High Performance
At eight minutes past eight on the evening of 8/8/2008 the world will be watching Beijing as the opening ceremony for the Games of the 29th Olympiad kicks-off – in the meantime, New Zealand already has the date firmly in its sights.
In sight of Beijing
- Rowing Venue
At eight minutes past eight on the evening of 8/8/2008 the world will be watching Beijing as the opening ceremony for the Games of the 29th Olympiad kicks-off – in the meantime, New Zealand already has the date firmly in its sights.
In August last year, members of the Beijing Athlete Services Team and the Paralympics Chef de Mission, Duane Kale, visited Hong Kong, Qingdao and Beijing to check out the facilities, logistics and conditions in order to help prepare the New Zealand team for the Games.
The team were joined throughout the visit by members from Rowing, Cycling, Equestrian and Canoe/Kayak, with each of them meeting their BOCOG (Beijing Organising Committee for the Games) sport manager.
The visit confirmed construction of the village and competition venues was well advanced and on track to being a world-class environment for the athletes.
Once the team returned, the planning process was really set in motion says SPARC Performance Consultant, Don Tricker, with the first of a series of Beijing 2008 conferences. The conference provided an environment where sports and the Athlete Services Team could share their experiences of China.
- National Stadium
The planning team, lead by Chef de Mission, Dave Currie, is made up of representatives from sport, coaches, athletes and the athlete services team [?].
The first step of the plan was to build on experiences from previous Olympics, then to identify the key challenges that Beijing would pose.
“To assist sports in their preparations for Beijing we created an event planning template. The template is a planning tool that captures the activities that sports need to consider when completing their plans,” says Don.
“To ensure greater integration of plans – each sport will meet with the Beijing planning team to make sure the key dates are aligned and the knowledge of experienced personnel is utilised to the fullest.”
- Olympic Village
But the team’s main concern is the well documented issues relating to the quality of the air.
The combination of heat/humidity and smog will present a huge challenge, but that challenge is being addressed as part of the acclimatisation project. The purpose of the project is to minimise the risks to athlete performance posed by the environment, by assisting sports to develop plans that address the acclimatisation challenges.
Each sport will test their acclimatisation plans this year, with key athletes, coaches and planners visiting Beijing and making refinements where necessary so there are no surprises in 2008.
So with 2008 just around the corner, work is in top gear to ensure the preparation of the New Zealand Olympic team is the best ever.
Updated | 08 Oct 2007.
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