British Orienteering have announced that 22 athletes have been invited to join the 2016-17 British Orienteering Talent Programme.
The Talent Programme, that is partly supported by Sport England, is a British Orienteering programme, which aims to support athletes in fulfilling their junior potential, before transitioning on to senior success. The 2016-17 programme, which began with a coaching camp last weekend, will continue British Orienteering's drive towards delivering medals in World Championships, by identifying those with the ability to succeed at the Junior World Orienteering Championships and providing targeted support that enables them to achieve excellence.
Included in the selections are, Grace Molloy and Alastair Thomas, who both won podium places at the European Youth Orienteering Championships, along with Fiona Bunn; Alexander Chepelin; Harrison McCartney; Jennifer Ricketts; Alice Rigby and Daniel Stansfield who all representative Great Britain at the 2016 Junior World Orienteering Championships.
Megan Carter-Davies, who achieved an individual 4th and 7th at this year's Junior World Orienteering Championships, graduated from last year’s programme into the Development Squad for 2016-17, whilst Dane Blomquist, Julie Emmerson, Sarah Jones, William Rigg and Joe Woodley have moved through to the Watch Squad and are aiming also to make this transition within the next two seasons.
Megan has been supported by the programme since 2011. She said: "I'm really grateful for the support over the past five years from the programme. I came away from every weekend/camp having learnt a lot and feeling freshly motivated to train and learn more. As well as that, I made some amazing friends and also feel as though any of the coaches would continue to support me today if I asked them. I hope the athletes selected for this year's Talent Programme can take as much from it as I did."
Paul Murgatroyd, Head Coach for Talent, said: "2016 is a year which promises much for the future. The European Youth Orienteering Championships was our most successful ever, with 80% of the squad achieving a top 20 in at least one of the two individual disciplines, and Grace and Alastair appeared on the podium on their international debuts. Megan's performance in the sprint and middle races at the Junior World Orienteering Championships was outstanding, especially given her injury problems earlier in the year, and she also set the girl's relay team up for their best ever result at the Junior World Orienteering Championships. Finally, the Junior European Cup gave many in the squad opportunities to build on this potential and it was heartening to see Laura King, Cecilie Andersen and Harrison McCartney all so close to a medal in the sprint and Alex Carcas' and Fiona Bunn's first leg relay runs were also outstanding. 2017 should hopefully bring more success for this dedicated group of talented individuals."
The 22 athletes supported by the British Orienteering Talent Programme 2016-2017 are:
Cecilie Andersen - Bristol Orienteering Klub
Fiona Bunn - Thames Valley Orienteering Club
Eilidh Campbell - Mar Orienteering Club
Alex Carcas - Interlopers Orienteering Club
Freddie Carcas - Interlopers Orienteering Club
Alastair Chapman - Mar Orienteering Club
Jake Chapman - Mar Orienteering Club
Alexander Chepelin - Edinburgh University Orienteering Club
Lucy Haines - Airienteers
Zac Hudd - West Cumberland Orienteering Club
Niamh Hunter - West Cumberland Orienteering Club
Laura King - Airienteers
Harrison McCartney - Octavian Droobers
Grace Molloy - Forth Valley Orienteers
Jennifer Ricketts - Edinburgh University Orienteering Club
Aidan Rigby - Cleveland Orienteering Klub
Alice Rigby - Cleveland Orienteering Klub / Sheffield University Orienteering Club
Tara Schwarze-Chintapatia - Eborienteers
Daniel Spencer - West Cumberland Orienteering Club
Daniel Stansfield - Forth Valley Orienteers
Alastair Thomas - West Cumberland Orienteering Club
Finlay Todd - Inverness Orienteering Club
Item posted by Jackie Newton, Performance Manager