On 30 March 2011 in Budapest, Hungary, in the presence of representatives of the European Commission and national sport ministries, the project participants of “Athletes 2 Business” (A2B) adopted unanimously the guidelines to promote dual careers in Europe. The A2B guidelines are not binding and contain concrete proposals of action which are modeled after good practices to create a better framework and environment for athletes to reconcile top-level sporting achievement with education. They will now be distributed to relevant stakeholders. The A2B guidelines are also available in German and French.
The …

Around 30 experts including active and retired athletes from all over Europe met on the 26-27 January 2011 at the IOC headquarter in Lausanne, Switzerland, and discussed how educational institutions can create an enabling environment and framework for dual careers.
There is too little cooperation between educational institutions and sport organisations, the workshop participants complained. In order to improve dual career opportunities for athletes, it is vital that these two stakeholders work closely together. Agreements tackling dual career issues such as providing flexible learning and exam schedules, scholarships and structural questions …

The majority of A2B partner organisations joined a study visit to Loughborough University throughout 17 and 18 November 2010.  Loughborough University is a leading UK institution in the provision of combined sports and academic education. It also plays a key role in the preparation of athletes for the London Olympics 2012.
During the seminar, representatives from the University shared good practices in the field of dual career. In particular, the unification of sport facilities, support services and coaching staff proved very positive. Strong commitment from the University board as well as …