Blog: Ace
London - the venue for Paralympic search
With just weeks to go until the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, ParalympicsGB has today announced London Olympic and Paralympic Borough, Tower Hamlets, as the venue for its next talent search. A Paralympic Talent Day, which is due to take place on October 15 at Mile End Leisure Centre, has been organised in conjunction with GLL and Tower Hamlets Council with the aim of identifying and nurturing new talent to ensure Britain stays one of the leading nations in the world of Paralympic sport. This is the fourth in the series of such events, which will involve almost all the Paralympic sports trialling and testing individuals to identify talented individuals who can be fast-tracked onto a sporting pathway and who could potentially represent Britain at future Paralympic Games, including in London in 2012.
ParalympicsGB are looking for people aged between 13 and 35 who are physically active and have the desire to win from one of the following disability groups - cerebral palsy, visually impaired, spinal cord injuries, amputees or dwarfism. Aspiring athletes who meet these criteria and think they have what it takes to be a Paralympian should pre-register to attend the day.
Talent Pathways Officer at ParalympicsGB, Tabo Huntley, said: “This is the fourth Paralympic Talent Day that we have run and every one so far has grown in popularity and success, with a number of athletes who have great potential already being identified.
“I’m extremely grateful to GLL and Tower Hamlets Council for their support and assistance in organising this event, which I hope will be a great opportunity for disabled people in the area – who live close to venues for the 2012 Paralympic Games - to have a go at Paralympic sports and who knows one of them could be good enough to represent Britain at the Games in 2012.
This event is a fantastic opportunity for us to identify talent to complement our existing group of talented sportsmen and women - it doesn’t matter if you’ve never played these sports before we are looking for general sporting ability and a desire to win.”
Peter Bundey, Deputy Managing Director at GLL, said: “As the UK’s leading not for profit leisure trust, we are delighted to be supporting this excellent Paralympic initiative. GLL is committed to promoting inclusive sport within London and this programme fits well with our efforts to grown sport participation and assist preparations for sporting success in 2012.”Councillor Rofique U Ahmed, Lead Member for Culture, Tower Hamlets Council, said: “Tower Hamlets is full of talented athletes and this is a chance for our disabled sportsmen and women to discover their Paralympic potential.“We want to see athletes from Tower Hamlets competing in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and this event is a great place to start.”Attendance at the day is by pre-arrangement only so anyone interested in attending the event will be required to fill out a talent questionnaire - downloadable in the Talent ID section of the ParalympicsGB website – www.paralympics.org.uk/talent - and return to Tabo Huntley. Alternatively for more information email tabo.huntley@paralympics.org.uk
by Ace on 09:14 on 22nd August 2008
| Tags: | paralympics |
|---|
Log in to comment
