From Matthew Crawcour, UK Sport
The first chance to see what our Sporting Giants are made of will come next weekend, May 5-7, as British Handball and the English Institute of Sport will put around 150 potential players through their paces in a series of physiological tests and sport specific drills. Those of you who would like to see this process in operation will be able to join us on Sunday May 6 at the University of Nottingham, for all or part of the day.
Access to the athletes would need to be restricted to periods before and after the assessment takes place as they will need to concentrate on the tasks they will be required to perform, but “fly on the wall” filming and photography should be possible throughout the day.
This is the latest stage of a talent identification process aimed at unearthing potential
2012 Olympic competitors. A few weeks ago, UK Sport, together with the English Institute of Sport, British Rowing, British Handball and British Volleyball, launched a public appeal for tall athletes who had the potential to compete for Team GB. The response was staggering.
Having undertaken some initial analysis of the applications, around 1,000 applications have been passed to British Rowing, which is currently looking at running some geographically based sessions to assess the potential suitability for entry into the sport.
If you are interested in being present on May 6, please either email or phone me for further details. Representatives from UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport and British Handball will be available for interview on the day.
Matthew Crawcour
Head of Communications
UK Sport
40 Bernard Street, London, WC1N 1ST
Tel: +44 (0)207 211 5106
Mob: +44 (0)7836 230 704
Fax: +44 (0)207 211 5246
www.uksport.gov.uk