so the pathway does not depend on the performer's own money.
- Sports science support
- The support services supplied to elite performers: medicine, biomechanics, rehabilitation, nutrition and psychology.
- Governing body
- The organisation that runs a sport and its pathway, training coaches, organising competition, managing regional and national squads and investing funds in the sport.
Applied to your sport
Cambridge requires you to apply this knowledge to physical activities. Use these as models, then write your own for the sport you play.
The pathway runs from school and club competition, through a talent identification test or trial, into a regional squad, and then into a national squad where athletes receive coaching, biomechanical analysis of their technique and psychology support for championship pressure.
It shows all five elements of provision at once: funding to allow full-time training, a competition-length pool, a qualified coach, a demanding competition calendar and science support covering nutrition, medicine and rehabilitation.
Academies attached to clubs select promising players and train them intensively alongside their education, which is the step that takes a good school or club player towards professional and international rugby.
A scholarship can be the difference between reaching the national squad and stopping at regional level, because funding covers coaching, equipment and travel that a performer could not otherwise afford.
Regional and national squads bring selected players together for camps under better coaches, so the player is tested regularly against opposition of their own standard rather than only local rivals.
Flashcards
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Exam-style questions
7 questions, 21 marks. Write your answer, then reveal the mark scheme and tick each point you actually made. Answering honestly here is what makes the rest of the site useful.
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Mark scheme — tick each point you actually made
Exam technique for this topic
- Learn the four descriptors of an elite performer as a set. A question asking you to describe one wants named descriptors, not adjectives.
- Separate provision from pathway in your planning. Provision is what is supplied; the pathway is the route through school, club, academy, squad.
- When the question lists science support, use the five syllabus headings — medicine, biomechanics, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychology — and give each a job.
- Evaluation needs both sides. For elitist policy, give the gains from concentrating resources, the costs to grassroots participation, and finish with a judgement.
- Keep the pyramid in your answer. It gives you the pathway, the scarcity and the link between the base and the peak in one sentence.
Why students lose marks here
Where this fits in AS Level PE 8386
This page is one topic of Cambridge AS Level PE 8386. AS Level PE 8386 is the course home: every area and every topic in Cambridge's own order, the papers you sit and what each one tests, and the exam-practice tools. The full topic list, with each topic linked to its revision page, is on the AS Level PE 8386 syllabus page.