Paralympic News

ParalympicsGB and EDF Energy go for green to mark One-Year-To-Go

EDF Energy, the first sustainability partner of London 2012, is working with ParalympicsGB to help their pre-Games training camp set a new standard for sustainability.

The training camp, August 15th —28th, is held at the University of Bath and comes just before the ‘one year to go’ mark for the London 2012 Paralympic Games on August 29th. Paralympic teams from 12 sports including wheelchair tennis, archery and sitting volleyball will attend the event. All will be encouraged by EDF Energy, Britain’s largest producer of low carbon electricity, to live a lower carbon lifestyle when training, competing and at home.

EDF Energy used last year’s event as a pilot for methods to create more sustainable residential training camps. The information collected in 2010 is now being used by the Council for Responsible Sport (CRS) to create a new sustainability accreditation for multi-day sporting events. EDF Energy and ParalympicsGB hope this year’s camp will become one of the first events in the world to receive a gold rating for this new sustainability accreditation from CRS once it is launched, inspiring other sporting organisations to think more about the sustainability credentials of their events.

To meet this goal EDF Energy is working with ParalympicsGB and other organisations involved with the Camp to improve the environmental impact of the athletes’ stay in a number of ways - from promoting shower timers and recycling facilities to helping make sure food is locally sourced. EDF Energy has also developed a programme of education on sustainability issues for athletes, coaches and visitors. For example, everyday energy efficiency advice will be provided in welcome packs and in daily camp newsletters.

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Jason Smyth selected in Ireland team for South Korea

Derry Paralympian Jason Smyth has been named in the 17-strong Athletics Ireland team for the World Track and Field Championships in South Korea.

Smyth will compete in the 100m after setting a personal best time of 10.22 seconds at Clermont, Florida in May.

The Florida-based athlete produced another solid performance to win in 10.52 at the Irish Nationals on Sunday.

Among the other leading Irish competitors will be Paul Hession, Olive Loughnane and Derval O'Rourke.

Smyth made history as the first Paralympian to compete at a European championships last year, qualifying for the semi-finals of the 100 metres.

Smyth ran 10.43 seconds, finishing fourth in his heat.

He just missed out on the final by finishing fourth in his semi-final in a time of 10.47 seconds.

He won two golds for Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, setting records at the men's 100 metres and the men's 200 metres.

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GB name strong team for Para-Cycling World Championships

Paralympic champions Darren Kenny, Rachel Morris, David Stone and Sarah Storey have all been included in the British team for next month's UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships.

The competition in Denmark from 8-11 September is the last major road event before the 2012 Paralympics.

Also included are World Championship debutants Mark Colbourne, Simon Price and Crystal Lane.

Strong performances could see them make their Paralympic debut in London.

As well as the experience of the quartet of Paralympic champions, the 13-strong team also features Shaun McKeown and Karen Darke, who have shown strong form in the World Cup races over the summer.

Team Manager Gareth Sheppard said: "These World Championships are the final opportunity to measure our performance against that of the international field.

"We have selected a squad that is capable of bringing home many medals and scoring as many qualification points as possible. We have also given a number of up-and-coming athletes vying for a spot on the London 2012 road team an opportunity to prove themselves at the highest level."

Most of the GB riders will compete in both the time trial and the road race in Denmark.

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ParalympicsGB

Paralympic hopefuls prepare for London at Games simulation camp

With just over one year to the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, British Paralympic hopefuls are taking part in at pre-London simulation camp designed to familiarise them with the environment and systems they might experience in London.

Running over a two week period between 15 and 28 August, the camp provides athletes who are considered by the sports to have the potential to be selected for London with an experience of multi-sport environments. In exactly a year’s time, the same camp process will provide a distraction-free environment where athletes can complete their final preparations before transferring to the Olympic Village for the start of their competition.

Over 100 athletes from 11 sports will spend time and train at the University of Bath as part of the camp, which concludes just before the One Year to Go milestone on 29 August.

The camp is Lottery-funded through UK Sport.

The sports attending the camp are: archery, boccia, cycling, fencing, football, powerlifting, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, goalball, and volleyball.

London 2012 partners Coke and Cadbury’s are providing products to the camp, Sainsbury’s are supplying and delivering products and Deloitte and EDF Energy are providing employee volunteers. In addition ParalympicsGB are working with EDF Energy to educate athletes and staff about the Green Team initiative, designed to ensure that the camp is sustainable and environmentally-friendly.

To keep up to date with all the latest news visit the Paralympics GB website

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