Mastering the road to Rio and beyond
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EIS 07 December 2011
As the final countdown to London begins the UK Talent Team (a collaboration between UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport [EIS]) are already turning their attention to 2016 and beyond with a series of masterclasses beginning this week in the unusual setting of the National Space Centre near Leicester.
The series, which will comprise of three forums between now and March, is bringing together those responsible for the identification and development of elite sporting talent, coaches and managers from a dozen Olympic sports as they seek to sharpen and enhance the elite development pathways in their respective sports.
Since its inception in 2006, the UK Talent Team has already made an impact on the high performance landscape with over 7,000 individuals from the Great British public having applied to take part in talent assessment events as part of various technical frontline solutions designed to identify athletes with elite sporting potential.
As a result, over 50 athletes new to the high performance system are now on Olympic and Paralympic development programmes working towards success in London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, and beyond.
Alex Stacey, Athlete Development Coordinator for the UK Talent Team, explains; “We have already seen what can be achieved in a relatively short period of time with the right development pathways in place and the delegates at the masterclasses are key in putting these in place within their own sports for 2016 and beyond.”
“The series will address the most pressing issues that sports face with regards to identifying, confirming and developing elite sporting talent within the world class environment, providing delegates with a unique opportunity to share experiences and draw on the knowledge of eminent experts in the field.”
This week’s forum, entitled Talent Profiling and Confirmation, will focus on the key principles and components within talent profiling, with presenters including Chelsea Warr, Head of Athlete Development at UK Sport, Dr Stewart Laing, EIS Lead Talent Scientist with the UK Talent Team, EIS Director of Sport Medicine Services Dr Rod Jaques and, appropriately, Dr Volker Damann, Head of the Crew Medical Support Office at the European Space Agency, who will be joined by European Space Agency Astronaut Major Tim Peake.
Stacey added: “There are a number of parallels between the way the European Space Agency indentifies, confirms and develops talent in the recruitment of their astronauts and the approach we take in elite sport so I’m sure there is lots we will be able to learn from Dr Damann and Major Peake”.
This weeks two day forum will be followed by further masterclasses in January and March, where the topics will feature the support services bespoke to the developing athlete and high performance parenting.
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