Former Olympian Jenny Smatt is hoping to ease the burden on young Bermudian athletes by helping to fund their nascent sporting careers.

Smatt, who competed for Bermuda in swimming at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, has founded Performance Pathways, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing professional, peer, and financial support to athletes from adolescence through adulthood.

Young Bermudians of all backgrounds are encouraged to provide a budget and training plan through the company’s website, with Smatt hopeful that the next generation of athletes can be spared some of the stress that comes with attempting to make it to an elite level.

“The mission is adolescence through adulthood and the funding is targeting 13 to 14-year-olds through to 18,” Smatt said.

“That is where I see the biggest need for funding as the minimum figure needed by an athlete aspiring to represent Bermuda on a national level is $20,000 a year to augment their club training.

“It’s a challenge for a single mum who is concerned about keeping the lights on to find $20,000 for her talented athlete to be in the competitive mix nationally. I have mums call me crying, and parents and families with modest incomes that are struggling.

“Bermuda has no shortage of talent. What we need to ensure is that all athletes who have talent have the opportunity to enjoy the success that can come with their full potential.”

Smatt is acutely aware that families are more financially responsible for their offspring’s development than when she was coming through, with organisations such as the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association no longer funding most travel, and she insists that the change in sporting landscape demands broader awareness.

“I am an Olympian and competed from the age of 9 to the age of 22, and later came back on deck as a coach and I am a parent of two athletes,” she said.

“I sit on many sporting boards, am a former chairman of the Athletes Commission and through that journey I’ve seen a need to support Bermudians financially.

“There are many athletes who aspire to go to college, compete nationally and internationally and particularly in today’s competitive environment, where the NCAA is making a new landscape, our athletes have to prepare and be competitive earlier than perhaps previously.

“For example, the NCAA is not taking walk-ons and many of our Bermudian athletes enjoyed that privilege and were able to develop through their college career. That is no longer the case, so from where I sit it’s important to ensure our athletes have the funding to compete, to train, to have sports psychology, nutrition and to be the best they can be.”

Where it pertains to grants and finances, Performance Pathways is hoping to hand out $50,000 this year and the hope is that will increase in every subsequent year.

“It’s really important that we understand the full need, which puts us in a better position to make the asks of potential donors,” Smatt said.

“The goal this year is $50,000 in awards, but we have a loftier goal for next year and the support has been overwhelming and humbling.

“When I approach former Bermudian athletes in our community and when we tell our story and of the need, the reaction is overwhelming. I do believe Bermuda is willing to get behind this as an organisation, but we just need to know the need.

“There is a broad awareness of what it takes for Bermuda to produce world-class athletes and it is my hope to increase that awareness, tell the stories and support it with facts.”

It is not just on the track or the country’s sports fields and pools where Smatt is hoping to make a difference, as she is approaching corporate Bermuda to assist aspiring athletes in the workplace.

“We’re also interested in supporting in future employment through internships,” she said

“One of the challenges that I see is athletes trying to train and compete well, but results are what matters when it comes to college selection and future funding.

“Some athletes are working to help their families and that makes it more challenging to train well, they have stress, their families have stress and it is really limiting those results.

“We have some live conversations under way, but we need people to do the work with the training plan and the budget.

“If anybody has questions, do reach out to us and we are happy to help. We will be reviewing the funding and we have a number of companies who have said they will take interns and that is across industry.

“That is in hospitality, exercise science as well as corporate Bermuda in insurance and finance. There is a broad range of opportunity and we will advocate for the athletes — maybe it’s an adjusted work schedule, provisions to be off during the summer, anything so that parents don’t have to think about it. We are trying to lighten that load.”

Athletes seeking funding or internships and employers interested in participating in this initiative should sign up on the Performance Pathways website by March 28.