GIRLS4GOLD

Girls4Gold Ambassadors - Victoria Pendleton and Shelley Rudman

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THE SEARCH IS ON FOR ATHLETIC GIRLS WHO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD

UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) are searching for highly competitive sportswomen with the potential to become Olympic champions in cycling and other targeted Olympic sports (bob skeleton, canoeing, modern pentathlon, rowing and sailing) in time for London 2012. Girls4Gold is the single most extensive female sporting talent recruitment drive ever undertaken in Great Britain.

To apply for Girls4Gold applicants must be female, aged between 17 and 25 years old, competing in any sport at county/regional level, fit, powerful and strong, mentally tough and competitive and up for a once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of Britain’s sporting elite

The ultimate aim of Girls4Gold is to unearth exceptional female talent capable of achieving medal success in London in 2012. There are numerous British female World and Olympic medallists who have specialised in a new Olympic sport at a relatively late age, going on to achieve medal success in short timeframes. These include:

• Shelley Rudman: a former track hurdler, who won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in bob skeleton, less than four years after trying the sport for the first time aged 21.

• Annie Vernon and Anna Bebington: medallists at the 2007 Rowing World Championships, four years after being selected through a talent identification scheme (ARA’s World Class Start Programme, sponsored by Siemens) aged 20 and 19, respectively.

• Rebecca Romero: a former medal winning Olympic rower who transferred to the sport of track cycling aged 26 and became World Champion in 2008, less than three years after taking up the sport.

What happens next?

Applications for Girls4Gold are now closed. However, if you still wish to register your interest in this scheme, please submit your profile via the online sign up system and we may be able to consider your application at a later date.
An analysis of all athlete testing results cannot be undertaken until the final assessment event is completed. This is set for Manchester on the 30 August 2008 (and follows on from Bath 26 July and Loughborough 23 and 24 August).
Following the final assessment event in Manchester, the Talent Identification team of scientists and Olympic coaches will spend three weeks analysing all applicants’ performance data from Phase One plus their sporting backgrounds and prior training and competitive history.
All applicants will be contacted via post by Friday 19th September 2008 informing them of their status. This will be a letter either informing applicants that they have advanced to Phase Two sports specific testing or that they have been unsuccessful and will be provided with the contact details to pursue any of the sports through the club-based network. Please be patient with us until then.

A fact sheet of frequently asked questions can be downloaded by clicking here.