Above: flexible national champion Andrew Deer. Below: World Champion Sarah Stevenson coaching technique
Left: British Open champion and World silver medallist Jade Jones at GB Taekwondo Academy in Newton Heath
to elite athletes. It’s open and provides taster sessions and training programmes for schools, clubs and community groups. The GB administrative offices are billeted in the new East Manchester Academy. In turn, it’s hoped the presence of
world class athletes on their doorstep will inspire Mancunians to take up a sport that otherwise might be alien to them.
British success British players secured a record four med- als at the World Championships in South Korea in May this year – including gold for Sarah Stevenson. Another six medals were won at the
British Open in Manchester in October, including gold for Olympic hopefuls Aaron Cook, Jade Jones, Martin Stamper and Bianca Walkden. Proof that the pro- duction line of talent is running smoothly came a week later with three medals at the European Junior Championships for Sophie Dickson, Jamie Abley and 14-year- old Beth Worthington from the South Hams club in the -44 kg weight division.
Issue 4 2011 © cybertrek 2011 Indeed, the successes highlighted
the strides being made to implement a talent pathway so athletes like Worthing- ton can eventually progress to become members of the GB Academy set-up like Dickson and Abley. The eight-strong GB squad comprised
youngsters from the World Class Per- formance Programme and from leading clubs around the country.
Talent pathways GB Taekwondo, through its partnership with and funding from Sport England, has developed a talent pathway to pro- vide young talented athletes with the opportunity to access world-class provi- sion and move through a logical system to maximise their taekwondo ambition. The programme aims to make Britain the
number one nation in the world at junior and cadet level through the continuation of regular contact with athletes at talent squad training, increased investment in clubs and the opening of the first National Junior Homestay programme in 2012.
“Those athletes with potential will
be invited to Manchester in September 2012,” explains GB Taekwondo devel- opment manager Dean Leak of the Homestay initiative. “They will train full-time, receive a
bespoke education package and stay with a host family.” The Talented Athlete Scholarship
Scheme (TASS) and Sports Aid – again linked through Sport England – provides funding to help prospects fund interna- tional competitions, which is key to development. The Olympics though remain the goal
for any aspiring athlete and medals in London could produce untold benefits for the sport with a rise in popularity and in- creased participation. But there’s a determination at all levels
to maximise the success and the profile al- ready achieved by frontline British players. Systems being introduced now are as
much to produce talent for Rio 2016 and future World and European Champion- ships as for London 2012.
Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 37
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