Athletics NI Pre and Youth Academy

The Athletics Northern Ireland Youth Academy was first launched in September 2014 to support Northern Ireland’s most talented young athletes and their coaches, with the addition of the Pre-Academy in 2018, athletes and coaches from across Ulster are now supported through the programmes.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for:

• Youth Academy - an athlete must be eligible for Northern Ireland selection by fulfilling one of the below criteria
• Being born in NI
• Having at least one parent born in NI
• Having three years residence in NI.
• Pre-Academy Strands - an athlete must be either NI eligible (as above) or Ulster eligible (from one of the additional three counties of Ulster) or those living in NI

APPLICATION & SELECTION

The Academies aim to support athletes and coaches who have identified their own strengths, weaknesses and areas for progress and who will benefit most from engaging with the physical preparation, physiotherapy and performance lifestyle support available. Selection will prioritise athletes who demonstrate the potential and ability to eventually represent Northern Ireland at a Senior Commonwealth Games.

Athletes will be assessed for inclusion based upon their performance standards and performance potential. The Youth Academy is designed to deliver a 4 year curriculum and the Pre-Academy Strands deliver a 2 year curriculum. All athletes must reapply each year. It is expected that for 2025-2026 there will be considerable interest from new applicants and although athletes who have completed their first year of Academy will be offered a place subject to satisfactory progress, spaces are not guaranteed for those athletes reapplying who have not shown upward progress. Limited Academy capacity means athletes across all events must be compared. During the selection process both performance and potential factors will be taken into consideration.

APPLICATION

Athlete-Coach pairs should discuss and complete the online application form by 11.59pm on Wednesday 8th October 2025. Please read the accompanying information pack which contains all essential information.

Youth Academy Application Information Pack

Youth Academy Link Here: https://forms.gle/fN8g1CHPvXXCFDN36

Pre-Academy Strands Link Here: https://forms.gle/DTTVLp5PjnD2hEFH6

Pre-Academy Application Information Pack

We recommend that athlete and coach discuss the completion of this form and parents of U18 athletes are closely involved in the application process. A panel will deliver the selection process on 10th October 2025. All applicants will receive communication by Wednesday 15th October 2025. Youth Academy and Pre-Academy Strands will be starting WB 27^th October. 

If you have any questions please contact james.douglas@athleticsni.org early in the application window.