Sporting Initiatives

We passionately believe in the power of sport and the positive impact it can have on individuals’ and communities’ physical, mental and social health and wellbeing.

We want to inspire everyone to get started and stay active through sport. We are in a position to do this because unlike any other sport and leisure operator in the city, we have a partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council that gives us access to an unrivalled range of venues which we operate on a not-for-profit basis. 

Our sport projects are about improving the quality of our coaching services and expanding their reach, from those starting out through to athletes training for major sporting competition we are proud to work with them all.

We share the aspirations of our colleagues in the City of Edinburgh Council and sportscotland to support the development of local sports clubs and work with partners to support performance sport.



Edinburgh Talented Athlete Support Scheme (ETASS)

Edinburgh Leisure help athletes in their training through free access to gyms, swimming pools and track venues, to support talented athletes to achieve more and accomplish world class performance levels.

The Edinburgh Talented Athlete Support Scheme (E TASS), is a City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Leisure funded programme that represents a strong and unique partnership between talented athletes, National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB’s) and the Scottish Institute of Sport Network (SISN). 




ETASS Application Terms and Conditions

To qualify for ETASS athletes must be resident in Edinburgh and a member of an Edinburgh constituted sports club. The athlete must also represent their sport at any of the following standards:

• Scottish Institute of Sport (SISN)

• Scottish/British/European/World Championship Title Holder

• Scottish or Great Britain Squad Member

• Regional Development Squad


All athletes are entitled to free access to all Edinburgh Leisure gyms, swimming pools and athletics tracks. These services will support athletes with:

• Recovery and rehabilitation

• Strength and conditioning

• Endurance and power physiology


Access is made available for athletes own individual training requirements and will not apply to club or National Governing Body squad training.

  • The programmes primary focus is physical preparation, recovery and rehabilitation and does not provide support with sports specific technical, tactical, or conditioning through subsidised facility hire.
  • Priority will be given to applicants in post code areas identified through the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SMID).