Golden girl of the Olympic pool, Rebecca Adlington, has today backed the third annual UK School Games, being held in Bath and Bristol.

Adlington, who is officially commencing the event at tonight’s opening ceremony, joined Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Steve Grainger and 2004 Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist Jason Gardener in a press conference to mark the start of the event, which will see 1,500 elite athletes of school age compete in nine sports across three days of competition.

Adlington, who historically became the first British woman since Anita Lonsborough in 1960 to win an Olympic swimming title, said: “I think the UK School Games is a fantastic event and having the ability to compete in a multi-sport competition will only help these young athletes for the future.”

Rebecca became the 400m freestyle champion on day three of the Beijing Olympics, which she followed by smashing the world record for 800m freestyle to take her second gold medal and help Team GB to an overall haul of 47 medals, including 19 golds.

Swimming will feature prominently at the UK School Games, with two days of competition held at Millfield School on Friday and Saturday and the 19-year-old said: “The UK School Games is the first major competition in the London Olympiad. What an exciting event and I wish all the athletes who are competing the best of luck.”

Record numbers are competing in Bath and Bristol this year, where the new sport of hockey will join competition in badminton, judo, volleyball, athletics, fencing, gymnastics, swimming and table tennis, with disability events in athletics, swimming and table tennis also included.

Jason Gardener, known as the ‘Bath Bullet’ throughout his athletics career, hailed the opportunity available for young sports competitors to excel:

“I am delighted to be supporting the UK School Games, which this year takes place in my home town of Bath and Bristol,” he said.

“The event is a unique opportunity for everyone to see how much young sporting talent we have in the UK across a range of sports, while the athletes will get the chance to experience a major multi-sport event.”

Jason continued: “Through my role as the 2008 UK School Games Ambassador, I’ve been working closely with schools across the region to share how the event can have a hugely positive impact – not just on those competing, but for all young people as they learn about sport and the many benefits it can bring.”

The 2008 event promises to be bigger than before, with previous competitions hosted in Glasgow and Coventry in 2006 and 2007.

New developments this year from the event organisers, the Youth Sport Trust, include the development of a school supporters programme to get local schools involved in the Games, the work with Mencap and the governing bodies of particular sports to develop clear pathways into the competition for athletes with learning disabilities and additional use of young officials during the event.

Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “This year’s UK School Games take place less than a week after what has been an incredible Olympic Games, which we are sure will further inspire all the athletes competing this weekend in Bath and Bristol.

“We are at the beginning of a hugely exciting four years for sport in the UK as we count down towards the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the UK School Games will play a huge role in not only helping to showcase our talented young athletes, but also in the transformation of competitive sporting opportunities for tens of thousands of young people at local, regional and national level.”

The UK School Games replicates a major international multi-sport competition, with the opening ceremony held tonight at Bath Rugby Club and a closing ceremony held on Sunday evening at the University of Bath.

-Ends-

For further information and media enquiries, please contact Alastair Henderson at Fast Track: 07825 365774 / alastair.henderson@fasttrackagency.com<mailto:alastair.henderson@fasttrackagency.com>

Notes to Editors

The UK School Games consists of nine sports and three disability sports; they will be competed for across four locations:

Athletics:                    University of Bath
Fencing:                     University of Bath
Table Tennis:             University of Bath
Volleyball:                   University of Bath
Hockey:                      University of the West of England
Badminton:                University of the West of England
Gymnastics:               Filton College
Judo:                           Filton College
Swimming:                 Millfield School

1.      The Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity with a simple mission: To build a brighter future for all young people through physical education (PE) and school sport.  Our main objective is to increase young people’s participation and enjoyment of PE and school sport and, through this, improve their life chances.

We believe that all young people are entitled to experience and benefit from a variety of sports at a level that’s right for them. Through our work we ensure youngsters can receive the best possible teaching, coaching and resources and have the opportunity to develop their talent.

 

2.      Legacy Trust UK launched in November 2007 and has been endowed £40m by the Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This will be used to support cultural, artistic, educational and sporting activities that celebrate the 2012 Games.

The Trust will form partnerships with organisations that will attract additional match funding to deliver Legacy Trust supported programmes.

The UK School Games is supported by a £6 million grant from Legacy Trust UK. As an event which fully encompasses sport, education and culture, the UK School Games was one of Legacy Trust UK’s first projects. The rest of the money will be allocated to specific projects via the three nations and nine English regions of the UK. www.legacytrustuk.org.uk<http://www.legacytrustuk.org.uk/>

World Junior 50m and 100m Breaststroke champion Daniel Sliwinski spent the day (Sunday 24th August) touring London with eight times Gold medallist Michael Phelps.

Sliwinski had a night in a London hotel before being taken to Buckingham palace, where he spent hour with Michael Phelps doing interviews for both Radio Five Live and BBC News 24.
Both Phelps and Sliwinski were interviewed, as well as Daniel being given the opportunity to ask the Olympian questions.

When asked if Phelps gave him any tips Daniel said, “to always make swimming fun. Phelps told me that it’s not going to be a smooth road and there will be bumps along the way, but just to grin and bear it.”

The Gallica swimmer Sliwinski was then chaperoned around the grounds with the American champion, laughing and chatting as they went.

Daniel’s dad Eddie said, “it was a very relaxed day and they were just like two young men getting along, only one has a bit more money!”

“It was a really good day and great to see some of the Olympic handover event,” Daniel said, “especially getting into some of the VIP tents.

“Phelps was really friendly and easy get on with. We even compared hands and we have the same size hands!”

-ends-

For further details contact British Swimming Media Assistant Natalie Hassall on 01509 632236 or natalie.hassall@swimming.org.

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association). British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

About Speedo®
Synonymous with swimwear, the iconic brand celebrates 80 years of dominance creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations.  In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefines swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER®  - the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created; meanwhile designer collaborations with Comme des Garçons put Speedo® at the cutting edge of design. As the world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, supporting swimming from beginners through to elite level, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps.  Speedo® is owned by Pentland Brands and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; to find out more visit: www.speedo.com. SPEEDO, the ARROW device, FASTSKIN, LZR PULSE and LZR RACER are registered trademarks of Speedo Holdings B.V. The LZR RACER suit has worldwide design rights and patents pending. 

Britain’s Paralympic swimming squad have now started the final build-up to the Paralympic Games at the ParalympicsGB holding camp in Macau.

At the 2004 Paralympic Games Britain finished just behind China in the swimming medal table and for the returning Paralympians they will be aiming to go one better this time around.

For 45% of the squad this will be their first Paralympic Games and they will be looking to step up and show what they can do on a world stage.

As the 35-strong squad put the final touches to their preparations they will also be acclimatising to the Asian environment and recovering from travelling across eight time zones.
 
The team arrived at their base on Saturday but many of the team had experiences of Macau and its venues after attending a pre-competition camp last year.

National Performance Director Tim Reddish believes that the strategy the National Governing Body has in place will help the athletes deal with transition well.

“The team has now arrived in Macau for the final preparation phase leading into the Beijing Paralympic Games,” Reddish said. “The Hotel and sports facilities are World Class and provide the right environment for us to implement the acclimatisation strategy that we have in place. 

“Most athletes and staff have attended this venue at least once before so everyone is relaxed and focused upon this final preparation phase.

“The team transfer to the Paralympic Village on 2nd September with the first day of competition on the 7th September.”

-ENDS-

The 2008 Paralympic team consists of:

Name                       
James Anderson    
Gareth Duke           
Graham Edmunds  
David Ellis               
Jonathan Fox          
Sean Fraser           
Sam Hynd               
Sascha Kindred    
Dervis Konuralp    
Andrew Lindsay    
Simon Miller      
David Roberts          
Anthony Stephens   
Matthew Walker    
Robert Welbourn    
Matthew Whorwood     

Claire Cashmore    
Emma Cattle          
Jenny Coughlin       
Heather Frederiksen    
Kate Grey               
Rhiannon Henry     
Charlotte Henshaw    
Elizabeth Johnson    
Natalie Jones      
Rachael Latham    
Nyree Lewis      
Mhairi Love      
Stephanie Millward    
Eleanor Simmonds    
Elizabeth Simpkin    
Lauren Steadman    
Louise Watkin     
Danielle Watts     
Fran Williamson    

For further details contact British Swimming Media Officer Gemma Field on 01509 632262, 07917 726431 or email gemma.field@swimming.org

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association). British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

The Beijing Olympics has seen British Swimming emerge as a major swimming nation after seeing six medals won by swimmers on their way to third in the swimming medal table.

With a target of three medals set for swimming by UK Sport, the British contingent in Beijing doubled that aim as they smashed one world, six European and 25 British records.

The British team can return home now for a well earned rest before they begin their build up towards the London 2012 Olympics.

National Performance Director Michael Scott has been encouraged by the team’s development but acknowledges that the team need to continue to build momentum towards London 2012.

“The performance by the British squad in Beijing has been a very positive step forward but we need to take another significant step forward as we work towards London 2012,” Scott said.

“We exceeded UK Sport’s aim of winning three medals in Beijing but in terms of our aims we had five more finalists this year than in Athens and we broke 25 British records which is more than the last three Olympics combined. It was a successful Olympic Games for us but we all know that there is far more that needs to be done over the next four years.”

The British diving squad was the largest ever contingent of British divers to qualify for an Olympic Games and went to Beijing to gain invaluable experience for the 2012 Olympics.

Beijing proved to be an Olympics of firsts for the diving squad. There were six athletes to place in the top 8 and three individual finalists, which has never been achieved by a British diving squad before and they had Team GB’s youngest athlete, Tom Daley, competing in two events throughout the competition.

Steve Foley, National Performance Director for diving, has commended his team for their promising performances and acknowledges that although they weren’t at their best the divers are heading in the right direction with their competition development.

“The athletes performed well over here but none of them really found their form,” Foley said. “What was encouraging to see was that they were competing well, they made finals and achieved things that a British diving squad has never achieved before.

“We are going in the right direction despite the fact we have come away without a medal and what they have learnt here will set them up for London 2012. The athletes need to learn to step up to hit their peak at the Olympics and they will have left Beijing wiser and with more knowledge to make sure they hit their best performance at the premier event in the sporting calendar.”

Alongside the swimmers and divers, we also witnessed a re-emergence of British Synchronised swimming as the duet, which features Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison, moved up an incredible 6 places in the world rankings to 14th and are now 9th in Europe. They can also see they are closing the gap to the world’s leading synchro nations.

Synchronised Swimming National Performance Director Biz Price understands the importance of exposing the athletes to as many international competitions as possible and believes they can build on what they have learnt in Beijing.

“The girls have done so well and are ahead of what we targeted,” Price said. “It’s been a great success for them not only in terms of performance but also in terms of experience.

“The other nations have seen how far the duet has come and there's a real buzz about the British duet at the moment.”

-ENDS-

For further details contact British Swimming Media Officer Gemma Field on 01509 632262, 07917 726431 or email gemma.field@swimming.org

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association). British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Thomas Daley showed his potential in his first individual Olympic final after finishing in 7th place in the men’s 10m individual platform event.

Britain’s second youngest Olympian ever, Daley, has improved on his list throughout the competition and after a shaky start to both his prelim and his semi-final he went into the final looking for a sharper start.

The European Champion looked more confident lining up for his first dive, back 2 ½ somersaults 1 ½ twist piked, and executed the dive excellently and after nailing his entry he scored 8s to put himself in a good position.

His new-found confidence continued into the second and third round and after scoring well on both his front 3 ½ somersaults piked and his inward 3 ½ somersaults tucked he sat in 8th position overall.

Daley secured scores of 9s on his back 3 ½ somersaults tucked with an excellent entry into the water and he moved up the leaderboard to 6th place. His final dive was his reverse 3 ½ somersaults tucked and this is the one dive that has been troubling Daley throughout the competition. The 14-year-old only learnt this high tariff dive just six months ago and is working hard to perfect it.

His entry was short of vertical and threw up some splash to drop marks and after scoring a total of 64.60 he finished in 7th place with an overall score of 463.55 points.

Elsewhere, the race for the gold medal proved to be between Australia’s Matthew Mitcham, China’s Luxin Zhou and Russia’s Gleb Galperin. Mitcham was the penultimate diver in the final and after nailing the hardest tariff dive (bacl 2 ½ somersaults 2 ½ twist piked) for an impressive score of 112.10 to score a huge 537.95 points overall.

Galperin had already completed his final dive and scored a total of 525.80 and was pushed into third place. It was down to Zhou to see if he could snatch gold from the Australian. The Chinese diver missed his entry and handed Mitcham the gold medal. Zhou finished with a total of 533.15 to take the silver medal.

-ENDS-

For further details contact British Swimming Media Officer Gemma Field on 01509 632262, 07917 726431 or email gemma.field@swimming.org

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association). British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.