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On Friday seven members
of the British squad will fly to Macau and then China to see first
hand the progress being made in Beijing and also take part in
the Chinese Open Championships – the first British judo
players ever to do so.
World and European Champion
Craig Fallon is one of the team who will travel to Macau to test
the proposed pre-Olympic BOA holding camp. Afterwards they will
head to Qingdao to take part in the 2006 Chinese Open and Training
Camp. Finally they will travel onto Beijing to see the City and
planned Olympic venues.
This will be the first
time that any British judo players have ever taken part in Chinese
Open and it should prove to be important experience of a Chinese
run tournament.
Commenting on the trip,
British Judo High Performance Director Colin McIver said: “This
visit to China will bring home to the players that Beijing will
not be an easy environment to compete in.
“At the Games
they will face many challenges both cultural and environmental
and these kind of visits are invaluable in ensuring they are fully
prepared.”
“By co-ordinating
the visit with the Chinese Open the seven players will become
the first ever Brits to participate in the Chinese Open. Exposure
to the Chinese competitors, on home soil as it will be in 2008,
should provide us with a good indication of our competition as
we head towards the Games.”
All seven players travelling
to Macau and China are UK Sport funded athletes. They are:
Euan Burton (The Edinburgh
Club)
Peter Cousins (JSC Judo
Club - Purfleet)
Craig Fallon (Hardy
Spicer 83 – Birmingham)
Matthew Purssey (The
Edinburgh Club)
Sarah Clark (The Edinburgh
Club)
Samantha Lowe (Camberley
Judo Club)
Michelle Rogers (The
Edinburgh Club)
The team return on Monday
20th November.
Special thanks must
go to the British Olympic Association who have assisted with the
coordination of this trip.
For further information:
Emma Reed
Head of Communications
British Judo
(t) 01509 631 692
(m) 07785 368495
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