25 June 2009.
BikeNZ High Performance Strategy Meeting 2009- targeting medals in London 2012
The BikeNZ High Performance management team met in Auckland last week to plan and prioritise their strategies to bring
Olympic cycling medals home from London 2012.
The key objectives of the BikeNZ High Performance Track Programme are to fine tune the platform for more kiwis to win on
the world stage and develop into future champion athletes.
“The week was focused on our Track programme with the aim of confirming the direction of the program over the next 12
months, and to prioritise our approach for the London Olympics in 2012” said BikeNZ High Performance Director Mark
Elliott.
The High Performance program benefits from a hugely wide skill set within the management and coaching structure. Full
-time positions have been created for Dayle Cheatley as assistant track coach, and Craig Palmer as the team’s sports
scientist. BikeNZ‘s High Performance team, with extensive investment from SPARC, are targeting the BMX and Track
programs to achieve the objectives for London 2012. The key performance areas identified to drive these objectives are
coach support, athlete support, management support, campaigns, sports science, sports medicine and sports technology.
“We needed to identify key roles within the HP structure, and maximise the skill sets of each team member. We’re a small
team with minimal resources. So, it is vital to collaborate internally and externally to the programme to ensure our
athletes get world class support,” added High Performance Director Mark Elliott.
To ensure the programme is being challenged on its High Performance intent, BikeNZ invited an external expert panel to
help prioritise the objectives of the Track program and offer an external perspective. The panel included Mental Skills
Trainer Dave Hadfield, SPARC Performance Coaching Consultant and ex World Title winning softball coach Don Tricker, and
NZ Academy of Sport Athlete Performance Consultant David Slyfield, who is also heavily involved across Emirates Team NZ
BikeNZ’s Men’s Development Track Team is currently training and racing in Belgium. Their blogs and results can be
followed at www.ridestrong.org.nz
ends