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30 March to 9 April 2008
Georgia, USA
Many of the worlds’s leading coaches and athletes will gather in Georgia from March 30 to April 9 for a unique world-class training camp.
The Champions Camp Boot Camp to Beijing is the brainchild of renowned coach Peter Eriksson. The camp is designed to enhance peak performance for athletes and coaches who want to bring home medals from the Games.
This is the third time the group has organized such a venture with 50 top athletes and coaches. The remote training facilities encourage participants to focus on training. Athletes also benefit from the process of sharing and learning from their peers. The camp has recharged and launched many athletes’ careers.
“We have athletes from all over the world - Japan, the U.K., Sweden, the US national team, top Canadians all wanting to be in this camp. Then we have a couple of countries pending. One country wants to bring twenty-two athletes,” Eriksson says.
Among those already committed is multi-world record holder Chantal Petitclerc, who sees it as a glorious opportunity to exchange training and technical advice with her peers.
“I’ve been to the camp a few times in the past,” says the 38-year-old Montrealer. “I think it’s really good and this year especially I think it will be really important leading up to Beijing. What I like about it is that it brings together a lot of athletes from different countries, people from different levels of performance being able to train together for ten days and learn from each other.”
British star Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who announced her retirement last year, has since turned her attention to coaching and is bringing some of her athletes to Georgia.
The camp fee includes accommodation at the onsite lodges, meals and twice-a-day training sessions under the instruction of coaches Eriksson, Adam Bleakney and Rick Reelie. In addition, 2004 silver Marathon medalist, Kelly Smith, 6-time medalist Scot Hollonbeck and Olympic 1500m finalist Jacob Heilveil are committed to sharing their racing secrets to success. Each athlete participant will also be video filmed during training sessions and will benefit from a personalised analysis of his or her style the same evening as well as receive a DVD of their training.
A series of evening seminars has been arranged featuring the leading Canadian Sports Psychologist Dr. Penny Werthner, herself a former Olympic middle distance runner; Melanie Olivier, one of the leading Sports Nutritionist in North America; Kaspar Wirz, Head Coach of the Canadian Paralympic Cross country ski team, presenting a new method of breathing training; and Dr. Anne Ellen, MD, discussing injury prevention focusing on upper body.
Petitclerc says she is looking forward to having the opportunity to share the latest technological information regarding chairs and gloves with other athletes. Training with world-class athletes for ten days is also high on her list of priorities.
“In Canada there are only a few female athletes like Diane Roy and myself and we spend a lot of time training alone. One of the big advantages is for us to be able to train together with the men at this camp,” says Petitclerc. “Being there for 10 days and having twice-a-day training sessions, and having a group that is going the same speed I am going, and being able to train with them and be challenged by them and to improve performances at the end is fantastic.
“The Paralympic community is a smaller community, it’s not as structured as the Olympic sports. This is a training environment so it may be easier and more natural for athletes from different countries to talk more openly and share information. Of course you have your own priorities and you do what is good for you but once you get in that environment and spend a lot of time together there will be a lot of camaraderie and sharing.”
Preceding the camp, the Champions Meet is the first of the World Series events for the year, being held on March 28th at Grady High School track. The ING Half Marathon follows two days later in Atlanta. Couple these great events with the camp and you have the best 14 days of competition and training in 2008.
“This is definitely the place to be if you want to be on top of the podium in 2008” says Coach Eriksson.
If you need more information about the camp email: . You can also find more details on http://www.wcracing.net
Elite Wheelchair Racing Camp:
Train with and learn from the best. A must for all serious athletes and coaches. Services: Training Theory, Equipment Mastery 2, Video Analysis, Winning Tactics, Advanced Visualization, Fitness Testing
Champions Meet:
Friday 3/28 6pm Champions Meet Grady Stadium. ATL Champions Meet registration is included in the Camp fee. Meet fee for athletes not in the camp will be $150.
The Georgia ING ½ Marathon:
Sunday 3-30, 7am
This event has wheeler prize money and limited transportation and housing available. Transportation will be provided from the wheeler host hotel to camp.
Departing at 3pm. contact:
Camp Only Transportation:
Airport pick-up only available on arch 30th, 3 p.m.
Return to Atlanta airport at 10am on the 9th. All other transportation needs are the responsibility of the participant.
Training:
- Breathing Techniques and Breathing Training by Head Coach Kasper Wirz- Cross Country
- Stroke and Seating Video Analysis by Peter Eriksson and coaches
- Sport Nutrition by Melanie Oliver, MSC
- Shoulder Mechanics and Injury Prevention by Dr. Anne Allen
- Sports Psychology by Penny Werthner, PHD Dartfish
- Training for Coaches by Peter Eriksson
Visit more information at http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1493122