It’s been a busy start to 2012 with the third and final selection trials and various team GB responsibilities. My role as team leader includes the formal selection process for the team and with a quota of only two men and two women, it has to be fair, transparent and sophisticated at the same time. We have athletes world ranked 4, 8, 13 and 20 in the women’s event alone. All would be worthy of a place at London 2012, and there are another three hard on their heels! We have to make sure we have the best two there. They will have to keep proving their form right up to 6th June 2012 when we make our final nomination to the British Olympic Association, so it is an intense and demanding process.
The third selection trials were distinguished by having the extreme ends of our talent pipeline competing at the same time in the same place - our high performance centre at the University of Bath. 750 nine to sixteen year olds were competing in the schools run / swim biathlon including my own daughter Cordelia, while no more than 200m away on the outdoor Combined Event shoot run range, our Olympic squad were slugging it out. There’s no buying-in talent here, you have to develop and nurture it over the years and as ever it is a combination of factors that makes the difference: opportunity provided by interested parents and teachers, commitment, ability and resilience. Only those that develop a strong combination of these qualities will make it across to the future Olympic squad.
January ended with a day at Loughborough University site for Team GB’s final preparation camp. We had Team Leaders from across the sports working through the specific requirements of their individual sports – kitting out, accreditation, entry into the Olympic Village, selection dates and the Team Member Agreement. The TMA defines every aspect of becoming a member of Team GB and is signed by athletes and officials alike. Although quite legalistic in tone, it is essential guidance when you consider we will have more than 1000 team members across 26 sports all with their own different ways of working away from the Games. I noticed that the subject of online betting has taken on a much bigger profile this time around probably in light of spot betting in Cricket and the like. I’d better make sure I stick to the Lottery then!
