UK Athletics has announced that it will host the inaugural European Sprints and Hurdles Conference, with the support of England Athletics, the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and European Athletics, in London (Heathrow) on 13-14 November.
The event builds on the success of the UKA/England Athletics Coaching Masterclass Series – which most recently included event-specific seminars over the course of the Aviva London Grand Prix weekend in August - and continues the exceptional coach development opportunities on offer in the UK with an impressive roll call of world class speakers.
Already confirmed are internationally renowned sport scientist Dr Ralph Mann, Director of USA Track & Field’s Elite Athlete Sprint and Hurdle Programme, and UK-based coaches Malcolm Arnold and Dan Pfaff.
Mann, an authority in the field of sport biomechanics, has become a leader in performance analysis and developed the concept of Model Performance in sports movements, a programme now used to provide over 50 elite US sprinters and hurdlers with on-track performance feedback four times per year.
Arnold, who most recently coached David Greene and Rhys Williams to the podium in this year’s European Athletics Championships 400m hurdles, is UKA’s National Event Coach for hurdles. He has coached numerous athletes to Olympic, world and European titles including former 110m hurdles world record holder Colin Jackson.
Pfaff, coach to European Athletics Championships silver medallist Christian Malcolm, is UKA’s National Performance Centre Director at Lee Valley in London and has coached over 70 athletes – including former Olympic champion and 100m world record holder Donovan Bailey - to Olympic Games and World Championships.
The conference will be the third in this year’s European Athletics Coaching Summit Series. Member Federations can use scholarships offered by European Athletics to cover the costs of sending coaches to attend. For more information click here.
Kevin Tyler, UKA’s Strategic Head of Coaching and Development, said: “In our Year of the Coach, we’re delighted to announce the inaugural European Athletics Sprints and Hurdles Conference, a partnership between several organisations working together to communicate some of the best coaching practice and current information to British and European coaches.
“In addition to the keynote speeches and breakout sessions, we will be hosting a dinner on the Saturday night to acknowledge the support of the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. Not only does that support enable many UK coaches to attend this event, but following the successful World Class Jumps and Throws Conferences previously held in Loughborough, it ensures that his legacy in the coaching development field continues. We look forward to seeing you there.”
Booking details will be published on www.uka.org.uk/coaching from Friday 17 September and additional speakers will be confirmed in due course.
The other European Athletics Coaching Summit Series conference confirmed for this autumn is the European Walks Conference in Leeds, England, on 6-7 November.
For further information:
Katy Anderson, Senior Media Officer
M: 07701 099 763
E: kanderson@uka.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR
UKA
UKA is the National Governing Body of the premier Olympic and Paralympic sport. We aspire to be a world leading sporting organisation delivering clear and inspirational leadership for athletics to ensure a vibrant and empowered sport at every level that can evolve to meet every challenge. We work with Home Country Federations and other partners to secure and distribute funding and develop policies for key areas and implementation at the appropriate levels, giving support and strategic guidance. For more information visit www.uka.org.uk.
2010 has been earmarked Year of The Coach by UKA. The year will feature a number of activities to highlight and raise the profile of coaches in our sport. Therefore coach names will be inserted in all team and press releases to highlight these essential partnerships in our sport.
EUROPEAN ATHLETICS
European Athletics are leaders of the high performance, ethical and well-being aspects of athletics in Europe and will strive to lead and equip the highest number of Europeans to enable them to form a loyal relationship with athletics.
The European Athletics Coaching Summit Series was launched in 2008 in response to the demand from coaches for practice-oriented conferences focused on a small number of disciplines. The summits are organised by federations and other national partners with support from European Athletics. The aim of the series is to cover all the athletics disciplines in a two to three year cycle.
RON PICKERING MEMORIAL FUND
The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund is dedicated to assisting aspiring young athletes who have shown by their attitude and dedication that they possess the qualities which will ensure the growth and protection of sport.