UK Sport
June 13, 2008

THE SEARCH IS ON FOR ATHLETIC GIRLS WHO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD

Are you a GIRL4GOLD? UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) are searching for highly competitive sportswomen with the potential to become Olympic champions in cycling and other targeted Olympic sports (bob skeleton, canoeing, modern pentathlon, rowing and sailing) in time for London 2012. GIRLS4GOLD is the single most extensive female sporting talent recruitment drive ever undertaken in Great Britain.

If you are…

Female, aged between 17 and 25 years old
Competing in any sport at county/regional level

Fit, powerful and strong

Mentally tough and competitive

Up for a once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of Britain’s sporting elite
...then we want to hear from you!

The ultimate aim of GIRLS4GOLD is to unearth exceptional female talent capable of achieving medal success in London in 2012. There are numerous British female World and Olympic medallists who have specialised in a new Olympic sport at a relatively late age, going on to achieve medal success in short timeframes. These include:

• Shelley Rudman: a former track hurdler, who won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in bob skeleton, less than four years after trying the sport for the first time aged 21.
• Annie Vernon and Anna Bebington: medallists at the 2007 Rowing World Championships, four years after being selected through a talent identification scheme (ARA’s World Class Start Programme, sponsored by Siemens) aged 20 and 19, respectively.
• Rebecca Romero: a former medal winning Olympic rower who transferred to the sport of track cycling aged 26 and became World Champion in 2008, less than three years after taking up the sport.

No prior experience in cycling or any of the other targeted sports is required. We are looking for raw sporting talent with the capacity to develop under the guidance of elite level coaches in world class training and competition environments. The Phase 1 Talent Assessment events will take place on:

Saturday 26th July 2008 – Bath
Saturday 23rd August 2008 – Loughborough
Saturday 30th August 2008 – Manchester

Following receipt of your athlete profile through the online sign up system, those successful in advancing to phase 1 will be invited to one of the above testing days based on proximity to the named locations.

Visit the website for more information http://www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/girls4goldhome/

Applications for GIRLS4GOLD will close on June 30th 2008.