derbyshire institute of sport magazine, february 2015

ISSUE SEVEN - FEBRUARY 2015

EYES ONTHE PRIZECaroline Povey targets Olympic glory

TRAINING WITH AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST | SWIMMERS BEAT THE WINTER BIG FREEZE

MEET OUR NEW DIS ATHLETES | NIAMH STARS UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF PARIS

Andy Wood 07720 291779

Performance [email protected] is a former professional UK badminton

player with over 30 years' professional coaching experience.

Suzanne Watson Development [email protected] has worked for Derbyshire Sport for three years having represented England at basketball

and won two national boxing championships.

Andi Manley [email protected] Coach of Derventio eXcel, who has been part of the GB coaching team at three European Junior Championships.

James Boxall [email protected] former England international who is an England Junior Coach and Head Coach of the Derbyshire Badminton Performance Centre.

James Maudsley [email protected] lecturer in Sports Science at Loughborough College and coaches the University of Derby Men's Basketball Team.

Geoff Cooke [email protected] Commonwealth gold for England in the tandem sprint in 1974, he has also won 40 National, eight European and 22 World

Championships as a master.

Steve Astle [email protected] Under-16 Girls Coach for the North West and is Lead Coach for the Derby College

Performance Golf Academy.

Matthew Dodds Table [email protected] three-time winner of the Sheffield Closed Table Tennis Championships who is a qualified ETTA

Level Two Coach.

Gary Hutt 07762 969889

Lead Strength and Conditioning [email protected] has also worked as a sports scientist, personal trainer and lecturer in addition to several

S&C roles across different sports.

Jack MurfinJunior Strength and Conditioning [email protected] at the University of Derby site, alongside

work for Derbyshire County Cricket Club and the Amber Valley School Sport Partnership.

Chris FreeburyJunior Strength and Conditioning [email protected] England in the weightlifting at the

2014 Commonwealth Games and has experience as a weightlifting coach and tutor.

Angela George Physiotherapist

[email protected] for DIS alongside roles with British Swimming and BUCS, having been a physio at

the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

David Sprot Physiotherapist

[email protected] with British Orienteering and a running-based clinic in Sheffield alongside DIS, having qualified in 2006.

Rachel Royer Physiotherapist

The Clinical Director of Impact Physio and has been previously involved with the England Junior Women Volleyball Squad and Nottingham RUFC.

Carl Butler Physiotherapist

The Clinical Director and Head Physiotherapist at Active Total Health has worked for Cambridge United and Derby County Football Clubs.

Martin Hird 07825 896978

Athlete Liaison [email protected] has worked for Derbyshire Sport for three

years and has competed at rowing's British Championships.

Donna Kellogg 01332 594223

University of Derby Performance Officer (Derby hub site)[email protected] player Donna competed at the 2000,

2004 and 2008 Olympics and won 88 England caps.

Sports Coaching Team Sports Science Team

Core Team

Chesterfield Satellite SitesStaveley Healthy Living Centre 01246 345666Queen's Park Sports Centre 01246 345555

Staff Structure

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Welcome

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“To provide high quality support to

Derbyshire’s emerging talented

sports performers, to enable them

to achieve greater success on the

national and international stage and

to enhance the reputation of Derby

and Derbyshire.”

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In this issue

With the three year anniversary of the Derbyshire of Institute of Sport on the horizon, it's great to see the programme continues to go from

strength to strength.

Even in the depths of winter, with the snow on the ground and frost covering our windscreens, barely a week goes by when we’re not getting news at the University of Derby hub site of brilliant performances from our athletes, both around the country and overseas too.

Take the performances of swimmers Abbie Wood (page five) and Imogen Clark (page six), for example, who have both achieved British junior records since our last issue and athlete Niamh Emerson (page eight), who was simply outstanding on her Great Britain debut in Paris.

They are not alone either – and there will doubtless be many more stellar performances to come during 2015 as we move into the summer months and the action really hots up. As you'll see when you make your way through this seventh edition of the magazine, we've added a new section featuring your social media Tweets.

Don't forget to follow us online via the handle @DerbyshireIS, where you'll be able to keep up-to-date will all that's going on across the programme – and post any news you may have.

Finally, I'd like to convey my ongoing gratitude to everyone who continues to get behind DIS and, in particular, our funding partners Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council and the University of Derby, as well as Derbyshire Sport, who manage the programme.

You can rest assured that all concerned will be working as hard as ever in the coming months to bring out the very best in each and every athlete we assist.

Andy Wood, DIS Performance Manager

Going for gold… The latest on DIS' gold athletes

Bird's eye view…What's hot on the Twitter feed

Making waves… Focusing on swimming and sailing

Geared up to go…. Cyclists take centre stage

Rapid progress… Rounding up the athletics highlights

Blazing a trail… Basketballers staying the course

Fresh faces… Meet the new DIS athletes

Savouring the silverware… The 2014 Derbyshire Sports Awards

In it together… What's happening at Team Derby

Finishing Line… New DIS site for Chesterfield

ISSUE SEVEN, FEBRUARY 2015

The DIS magazine is published by Derbyshire Sport, Godkin House, Ripley, DE5 3EF

01773 748907 · www.derbyshiresport.co.uk

www.facebook.com/debyshiresport · @DerbySport

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GOLD ATHLETEAll guns blazing

Inspired by winning a fantastic bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Caroline Povey now has her sights set firmly on qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics. The 34-year-old will travel to represent Great Britain at the latest World Cup rounds in Mexico in March and Cyprus in May, where country qualifications are up for grabs.

Even if she is successful in achieving that aim, Caroline will still need to keep up her fine form to book her place on the plane to Brazil as alternative athletes to those who secure the qualification berth can be selected. The signs have been good for the 2014 Derbyshire Sports Awards Sportperson of the Year nominee in the latter stages of last year and early 2015. In last September's World Cup, Caroline was joint ninth at the World Championships in Spain, making her the top British performer as she shot an international personal best of 72 out of 75. She followed that up by finishing joint first of the lady competitors and 10th overall at the Malaga Grand Prix in January, shooting a superb score of 116 out of 125.SHOOTING

Kane Haggett received the perfect early Christmas present when he swam his first sub-24 second 50m butterfly race in winning the Welsh National Championships (Short Course).

It saw the 22-year-old from Derby drop his personal best by 0.7 seconds from September to 23.85 seconds – and move up from seventh to fourth in the British rankings. Kane followed that up with another personal best of 22.36 seconds in claiming second place in the 50m freestyle.

“Although the 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event, it allowed me to practice similar skills which I can apply to my 50m freestyle race,” he said. “I also swam 50 free in two relay legs for Loughborough and both races I split 21.4secs which is an exceptional time and proves to me that the changes in training over the past six months are having an effect.”

Kane has since met with DIS staff Angela George, Nick Ward and Ian Hulme to plan for the coming year where he will be targeting the 50m freestyle at the British Championships after a meet in Luxembourg in late January and early February, the first of the long course season.

KANE HAGGETTSWIMMING

PROGRAMME

Caroline's goals for the rest of the year with DIS' help are clear and she said: “I want to continue to improve my performances and win a quota place for the Rio Olympics. “There are eight qualifying events for Rio between September 2014 and September 2015, so hopefully I can achieve that goal at one of them.”

Stars give Yasmin a 'leg up'Stars give Yasmin a 'leg up'Stars give Yasmin a 'leg up'

After training with Olympic gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu and World Championship bronze medallist Andy Turner, Derby sprint hurdler Yasmin Miller is hoping to explode into the new outdoor season in April.

The 19-year-old has a new coach in Lloyd Cowan, who has guided the celebrated Great Britain duo to a string of medals on athletics' biggest stages. Now Yasmin is hoping to benefit too, and rubbing shoulders with the big names has also inspired her at a time when she has remodelled her technique.

“Until I changed things under Lloyd, I didn't realise how important my technique was; the importance of your trail leg and how you use your arms,” she said. “It's been a great experience to learn from two great athletes such as Christine and Andy, who have been brilliant.”

Yasmin is based in London, but travels up to Derby for regular strength and conditioning work with DIS, which she says is going 'really well.' She is targeting a medal at this summer's European under-23 Championships, as well as qualifying for the senior World Championships, having run her first indoor race over 60m at Lea Valley in mid-January.

ATHLETICS

The DIS Gold athlete programme provides support for athletes who are less than three years away from being on a National Governing Body World Class programme and are expected to compete at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and/or Commonwealth Games. The support offers a bespoke resource to meet the needs of our highest achieving athletes.

CAROLINE POVEY

Diving under his PB

YASMIN MILLER

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a little birdietold us...

Dom.. @DomChambers96 Jan 15Can't think of anyone more deserving for her debut GB call up than ! @niamhemersonSuch a modest and nice girl! Well done! @DerbyshireIS

Steve Astle @steveastlegolf Jan 13Really good week from golfers, @DerbyshireISapplying themselves in the gym and practicing smart. Well done fellas. #greatyearahead

Gary Hutt @GaryHuttSC Jan 5Great to welcome to the @CXFreebury@DerbyshireIS @TeamDerby S&C coaching staff. Exciting times ahead! #athletedevelopment

amanda serjeant @serj4hasland Dec 17Pleased to be able to sign for a new @DerbyshireIS @ChesterfieldBC hub in http://tinyurl.com/lcnna85

Katie Toft @KatieToft Dec 7Mossley CRT awards: really happy to win the Women's Road, Track and Time Trial Championship trophies @DerbyshireIS

Derbyshire Sport @DerbysSport Nov 6Well done Harvey Martin and @DerbyshireIS@BradleyMoore97 @Huubdesign as joint Junior SPOTY #DerbyshireSportsAwards @BritishSailing

ICON @ICONderbys Nov 6Another success for as @DerbyshireIS@abbielouisew @DerbyCC retains her Junior Sportswoman of Year crown @ICONDerbys

Caroline Povey @cazpovey Oct 30Great to be able to talk on about @BBCDerbythe support I receive from @DerbyshireISahead of next week's @DerbysSport awards.

George Woolgar @GWoolgar Oct 13Well guys this is my 1000 tweet!!! Planning day today with and the @steveastlegolf @DerbyshireIS process to become better #futureisbright

Sue Brealey @BrealeySue Sep 28Clean sweep for @DerbyshireIS@DPCBadders girls at Derby badminton senior restricted.

A Medley of SuccessIt's been another memorable few months for Buxton swimmer Abbie Wood, who is set to travel to represent Great Britain in February at the Orlando Grand Prix, USA.

The 15-year-old won the Derbyshire Schools' Sports Association (DSSA) award for Individual Achievement – Non-School Sport and then successfully defended her Junior Sportsperson of the Year title at the Derbyshire Sports Awards in the autumn. In December, the Buxton Community School pupil smashed her personal best by seven seconds to set a new British junior short course record time in the 400m individual medley at the Scottish National Championships, finishing second in the A final only to Commonwealth Games champion Hannah Miley.

Abbie attended the Derventio eXcel training camp in Thailand recently, gearing up for her trip Stateside, where British Swimming are taking athletes with podium potential. She has been assisted in her selection by a string of Derbyshire county and Midlands regional records.

Once back from the USA, Abbie's focus will turn to the British Championships at the Olympic pool in London in April followed by the World Youth Olympics in Baku in June and World Junior Championships in Singapore in August and September.

ABBIE WOODSWIMMING

Leaping into her task400m hurdler Jessica Turner is giving something back to the DIS Gold programme by completing a work experience placement at the University of Derby.

The 19-year-old Loughborough College student, from Denby Common, is required to complete 60 hours as part of her course and so approached the DIS team about working with the S&C team at the programme’s headquarters in Derby. Jessica's request was duly accepted, meaning she is shadowing staff during their coaching and administration duties, as well as mentoring younger athletes during their S&C sessions.

“We would hope this supports Jess's development not only as an athlete, but also her development within sport as a career choice,” said Gary Hutt, DIS' lead strength and conditioning coach.

On the track this season, Jessica is hoping to achieve a podium position at the BUCS Championships and selection for the European Under-23 Championships.

JESSICA TURNERATHLETICS

Follow us on Twitter and Tweet to our handle @DerbyshireIS

DERBYSHIRE INSTITUTE OF SPORT - ISSUE SEVEN, FEBRUARY 2015

Swimming

Imogen Clark underlined her immense sprinting potential as she broke no less than four British junior records in three different strokes leading up to Christmas.

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Her need for speed was highlighted at the Scottish National Championships in Edinburgh when she powered to a short course time of 25.68secs in the 50m freestyle - beating the previous best mark recorded by World Championship bronze medallist Fran Halsall - to finish fifth overall behind winner Kimberley Buys.

That followed earlier brilliant performances where the 15-year-old from Morton set junior best marks in the 50m breaststroke at Millfield in November and the 50m butterfly. Imogen also won a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly north of the border to join Abbie Wood (see gold athletes section) in enjoying an outstanding meet.

Not to be outdone, Sarah Vasey (pictured right) won a bronze medal in the 50m Breaststroke in Edinburgh to crown a breakthrough year. She was also part of the girls' 4x50m medley relay squad to win a bronze medal, having previously won medals at both the British Championships and ASA National Youth Championships.

“I'm now looking ahead to the long course competitions coming up, which gives swimmers the opportunity to achieve World Trials qualification times,” she said.

Beating the big freezeCracking the ice on the boat controls in the morning has all been part of the daily routine for Joshua Haynes and Harvey Martin this winter.

The DIS sailors have both been training hard after stepping up to the 29er dinghy – which is seen as the feeder class for Olympic 49er boat. Both sailed the RS Feva class last year, with Harvey winning the World Championships in France along with partner Bobby Hewitt, while Joshua partnered Dom Cotterill (pictured).

Struan Caughey (archery) · Joshua Haynes (sailing) · Harvey Martin (sailing) · Will Ward (sailing) · Mike Gilligan (shooting)Caroline Povey (shooting) · Ellie Koyander (skiing) · Ashley Davies (squash) · Jay Clarke (tennis) · David Bishop (triathlon)

Squash player Ashley Davies, 20, climbed to a career-high world ranking of 160 in November and reached the first round proper of the Seattle Open in January where he was beaten in three close games by fellow Englishman Robert Downer, 11-5,11-8,11-8.

Individual Athletes... Individual Athletes... Individual Athletes...

Now the hard work has begun for both the promising youngsters – both on and off the water – to build for the new summer season which features the National and World Championships in quick succession in Pwllheli, Wales in August.

“There's been some extreme conditions for training and there's also been plenty of work on strength and conditioning at DIS,” said Joshua's dad, Mike.

“Stepping up to the 29er is tough because it's like getting on a skateboard when you're used to riding a bike, but the crews are doing a great job.”

Harvey along with Bobby, have got their 2015 off to a great start by winning the 29er Winter Championships junior title held at Datchet Reservoir.

Performance Coach – Andi Manley

Imogen Clark · Kane Haggett Hannah Jones · Ed Martin Imogen MorrisFrancesca Muir-HarrisKevin Wallbank · Sarah Vasey Lewis White · Abbie Wood

Tennis teenager Jay Clarke, 16, who has received mentoring from British Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman, is up to a season's best ITF ranking of 91.

Arthur cranks up his performancesTansley cyclist Arthur Green has really found top gear in the last few months, culminating in selection for the 2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, held in the Czech Republic between January 31 and February 1. In the lead-up to Christmas, the 17-year-old defied a crash, a bent brake lever and a change of bike to finish second in a junior event of the latest National Cyclo-Cross Trophy Series at Milton Keynes.He had earlier claimed wins in Notts and Derby events at Hardwick Hall and Markeaton Park and a third place in the Durham National Trophy.

“It was the hardest cyclo-cross course I had ever ridden, but the good thing was that it was muddy which suited mountain bike riders like me, who are better when it gets technical and muddy than those who come from the road,” he said. “Once on my second bike after the crash, I got into a rhythm passing riders. The crowd were amazingly loud, all shouting my name and ringing cow bells, which really pushed me forward. I was really grateful for all the Matlock supporters who had to get up before six in order to cheer me on!”

James is on the moveAfter rubbing shoulders with Tour de France winner Chris Froome in the autumn, road racer James Shaw has moved to Belgium to join leading team Lotto-Belisol ahead of the new season.

The 18-year-old rider from Heanor was part of a star-laden Great Britain team to travel to the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain at the end of September.

He enjoyed a successful outing in the junior men's road race as the first Briton home, claiming 16th spot behind winner Jonas Bokeloh in a race that came down to a sprint.


Performance Coach – Geoff Cooke

Isabelle Boon · Arthur Green · Sarah Lomas · Sam Lowe Adam Morewood · James Shaw · Josh Scales · Katie Toft

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Cycling

NetballTamikah Campbell Brittany Coleman

Table TennisPerformance Coach – Matthew Dodds

Isobel Ashley

Arthur also found time to make his international debut for Great Britain, competing in a World Cup round in Namur, Belgium where he finished in 44th place after mechanical problems.

'Bel of the ballIsobel Ashley teamed up with her DIS Coach Matthew Dodds to win the Sheffield Closed Table Tennis tournament at the EIS Sheffield to start 2015 in style.

After the 18-year-old won the Senior Women's Singles without dropping a set, the pair then won the Mixed Doubles in what is one of the toughest leagues in the country.

In February, the pairing will join forces in the Senior Mixed Doubles National Championships in Ilford, while Isobel will also compete in the Women's Under-21 and Senior Women's events.

Lightning fastTamikah Campbell and Brittany Coleman (right), from South Derbyshire, are both members of the Loughborough Lightning franchise U19 national performance league squad, with Tamikah being co-captain for this squad. Brittany has also been selected as part of the Loughborough Lightning franchise Superleague squad.

A leap of faith for AdamAdam Morewood showed nerves of steel when he performed a Biketrial demonstration in front of a 6,000 crowd at Sheffield Arena on January 3.

The 12-year-old from Dronfield Woodhouse was invited to perform during the half-time interval of the FIM World Indoor Motorcycle Trials Championship first round, an honour previously bestowed on professional street trials pro rider Danny MacAskill.

Adam teamed up with fellow Biketrial World champion Charlie Rolls for stunts that included leaping over the event's commentator, Wayne Kershaw!

Athletics

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Alicia Barrett · Ella Barrett · Dominic Chambers · Niamh Emerson · Alex KnibbsJethro McGraw · Yasmin Miller · Katie Rowe · Reece Sims · Jess Turner · Richard Weir

Multi-event prospect Niamh Emerson was called up to the Great Britain squad for the U20s Combined Events Indoor International in Paris and excelled – even though she is still just 15.

The Amber Valley and Erewash AC member, from Shirland, was chosen after finishing second in the Women's Indoor Pentathlon at the England Athletics Combined Events Championships.

In the French capital, Niamh finished third out of the nine competitors who were drawn from Great Britain, France and Spain, despite being three years younger than some of her rivals.

This was on the back of three new personal bests, one personal best-equalling performance and an overall points personal best.

Her performances included 9.46secs for the 60m hurdles, 1.76m in the high jump, 8.68m in the shot, 5.54m in the long jump and 2mins 23.35secs in the 800m.

Ella back after 'paws' for thought

Ella Barrett was back from an unusual injury with a bang by taking a silver medal in the U20 200m at the Northern Athletics Indoor Championships.

Ella had picked up an ankle problem during November training when dodging a dog, but she put that behind her with a time that put her fourth in the UK rankings so far this year.

Sister and fellow Chesterfield athlete Alicia Barrett picked up a bronze in the U20 women's 60m, having been disqualified for a false start in the 60m hurdles.

Dom finds formMiddle distance runner Dominic Chambers has started his 2015 in style by clinching the Northern Athletics Indoor Championships 1,500m title in the U20 category.

The Derby AC runner, 18, did so by clocking 4mins 25.80secs in Sheffield and also took a silver medal in the 800m event behind Max Wharton, missing out by just 0.2 seconds.

“Last winter I didn't get to race indoors due to my old coach Dave Sunderland passing away and also having a torn hip flexor," said Dominic.

“I found my new coach Alasdair Donaldson in April and since then training has gone really well, apart from a chest infection where I couldn't train over Christmas.”

"I'm happy with the results and it's progress towards the end goal in the summer of making the European juniors qualification.”

Stepping up

Jethro McGraw is targeting finals in the major events – English Schools and England Championships – now that he is an Under-20s and competing against those up to two years his senior.

He is track training three times a week, attending DIS strength and conditioning twice a week and is aiming to shake of a niggling knee injury to take advantage of an athletics-specific training plan.

Richard's capital gains

Richard Weir travelled north of the border to represent England for his first race of 2015 where he partnered Jemma Simpson to fifth place in the Great Edinburgh Cross Country International Relay.

Taking over well down the field, the Derby AC athlete recorded the joint best time of the day to move the duo up the rankings in the face of stiff competition from the other home nations, the USA and Italy.

Richard also took a gold medal in the senior 3,000m at the Northern Athletics Indoor Championships, finishing 30 seconds clear of the rest of the field.

David Hong · Josh Hong · Tiara Samuel · Grace King · Ellie Wheatley · Sophie Brealey

Ian Walley reached the three-day PGA play-off finals at Turkey's Antalya Golf Club, which was held from November 29 to December 1.

He missed out in the 54-hole shoot-out for places at this summer's BMW PGA Championship by just one shot.

Meanwhile, George Woolgar (pictured) fought back strongly from injury in the latter part of 2014 to retain his card on the European Challenge Tour. After a busy winter of practice, the Chesterfield professional is ready for a busy season that will begin with the Madeira Islands Open in March.

Blazers are top tip to shineDIS programme players Alex Dorr and Dan Watts have been to the fore as Derby Trailblazers have climbed to the top of EBL Division One with a 10-3 record.

The Derbyshire Sports Awards Derby County Team of the Year have built superbly on their promotion from Division Two last season, while giving court time to local academy players such as Kayne King, David Kravalis and Jake Wesselingh.

The top eight teams in the 13-strong league qualify for the end-of-season play-offs – with the top four securing home advantage – which will take place in April.

Head Coach Matt Shaw said: “I was fortunate when I took over a few games into the season that I picked up a good group of players who are willing to listen and learn. I'm delighted with their progress.“

Golf Performance Coach - Steve Astle

Pair net ladies titlesDIS duo Tiara Samuel and Sophie Brearley proved to be a smash hit at the Derbyshire Senior Restricted Badminton Tournament.

Tiara won the ladies' singles and ladies doubles and also reached the semi-final of the mixed doubles, while Sophie won the ladies' doubles - along with Tiara - mixed doubles and was runner up in the ladies, singles to her doubles playing partner.

Elsewhere, David Hong, reached the semi-finals of both the men's and mixed doubles in the same event, while Grace King and Ellie Wheatley have both made their County Senior First Team debuts. Both David and Grace have been selected to represent England at the upcoming Under-15 Eight Nations tournament in France, while Josh and Tiara are preparing for the upcoming Under-19 Nationals.

Badminton Performance coach – James Boxall

Sophie Brearley · David Hong · Josh Hong · Grace King · Tiara Samuel · Ellie Wheatley

Jamie Boler · George BloorNick Newbold · Ian Walley, James Whatley · George Woolgar

Basketball

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Performance Coach - James Maudsley


photo credit: AGMPics Derbytrailblazers.com

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Taking it in their strideDIS has welcomed two more promising athletes to its stable in Katie Rowe and Alex Knibbs.

The Amber Valley and Erewash AC members, both 15, are ranked in the top 15 at under-17 level nationally, even though they have another season to come competing at that level. Katie, from Alfreton, is a triple jumper who this year won the Mason Trophy in Birmingham with a leap of 11.37m.

The main focus for Alex, from Duffield, is the 400m hurdles where he won the Derbyshire

Schools Championships in 2014, clocking 56.7secs.

Coaches believe both have the potential to medal at England Athletics Championships and English Schools Championships this year.

Support for more top talentThe potential star quality of a number of other athletes has been recognised by their selection for the DIS programme in recent months.

They are led by Chris Pritchard, a cyclist, who competed at Commonwealth Games for Scotland – and then asked his girlfriend to marry him trackside.

Others new to DIS include golfing duo Jamie Boler and Ian Walley and tennis players Bradley Buckland and Victoria Allen.

The final athlete to join up before the DIS magazine went to print was Struan Caughey, who becomes the first archer on the programme.

Sam's TownChellaston’s Sam Lowe hopes to get his career in top gear with a place on the DIS programme and a contract with Derby-based professional team Raleigh-GAC.

The sprinter-cum-opportunist opted to broaden his horizons by moving to France for the 2014 season, where he raced for Amicale Cycliste Bisontine team. Now the 20-year-old is delighted to be back in familiar surroundings after enduring a disappointing 2014 season by his own high standards. Lowe was briefly put on the DIS programme in 2012 and is ready to rediscover the kind of form that led him to win the British National Junior Road Race Championships.

“When I was first on the DIS programme I was still supported by British Cycling but now I'm not, so being back on the programme is going to be a massive help for me,” he said. “My personal goals are to do well in the Tour of Britain, and the tour series, which is a big event for the Raleigh-GAC squad, and the Tour of Normandy as well.

“Working in a team environment will be different from every man for himself which I'm used to, but I think it will be better, and I'm looking forward to it.”

Paralympic Goal for KatieNew DIS para-cyclist Katie Toft is determined to use her place on the programme to propel herself onto the World Cup and Paralympic stage.

The 21-year-old track, road and time trial rider, from Chinley in the High Peak, has previously balanced her training with study. But having now graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Early Childhood Studies, the member of the Mossley CRT club has set her sights on on-track glory.

“I started cycling as a hobby, but I was really inspired by the London 2012 Paralympics and when I beat some able-bodied blokes in a sprinting session, I decided to have a crack at it,” she said. “The Rio Paralympics is the dream, but I'm realistic enough to know there are people already training specifically for that and there are other World Cups and Paralympics to go for if not.”

Katie has cerebral palsy which affects all four of her limbs, making it more difficult to balance on her bike and meaning she can tire quickly and suffer from spasms. She has started working with DIS Cycling Coach Geoff Cooke, with training geared towards overcoming those problems.

She added: “When you spasm you can lose most of the control of your body. It sends you heart rate up, so a lot of the work I do is trying to get the cadence right to get the most out of my legs. “

A warm welcome...TO OUR NEW DIS ATHLETES JOINING THE PROGRAMME

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2014

Proudly sponsored by

The toast of their peersThere was plenty of DIS success when the county's biggest sporting show of the year hit Derby's Roundhouse in November.

The Derbyshire Sports Awards, sponsored by the University of Derby, saw 13 awards handed out to a wide cross-section of the sports system to those from the High Peak to South Derbyshire.

It was swimmers Lewis White and Abbie Wood who led the DIS celebrations, as both retained titles they had won in 2013.

Lewis held on to his Origination Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year crown, while Abbie was once again named Derby City Council Junior Sportswoman of the Year.

Harvey Martin also came up trumps as the sailor shared the Huub Design Junior Sportsman of the Year.

Double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Adam Peaty beat off the challenge of Liam Pitchford, DIS' Caroline Povey and Will Sharman to win the top award of the night, the University of Derby Sportsperson of the Year.

See more photos from the night at: www.flickr.com/photos/derbyshiresport

Surveying the sceneA survey into the effectiveness of the DIS programme has found it to be an overwhelmingly positive experience for athletes.

There were 20 responses to a questionnaire across seven sports - athletics, cycling, golf, sailing, shooting, swimming and table tennis. The survey covered the topics of Strength and Conditioning, Physiotherapy and the overall DIS programme since staffing changes in October 2014.

Using a scale of 1 to 7 (7 being excellent), staff received 6 or above in all three areas: S&C (6.1), Physiotherapy (6.3) and overall DIS Service (6.0). The areas receiving the lowest scores included S&C service - Monitoring and Tracking (5.4) and Physiotherapy - Availability/ Venue (5.4). Other positives highlighted by athletes were the additional capacity of both S&C and physiotherapy staff, the close working between the two areas and the bespoke programmes and advice offered.

Areas suggested for improvement were striving for a consistency of communication across all athletes and of service between the Derby hub site and Chesterfield satellite site. “We're delighted that athletes think so highly of what we offer them but obviously we will take on board and work at areas where we can improve,” said DIS Development Manager, Suzanne Watson.

Abbie Wood

Lewis White

Harvey Martin


www.teamderby.com

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DERBYSHIRE INSTITUTE OF SPORT - UPDATE, Issue 6

Cheer on your teamTeam Derby is preparing to make history in March by hosting its first ever home match in the newly-formed National Badminton League (NBL) at Derby Arena.

The county's newest professional team will take on Milton Keynes on March 23 (7.45pm) in the first of a home double-header that also sees neighbours University of Nottingham visit for a mouth-watering clash on April 27 (7.30pm). A selection of NBL matches are being screened live on Sky Sports television, with Team Derby being led into action by Derbyshire's own Donna Kellogg, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and three-time Olympian.

Derby's squad includes the UK's number one ranked men's singles player Rajiv Ouseph, Olympic silver medallist Gail Emms and four

Commonwealth Games athletes including Kate Robertshaw, Andy Ellis and Martin Campbell.

Hitting the heightsBoosted by sports scholars Ben Brown (pictured), Dan Watts, Alex Denholm, Lamar Morrison, Lee Goldsbrough and Raheem May Thompson, the University of Derby basketball team remain in contention for promotion.

The team suffered only one loss in the first semester, but they need to win all remaining games and turnaround an away defeat to Oxford Brookes when the two teams play in Derby to win the BUCS Midlands 1A League and move forward to end-of-season play-offs.

The squad are undefeated in the cup to date and play Newcastle in the last 16 in February.

Yasmin's on the mark ... Building on two medals at the

Commonwealth Rowing Championships, lightweight sculler Yasmin Marks represented the University of Derby at the BUCS Indoor Rowing Championships, winning the regional event and finishing third place in the national competition. It saw the 22-year-old from Chellaston claim six BUCS points towards

the University's overall tally in clocking 7mins 18secs for the 2km distance.

Gearing up for an exciting futureGearing up for an exciting futureGearing up for an exciting future

Work is now well under way on the new £10.8 million sports centre at the University of Derby's Kedleston Road campus.

The facility will be a real shot in the arm for ambitions to make the University renowned for its sporting excellence. State-of-the-art facilities will include a sports hall that can host eight badminton courts, a 70-station fitness suite, a dedicated fitness studio, two squash courts, a bouldering wall, a three-lane indoor sprint area and sand pit, a strength and conditioning suite and an analysis lab.

“When completed, the building will give us some of the best sporting facilities in the Midlands, providing the perfect place for our students to participate, develop and achieve even more through our Team Derby brand,” said Hari Punchihewa, the University's Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director. The build is expected to be completed in the summer and will be open to students, staff and other community organisations.

You can secure your tickets for between £5 and £15 per person by going to www.nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk/tickets For more information, visit www.teamderby.com

So far results have been mixed for team Derby with a 3-2 victory over Loughborough sandwiched by defeats to Birmingham and Surrey Smashers.

Seeking a spike in interestSeeking a spike in interestSeeking a spike in interest

Volleyball has joined basketball and badminton in having a club on the University of Derby's Performance Sport Programme for 2014-2015.

A specialist programme has been developed in partnership with the local National League team Darkstar to attract and retain talented student volleyball players. Along with our other Performance Sports, the volleyball club will access additional benefits, including sport science support from DIS and Team Derby Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach Gary Hutt and Physiotherapist Angela George.

Head coach of the team is Gerard Van Zwieten, a former Olympic Volleyball player in 1964 who is currently working for Volleyball England and is also Head Coach of Darkstar Ladies.

Making a splash Team Derby’s Jack Burnell swam to a superb

victory in the 10km open water race of the Madeira Island International Swim Marathon, Portugal at the end of October.

It was another fine performance for the Scunthorpe-born 21-year-old, coached by Kevin Renshaw, who finished sixth in the European Championships last summer. Burnell touched the board to secure victory in one hour 56 minutes 35 seconds ahead of Germany's Andreas Waschbugers and France's European 25km champion Axel Reymond.

Climb Every MountainFor some it would be an uphill struggle, but Derby student William Neill simply takes it all in his stride.

In between reading for a new route PHD MRes, he has been 2012 and 2014 Under-23 British Fell Running Champion and also won the 2014 Under-23 English Fell Running title.

That's not to mention representing England in the World Mountain Running Grand Prix and the Home International Mountain Running Championships.

William's early 2015 season target is the Three Peaks Mountain Race in April, which is often referred to as the mountain running version of the London Marathon. He said: “After the Three Peaks, I’ll turn my attention towards the World Long Distance Mountain Running Champion-ships in Switzerland in July.”


13

Jack Rex Burnell

University League Cup Indiv. Total

54 Queen Mary University of London 413 72 4.25 489.25

55 University of Chichester 468 18 0 486

56 University of Strathclyde 427 48 9 484

57 University of Central Lancashire 407 48 17.50 472.50

58 London School of Economics 398 30 14.20 442.20

59 University of Derby 387 39 6 432

60 University of Kent 398 30 0 428

61 University of East London 322 36 66 424

62 University of Worcester 379.50 42 0 421.50

63 Aberystwyth University 310 75 3 388

University of Derby BUCS round-up

At the half way point of the season, the University of Derby are sitting 59th in the overall BUCS points table, but only 90 points away from 50th.

Progress in team sports is excellent, with nine teams potentially challenging to win their respective leagues. The Men's Football Firsts and Women's Badminton are leading the charge, both proudly topping the pile. Men's Basketball Firsts, Men's Football Seconds, Men's Football Fifths, Women's Football Firsts, Netball Thirds, Rugby League Firsts and Men's Table Tennis Firsts are all sitting handily in second with the hope of kicking on in the second term both in league and cup competitions.

Two new teams were entered into the BUCS Leagues at the beginning of the academic year, with a Derby Netball Thirds and a Derby Basketball Seconds. At Buxton, Women's Football are second in their league, one point behind Anglia Ruskin, while the Men's Hockey are also well placed following an unbeaten start.

Giving it her best shotTeam Derby shot putter Danielle Opara is ready to make an impact in 2015 after having a stunning season last year.

Called up for Team GB at the Loughborough Internationals, she was also Indoor England Athletics Under-20 Champion as well as Under-20 Inter-county Champion.

In 2015, her goals are to become South of England Champion, to represent the University of Derby at the BUCS Indoor Championships and to make the top five in the British Championships.

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FINISHING LINESatellite site has lift offA new DIS satellite hub designed to help athletes from the Chesterfield area reach the top of their chosen sports has been unveiled.

The main DIS hub is at the University of Derby, who, along with Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council, provide funding to back around 50 athletes. But two additional sites in Chesterfield – at Chesterfield Borough Council's Queen's Park Sports Centre and Staveley Healthy Living Centre – will ensure that those on the DIS programme based further north in the county will enjoy easier access to facilities.

Colin Deaton Table Tennis Academy player Isobel Ashley, 18, from Barrow Hill, is delighted she will now be able to spend more time training. “The Staveley site is just five minutes from my school where I am studying for my A levels and means I can go straight to the gym there after,” she said. “I can also use the sports hall to practise at Queen's Park, as well as the swimming facilities, and it cuts down on the travel to Derby, which can take an hour or more at busy times.”

Golfer Jamie Boler, from Chesterfield. “I can, and will, still travel to Derby some of the time, but training in the town over the winter is going to be a great help,” he said.

The deal between DIS and Chesterfield Borough Council was officially signed in December at the Market Hall, Chesterfield. “It's a significant development and an opportunity to build on the already great things that Chesterfield people are achieving in sport,” said Mick Blythe, Vice-Chair of Active Chesterfield. Cllr Amanda Serjeant, Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, at Chesterfield Borough Council added: “The link ties in well with the other work we are doing to support promising young athletes, such as the ICON bursary programme and the Chesterfield School Sports Partnership.” Ilana Freestone, Director at Derbyshire Sport, which manages the DIS programme, said: “We are trying to give athletes from across Derbyshire the best possible chance to succeed. It's important to provide local facilities for local athletes.”

Scientifically provenSports Science plays a bigger role in elite-end performance than ever before, so it's comforting for our top athletes to know that the DIS is well-equipped in that regard to bring out the best in them.

Since Gary Hutt joined as Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach in October, he has been building a team of experts in their respective fields who can provide advice and guidance to suit each athlete and their unique circumstances. Hutt has been assessing all DIS athletes in one-to-one appointments both at the university and in Chesterfield to organise specific, tailor-made programmes.

The latest addition to the team is Chris Freebury (pictured right), an England representative in the weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last summer, who joins as a Junior Strength and Conditioning Coach. Alongside his competitive experiences, he has developed as a weightlifting coach, coaching tutor and strength and conditioning coach where he has worked with professional rugby players, national level road cyclists, GB development squad boxers and GB weightlifters.

“It's great to have Chris on board with DIS and we look forward to him helping strengthening what we offer through our Sports Science Services,” said Hutt. Freebury will cover the northern delivery areas and some hours at The University of Derby hub site.

Jack Murfin has also come in as a second Junior Strength and Conditioning Coach, working at the University site and also for Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

Angela George, who also works for British Swimming, has joined the sports science team as a Physiotherapist, delivering services to athletes as and when required. She has also been present in the DIS gym to provide athletes with pre-hab (injury prevention advice) and created a good working relationship between the S&C deliverers and physiotherapy service.

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A Raleigh-ing callDIS is teaming up with cycling giants Raleigh in a ground-breaking partnership for 2015.

The two have previously partnered during last year's Tour of Britain when DIS provided off-bike kit sponsorship for riders, team managers and physios, as well as branding on the team car.

Now DIS have strengthened their links with Raleigh by backing them throughout the new road race season. And it's hoped that top riders from the organisations cycling programme will be well placed to get some experience with the team, as Sam Lowe is already finding to his benefit.

Cherie Pridham, team principle for Team Raleigh, said: “We are delighted to continue to work together creating further links which will hopefully bring further exposure to the good work DIS is doing across the county.”

A clutch of DIS athletes have been fortunate enough to leave behind the dark mornings and snow of Britain to spend spells training overseas.

A total of 14 swimmers from the county's elite Derventio eXcel squad, including athletes on DIS such as Imogen Clark, Hannah Jones and Abbie Wood, got the sun on their backs during a two-week training camp just after Christmas at the Thanyapura Complex in Phuket, Thailand.

The swimmers had 20 pool sessions and covered almost 140,000m (distance group) throughout the camp. They also completed six strength and conditioning sessions as well as additional core, stretching, medicine ball and pre-hab routines before and after the pool sessions, along with meditation/relaxation sessions and a few trips out and about during their time off.

“This was a chance for the athletes to train in a 50m pool in a distraction-free and focussed environment, which is a luxury we don't always get at home,” said Derventio head coach Andi Manley.

An ICONic momentA total of 131 athletes from across the nine areas of Derbyshire have shared £21,925 in bursaries thanks to the ICON programme – and DIS athletes are well represented.

The scheme sees organisation and businesses put money into a funding pot, which is then split between talented performers from the four corners of the county. The success of ICON was highlighted last summer when two atheltes on the programme – Adam Peaty and Liam Pitchford – won three medals each at last summer's Commonwealth Games.

The DIS athletes on ICON are: Abbie Wood, Francesca Muir-Harris, Hannah Jones, Imogen Clark, Kevin Wallbank, Lewis White, Sarah Vasey and Imogen Morris (swimming), Alicia Barrett, Ella Barrett, Richard Weir, Jethro McGraw, Jessica Turner, Niamh Emerson and Yasmin Miller (athletics), David Hong, Josh Hong, Tiara Samuel, Grace King and Sophie Brealey (badminton), Adam Morewood, Arthur Green and James Shaw (cycling), Bradley Buckland, Victoria Allen and Jay Clarke (tennis), George Bloor, George Woolgar and Jamie Boler (golf), Joshua Haynes and Harvey Martin (sailing), Ashley Davies (squash), Caroline Povey (shooting) and Isobel Ashley (table tennis).

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www.derbyshireinstituteofsport.co.uk

derbyshire institute of sport magazine, february 2015

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