A view from the Paralympic GB Holding Camp

Greetings from Macau, and the Paralympics GB Holding Camp!

The GB Archery squad (for whom I provide psychology support) arrived here in one piece, although tired and overheated, last Thursday. The purpose of the Holding Camp is to allow athletes to get over jetlag, acclimitise to the conditions, get some last minute practice in, and generally provide an optimum environment in which they can prepare for what will be the most important competition for the last 4 years for them – or, in some cases, their lives. The athlete village in Beijing will be full of distractions; access to practice facilities is very limited, and the accommodation is fairly basic, so it is generally best to keep them away from the village for as long as possible! We plan to stay 6 days here in Macau, before going up to Beijing in time for the Opening Ceremony on the 6^th September.

transfer through Hong Kong

No expense has been spared in creating a fantastic environment here….it is a 5 star hotel away from the middle of town (Macau is the gambling capital of Asia, so does has its own distractions!), and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) have commandeered a floor of the hotel to provide a Team GB eating area, athlete lounge with a full programme of entertainment, cyber café, pool and gym, etc.

Welcome from the hotel

View from room balcony

A full range of support staff, including sport science and medicine staff are also available (apart from me, we travel with a doctor and physio, so are relatively self-sufficient in this regard), and basically every need is taken care of. The level of organisation has been faultless so far, and the things that I, as a staff member, need to get involved in normally, such as carrying bags around, or fetching water bottles is all taken care of – leaving me to get on with my role as a psychologist! I spoke to Phil Lane, the Paralympics GB Chef de Mission over lunch today, and he told me that the planning process for the Holding Camp started the week after the Paralympics in Athens in 2004 had finished! The BPA have had 3 trial run holding camps in the last 18 months alone. Such amazing attention to detail, and commitment to going the extra mile has resulted in the GB success that we've seen at the Olympics recently, and should help the GB Paralympic team retain (or even improve) their position as 2^nd in the overall nations medal table attained in Athens.

We have 12 archers in the squad, competing across 7 different categories. This is far more than at previous Paralympics, and a testament to the increased funding that archery have received in the past four years. However, it also means that we have a very inexperienced squad (only two archers have been to a Paralympics previously), which brings some challenges in terms of preparing individuals to cope with the enormous pressure of competing at an event like the Paralympics. Although we travel abroad to train and compete at least twice a year, nothing is quite like a Paralympics. No other competition is a multi-sport competition as the Paralympics is; nothing else comes near in terms of attracting press attention both before and during the event, and the venue itself is indescribably big. It's no wonder that it is often very difficult to predict how people will perform in the Olympics/Paralympics. So although we have a number of medal prospects, we take nothing for granted. So far though, our preparations are going well. We are slowly getting used to the heat (38 degrees and 60 humidity today!), and the squad are in excellent spirits. The training facilities here in Macau are first rate, and everyone is enjoying the facilities and comfort at the hotel. We leave here in a couple of days, and the challenge may in fact be in moving from this luxury to 'slum it' in the athlete village in Beijing!

First class training facilities

Dealing with the media