With the opening of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games less than 10 months away, the British Olympic Association (BOA) today hosted a planning workshop with Team Leaders and Performance Directors from the winter-sport National Governing Bodies that will come together to form Team GB for the upcoming Winter Games.
The workshop was held at Loughborough University and also included representatives from UK Sport, the Home Country Sport Institutes and Team GB Official Partner adidas.
Led by Chef de Mission Mike Hay, Team GB is expected to be comprised of approximately 50 athletes and a further 50 coaches, high performance specialists and support personnel for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Workshop attendees received detailed presentations on areas such as:
In addition, there was a review of the 2012-2013 winter-sport season and the Test Events that were held in Sochi during the season.
The BOA will lead a delegation of Team Leaders to Sochi for a final pre-Games recce in September 2013.
“With a successful 2012-2013 season now complete, the Sochi Olympic Winter Games are coming into sharp focus for our winter-sport athletes, coaches and performance personnel, ” said Hay. “Our priority during the next 10 months is to work closely with the winter-sport National Governing Bodies and other partners such as UK Sport and the Home Country Sport Institutes to make certain Team GB athletes and coaches have the resources and support they need to reach their full potential at the Sochi Winter Games.”
“The Olympic environment presents a number of unique challenges, and opportunities, as compared to what we see during our World Cup and World Championship seasons,” said Stuart Horsepool, Performance Director for GB Short Track Speedskating. “By addressing all of these details in the years and months preceding the Games, the BOA makes our transition into the Olympic environment, and the building of Team GB, as seamless as possible. I’m pleased with the level of planning and quality of preparations being made for Team GB. The momentum and positive energy from the success of Team GB at London 2012 is already benefitting this delegation.”