UK Sport

Favier: "Paralympic Potentials Camp was a huge success"

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Jessica Whitehorn 02 September 2010

Over 160 of Britain’s Paralympic hopefuls congregated in Bath last week, as the countdown to the London Games reached two years to go, for the first of three preparation camps that will take place at the city's University campus ahead of 2012.

The camp welcomed athletes and staff from 14 different Paralympic sports and was designed primarily for athletes who had not previously experienced a multi-sport environment such as a Paralympic Games or ParalympicsGB camp.

UK Sport’s Head of Performance Solutions, Matt Favier, visited the ParalympicsGB camp, which was National Lottery funded via UK Sport, and thought it was a huge success.

He said: “The importance of the final phase of preparation, a unique period prior to any major championship but especially in the build up to a home Games, should not be underestimated.

“ParalympicsGB’s Paralympic Potentials Camp at the University of Bath offered a crucial opportunity to discover what it will be like in ‘Games mode’ for potential 2012 competitors, coaches and headquarters staff.

“It also enabled each sport’s coaches and support staff to test their own systems and plans with a view to making any necessary adjustments well in advance of the Games themselves.

“It is vitally important for athletes to experience the lifestyle they will be expected to manage during the pre-Games period as well as during Games-time to ensure it has a positive performance impact.”

Favier leads a team of Performance Advisors at UK Sport, who work directly with the sports to support their World Class Performance Programmes and lead interventions where the need is identified through Mission 2012, so the camp also provided a great opportunity for the team to observe the sports in this environment.

For many of the athletes, who are part of Team 2012, the scheme presented by Visa which supports athletes and sports as they strive to be selected for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic teams, it was their first multi-sport experience.

Amongst them was Tom Dowan from the Cotswolds, who is striving for inclusion in GB Boccia’s elite squad, having been discovered via the Talent 2012: Paralympic Potential talent identification programme less than a year ago. During the camp, Tom took part in training sessions but also joined athletes from other sports in workshop sessions to help understand the unique environment and pressures that a Paralympic Games brings.

Following this Paralympic Potentials Camp in 2010, the next ParalympicsGB preparation camp, which will simulate exactly ParalympicsGB’s support services and sport specific preparation plans, will be held in 2011, ahead of the pre Games final preparation camp which will be held in August 2012.

With two years to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games Phil Lane, CEO of ParalympicsGB was keen to encourage the British public to get involved in the Games. He said: “We have been holding pre-Games camps since Atlanta in 1996 and research has shown that these camps are crucial to the team’s preparation. It is fantastic to see so many athletes taking advantage of them - they are an integral part of our plans for London. We’d like to encourage the British Public to get behind the ParalympicsGB team and start planning their Games too.’

Anyone interested in finding out about how they can get involved should visit www.London2012.com where they can find details of how to apply for tickets or how to register to become one of the 70,000 ‘Gamesmakers’ (volunteers) needed to make the Games a success.

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