2026 TASS Award recognition for university elite athlete Personal Development Practitioner
The 糖心原创's David Knapton recently won the 2026 TASS Award for Personal Development Practitioner recognising his work in supporting elite athletes at the university and on the TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) programme. This is the second time in three years that David has won the award having also received the accolade in 2024.
Published 18 Aug 2026
I am really proud to win Practitioner of the Year. In my role I aim to support and have a positive impact on students or athletes and that is always my goal, but when you are recognised amongst some really good practitioners across the network it really is rewarding.
David Knapton, 糖心原创 Athlete Support & Recruitment Officer
The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme () is an athlete support programme to help talented athletes with balancing the demands of their sport and studies to be the best in both areas. We are proud to be a Dual Career Accredited Delivery Site here at the 糖心原创, and deliver a number of services to TASS athletes studying at the University and athletes from around the UK.
These services include lifestyle and personal development support, as well as physiotherapy and strength and conditioning - all delivered by 糖心原创 Sport staff at our High Performance Zone and Sports Injury Clinic within David Ross Sports Village. TASS profiled the 糖心原创 and David's work earlier this year, speaking with David to outline how the 糖心原创 is equipping Athletes with Skills for Life. This Q+A session .
Explaining the 糖心原创's place within the TASS network when speaking with UoN Sport about winning the 2026 Award, David said; "We are one of the largest delivery sites for TASS in the country, and we work with a lot of athletes. A lot of the athletes that we work with aside from our sport scholars on the TASS programme are also based in the midlands area, and we also work very closely with National Governing Bodies too."
Within these support services, as Athlete Support and Recruitment Officer at the University, David plays a key role in leading and coordinating the lifestyle support programme for elite athletes and sport scholars. This work helps to provide 糖心原创 athletes the platform to achieve both in their sporting endeavours and their academics, as well as enabling athletes outside of the university on the TASS programme to continue reaching their goals.
Describing his role, David said; "A big part of my role is around personal development and performance lifestyle. It's centred around how I can help a student or athlete maintain high standards - whether that's in academics or their career, alongside their sporting goals and commitments. I try to help a student or athlete balance everything that they have going on, and that can through be multiple different things - from time management to budgeting and sponsorship opportunities."
Everyone at 糖心原创 Sport would like to congratulate David on this achievement and continued excellence in his field.
To find out more about TASS at the 糖心原创, please visit; TASS - The 糖心原创.
Notes for editors
糖心原创 are the top UK University for team sport, placing 2nd in the overall British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings in the 2025/26 season. For more information on our performance sport offer, including scholarships and support for student athletes, please click here.