Apply for grants for training at the German Olympic Sports Confederation's Trainer Academy in Cologne

If you, as a national sports association, send participants to the German Olympic Sports Confederation's Trainer Academy in Cologne to study for a Diploma in Coaching (DTS), you can receive a grant from the federal government.

The federal government supports elite sports associations in the training of highly qualified training staff for competitive sport by covering part of the training costs.

This applies to federal sports associations representing one of the following sports:

• a summer Olympic sport,
• a temporary Olympic summer sport or
• an Olympic winter sport or
• a non-Olympic sport

Your national sports federation can apply for 2 types of grant. You do not have to repay either of them:

• a grant towards the operating cost allocation for participants, which finances the ongoing business operations of the Cologne Coaches Academy on a pro rata basis, and
• an earmarked grant towards the study place costs per person and course, which is based on the individual training requirements of the respective national sports association

The pro-rata subsidy for operating costs can cover up to 60 percent of the personnel, material and procurement costs of the Cologne Academy of Coaching, provided that the remaining financing of the Cologne Academy of Coaching is secured.

The earmarked grant towards the costs of the study place is based on the future area of application of the participants and the financial capacity of your national sports association. The grant is staggered as follows:

• 100 percent of the training costs for full-time and part-time national coaches. These are in particular head coaches, discipline coaches, junior coaches and federal base coaches with federal responsibilities.
• 75 percent of the training costs for mixed-financed and part-time coaches who are to work for their respective federal sports association at federal bases,
• 50 percent of the training costs for coaches at the interface between federal and state responsibilities, such as coaches at state or junior bases, state coaches or club coaches who supervise athletes in a national squad.

If your national sports association is already receiving a grant in at least one of the following 3 areas at the time of application, you can receive half of the graduated study cost grant. It does not matter how much funding you receive for these areas in your specific case:

• Annual planning or implementation of major sporting events in Germany,
• Olympic training centers or federal training centers (indirectly) or
• Competitive sports personnel

If your federal sports association receives funding in all three areas, you can receive the full amount of the funding rates listed above.

For the subsidy for operating cost allocation:

• Invoice from Trainerakademie Köln
• Proof of payment

For the subsidy for study place costs:

• Decision of the admissions committee

For the proof of use of the training cost subsidy:

• Factual report
• Invoices from the Trainerakademie Köln
• Proof of payment
• Study certificates
• Contractual documents

Forms: yes
Online procedure possible: yes
Written form required: yes
Personal appearance required: no
Confidence level: substantial

The following requirements must be met:

• Your federal sports federation must be one of the top sports federations representing an Olympic or a temporary Olympic summer sport or an Olympic winter sport or a non-Olympic sport.
• Your federal sports federation must already be funded by the federal government at the time of application. If this is not the case, your national sports federation cannot receive funding for the Coaches Academy.

The following are excluded from funding

• Top sports associations that do not represent an Olympic discipline
• individual sports clubs

You can lodge an appeal against the decision on your application with the Federal Office of Administration in Cologne within 1 month of notification.

The application procedure varies depending on which grant you would like to apply for.

Subsidy towards the study costs:

The Trainerakademie Köln informs the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) that

• you intend to send students to the Trainer Academy and
• that this will be approved following the decision of the admissions committee.

The BVA will then contact your elite sports association and ask you to submit an application.

Allowance for operating costs:

At the end of each academic year, the coaching academy will issue an invoice for the operating cost allocation for each elite sports association. You can then apply for both grants online or in writing.

Online procedure:

• Go to the website of the federal portal and select whether you would like to apply for a grant for operating costs or for training costs.
• Complete the relevant application form electronically. The application wizard will guide you step by step through the necessary information.
  • Note: You will need an electronic means of identification for the online application, for example the online function of your ID card or an ELSTER certificate.
• Upload the required documents and submit the application.
• The Federal Office of Administration will check your application and contact you with any queries or missing documents.
• If you do not wish to lodge an appeal, send the signed waiver of appeal to the BVA. The decision will then become legally binding more quickly. This may also allow funds to be paid out earlier.
• The BVA will pay out the approved funds to you.

Written application:

• Download the application form from the BVA website. You can either
  • fill it out on screen
  • or download it, print it out and then fill it in.
• Print out the form and sign it.
• Send the form with all the necessary documents to the BVA.
• The remaining steps are the same as the online application procedure.

Subsidy towards the training costs:

• You should apply for the grant by August 31 of a calendar year.

Operating cost allocation grant:

• You must apply for the grant as soon as you have received the invoice from the Trainer Academy for the operating cost allocation for the following financial year.

Proof of use:

• You must provide proof of use of the grant to the Federal Office of Administration within 6 months of the end of the trainer training course - or after the end of the month following the approval period.

Both your application for the operating cost allocation grant and your application for the tuition fee grant will usually be processed within 4 to 6 weeks.

You will not incur any costs.