The aim of the camp was to boost the development of athletes and coaches by supporting talented athletes from emerging countries. Throughout diverse tests in the camp, officials evaluated the physical and mental strength of athletes consulting with their coaches. For selected athletes, the goal was to provide diverse support such as scholarship, equipment support and mentorship for their training to get qualified for 2018 Buenos Aries Youth Olympic and/or 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Under the guidance of ITU facilitator, Peter Clifford from Australia, 16 coaches cooperated to create interactive and cheerful moods in the camp to reduce the stress of training and tests. To create a stressless and learning environment, Peter introduced a couple of training concepts that made athletes feel not with training, but with playing and getting along with the other athletes. And he communicated with coaches and athletes all the time to inspire athletes.
“We have the biggest participation ever. I think this is a good signal showing that we are heading to right direction and our member federations are targeting on young athletes development. I hope these coaches and athletes share what they have learned here in the camp when they go back to their countries.” Said Ki, ASTC Development Coordinator.
“The biggest benefit of this camp was to help young athletes decide where to go. Our kids figured out how enjoyable triathlon can be through this camp. It looked like they were playing all day in cheerful mood. Also our coaches talked a lot with our colleagues from other countries. This helped us open our minds and share our knowledge with other coaches,” Emily, coach from Philippines said.
“It was my great pleasure to work with Asian athletes and coaches. I think that training in big groups provide big learning benefits for all athletes and coaches. We identified more talented athletes with potential this year. I will do my best to help them develop themselves consistently in cooperation with their coaches.” Peter said.
