The N.S.D.S.S. is the National Sport Development Support Scheme and was set up by the Cyprus Sport Organisation in 1998. It aims at supporting the young people doing sports in an organised way through the clubs and the societies enhancing them in concrete sectors. In fact, it is a special national scheme with a view of sports in Cyprus acquiring at last it own identity in the future by means of development procedures.

The N.S.D.S.S. is for each State and for Cyprus too, a necessity, which must exist and be determined because a special development scheme does not concern only the founding people of our sport world but also because children should be faced bearing in mind their particularities.

These particularities are translated in concrete and special programmes and take a certain and special taste. The children who do sports must be faced with a view of the sport vision.

Planning the N.S.D.S.S. did not forecast in fact any scientific support by various scientists specialised in their sector; for example, it forecast an evaluation of the children by various tests. The coaches were at the same time informed accordingly through training on subjects like psychology, pedagogic and the coach's approach. Besides, the application of concrete models, competitive and coaching per sport, based upon scientific data, being the finding of researches and applied necessity, has been included in the planning; like, for example, the implementation of a European Union code regarding the rights of the children doing sports, the number of training units and hours, which should be in the children's credit at this age etc.

The scheme does not aim in fact at selecting the talents. However, one of its objectives is the evaluation of the children on the basis of certain criteria and their competitive activity in the respective championships of their federations. This evaluation is notified to the relevant Federations, which are also responsible for “high standard sports”. We should underline indeed that the N.S.D.S.S. contributes to the effort made by the clubs for a better organisation, training behaviour and scientific approach so that the talents go beyond their clubs.

The response has been absolutely satisfactory. Full co-operation has been obtained.

TECHNOCRATIC PLANNING: First of all the programme is a technocratic planning grouping all those elements, which exist in a national scheme, no matter if it has a sport nature or it belongs to any other social sector like for example the medical one. As such, however, it is logical to comprise elements from the Cyprus reality and culture.

The N.S.D.S.S. is first of all a technocratic competitive planning, which covers three separate sectors. The N.S.D.S.S. for up to 16 years old children, the N.S.D.S.S. to support 16 – 18 years old adolescents and for talents regarding separate planning sectors, like training, scientific support, evaluation, development and motives, which are determined by the European Union in the form of instructions.

The planning has many-sided objectives:

1. implementation of the Cyprus Sport Organisation policy for these ages,
2. competitive objectives,
3. pedagogic and social objectives,
4. training, 5) development of the staff,
5. the universal coverage,
6. the moral support and
7. the support of the Cypriot coach, agent and athlete.

The number of children does not matter for the programme; what matters indeed, is the clubs themselves and their coaches being responsible for and guiding a satisfactory number of children, to meet both the competitive and the social objectives of the programme, which aim at attracting children to sports and lapsing them from the evil trends. However, even so, we may declare that within the framework of the N.S.D.S.S., more than 10.000 12 – 18 years old children become active through the clubs.

Regarding the perspectives it should be understood that the solid human sport infrastructure brings about the prerequisites for better sports and society and mainly happier people. This is our aspiration, our vision; these are the perspectives of the programme when it is implemented correctly.

Mr. Dinos Michaelides, responsible for the N.S.D.S.S.