Media

A group of 30 athletes and coaches from primarily developing and emerging nations gathered in Tiszajvros, Hungary for the 7-day 2008 BG-ITU Europe Junior Select Camp.  The theme of the camp was Target 2012 and beyond and the main focus of the camp was the application of test and measurement results to the long-term planning process.  Athletes and coaches from nine countriesRussia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Sweden, Israel, Serbia and Croatiaattended the camp.  The programme for the athletes included three practical sessions a day and an evening theory lecture.  They were put through their paces on various field tests and measures (bike skills, 3km time trial run, 50mand 400m swim test, Computrainer tests on the bike and anthropometric measurements).

Coaches attended all practical sessions in a coach mentoring role and also had 2-hour classroom sessions each evening covering a variety of topics such as ethics and doping, planning for long term development, running mechanics, nutrition, anthropometric measurement.  According to Libby Burrell, Director-ITU Sport Development, the group presentations by the coaches were the highlight of the camp.  It was incredible to see the team work and camaraderie develop amongst the coaches.  This bodes well for future networking which is so important for all coaches in order to grow and develop as an elite coach.

This was a talented and dedicated group of coaches and athletes and I do not think it will be too long before we see some very good performances coming from these athletes. They are at the perfect age to start dreaming of Singapore Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and London 2012.  They for sure showed me they have the skills, the commitment and the support of some very talented coaches to achieve their dreams, said Burrell.

Click here for more photos from various training sessions from the BG-ITU Europe Junior Select Camp

The next camp will be the BG-ITU Asian Junior Camp held from November 9-16 in Singapore, a perfect location as the country will host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.  Click here for more information on the Asian Junior Camp

Click here for more on ITU-BG Sport Development