Sizing up success with two years to go to Paralympics

by Rebecca Roberts - 27.08.10

Britain’s Paralympic prospects will mark two years to go until the London 2012 Paralympic Games this weekend, 27th August.

Ensuring support teams are delivering a performance impact and ensuring world leading interventions are integrated effectively will be an important contributor to success in two years time, according to Paul Davies, Head of Sport Science & Medicine for Paralympic sports at the English Institute of Sport (EIS).

“As we move into the second half of the Paralympic cycle, we will be working with sports to refine the sport science and medical support services they’re currently utilising to ensure that they are delivering the most benefit in this vital final period up to the Games” he says.

“In Paralympic sports, you’re constantly challenged by not only the unique demands of the sport but also the individual needs of the athlete and their particularly disability. The day-to-day support we’re now delivering is helping teams target consistency at European, World and Paralympic level.

“Sharing knowledge across all of the sports we work with is also key, in particular the specific Paralympic experience and expertise,  as this supports our teams in identifying where performance impacting solutions can be achieved. This is what keeps us one step ahead of the competition” he adds.

The EIS delivers on average 2,000 hours per month of sport science and medicine to Paralympic sports. For more information about EIS support services to disability athletes click here.

Peter Taylor, Chairman of British Disability Table Tennis said; “It is important for our athletes to maximise the benefit of EIS expertise as part of their programme and this plays an important role in ensuring our team are best prepared for success in London. Coupled with the expertise, the support team’s experience and personal input into the programme is also valued.  The EIS Support team started working with Disability Table Tennis over a year ago  and the benefits of that support have been a significant factor in the considerable progress achieved in that year."

Margaret Hicks, Performance Director, British Judo: “We acknowledge that we have benefitted from EIS support in certain areas, which has assisted our VI players with relocation, management of performance lifestyle issues and some medical support; ensuring players are well managed through injury and rehab and returning to the mat to train and compete effectively. Our performances in the Paralympic programme at the last two major events indicate we are firmly on track for London.”

Matt Hammond, Performance Director, GB Boccia: “The integration of the support services from the EIS is starting to have an enormous impact on the performance of the players. The physiotherapy, soft tissue and conditioning interface has meant healthier and better conditioned players, while the performance and match analysis service has meant much improved technical and tactical interventions for our coaches. With 2 years to go we believe we have a solid performance environment for our players and coaches to develop in as a result of the EIS support services.”

Peter Eriksson, UKA Head Coach (Paralympics) said: “While we continue to work hard in training and competition preparation, we know that across the world our rivals are doing exactly the same. As a team, we work to ensure that performance is at the heart all that we do and within that, the sport science and medical support delivered through the EIS network is key. With athletes based around the country, the EIS network is providing a flexible support team, working closely with our own staff, coaches and athletes, to ensure our attention to detail is exceptional in order to give us the edge as we count down towards the  IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand in January 2011 and, of course, the London 2012 Paralympic Games.”

Tom O’Conner, Head Coach, Wheelchair Rugby says: “For us, targeting success means we must do everything both on and off the court we can to have that winning edge. Working with the EIS helps us to embrace where sport science and medical support can make a difference, whether it’s training effectively in the gym, preventing or recovering from injury or just learning from experts who have experience from other sports.”

Photography © Getty Images