Emily and Natalie Talk About the Talent Camp at Loughborough

When we were invited to a 4-day camp (including 2 days off school!) held at Loughborough University, at the beginning of January, we were really excited and apprehensive at the same time. It was a new experience and we didn’t know what to expect.

The purpose of the camp was summed up by Jo Emmott of the Youth Sport Trust, who coordinated the camp, as follows:
"The aim is to give young athletes a chance to find out what it takes to get to the very top of their chosen sport. By talking to Olympians who have achieved their goals, we hope students will get a feeling for the type of choices they are likely to face and the levels of commitment that will be required to achieve their dreams. Some students may recognise they aren't prepared to make these sorts of sacrifices - in which case, it's best to find out as early as possible - but for the others it will provide a framework on which to build."

There were 89 athletes attending the camp from sports including canoe slalom and sprint canoeing, rowing, cycling, sailing and triathlon. Eight of the athletes were from Stafford and Stone Canoe Club out of the 16 canoe slalom athletes. They were: Joe Clarke; Claire Kimberly; Adam Burgess; George Tatchell; Rob Downes; Tom Brady; Emily Woodcock; and Natalie Wilson. Also, Andy Neave and Craig Morris were among the coaches invited on the camp.

The opening ceremony of the camp included talks from Sue Campbell (Chair of the United Kingdom Sports Council) and Peter Keen, one of the country’s leading experts in high performance sport.

The camp included lectures from the EIS (English Institute of Sport) and workshops in our sport groups with Helen Reeves as well as workshops in mixed sport groups with an Olympian. As well as that we had lectures from Guin Batten, Olympic Silvery Medal from Sydney for Rowing, and from Dame Kelly Homes, double Olympic gold medallist at Athens. This was really inspiring and everyone was excited to meet them.

We had training opportunities in one of the country’s finest gyms plus running and circuit facilities as well. We did a task with the army as an ice breaker to develop team and communication skills.

Then, there was the ‘Delhi Experience’! First of all we had to pack a hand luggage bag with 10 essential items as if you were going to a competition in Delhi. Then someone was put on the spot and had to say that they packed. This exercise was to show that if you lost your luggage then you would need to have the essential things such as money and passport and things you couldn’t do without with you. Then once we had flown to Delhi, the next day we had breakfast – either porridge or cornflakes with no sugar, no other choice. Again this was a test to see how you would cope.

Other sessions included information about planning education around training, drug awareness and anti-doping, and there were events for our parents to attend as well.

The camp was run at a very intensive pace, including gym sessions before 7 in the morning. We only found out afterwards this was a kind of test of our commitment and attitude. The World Class coaches obviously thought this was a good idea, as they have continued to test us by including a really early surprise training session in the last weekend training camp!

We all left Loughborough very motivated and focussed on what we need to do to succeed in our sport, and with improved skills in communication, teamwork, time management and a positive mental attitude – not to mention better dressed in our new talent camp T-Shirts, Jackets and rucksacks.