The Elite Athletes’ Programme (EAP) is designed to take top competitors from the NZJJF Sports Ju-Jitsu tournament circuit, and NZ Grappler tournament circuit, and ready them for international competition and selection to the NZJJF Black Tops Ju-Jitsu team.
Athletes are selected onto the EAP based on their competitor ranking points allocated after every tournament.
Once selected to the EAP, the programme’s administrator works alongside the athlete’s club coach to give additional coaching in the following areas:
- strength training
- conditioning
- nutrition
- sport psychology
- goal setting
- video analysis
- tactics
- competition strategy
In addition, the programme provides management for any athletes needing help with savings and travel issues, and past representatives share their experiences of international competition.
All EAP administrators are NZJJF Coaching level C2 qualified (minimum), and where practical, utilise outside expertise for workshops. Their tuition respects the club coach as the primary coach and does not include technique tuition unless specifically requested by the athlete and their coach.
Workshops are timed to fall on the morning following an NZJJF tournament to cut down on travel expenses. Athletes on the programme in preparation for international events are expected to attend all workshops.
To comply with the NZ Sport Drugs Agency and Sports New Zealand requirements, all competitors in the Elite Athletes’ Programme must agree to abide with the NZJJF Anti-Doping Policy and make themselves available for testing.