African rowers identified for the future

Rowing’s expansion into Africa has brought about new initiatives. Presently at South Africa’s high performance centre in Pretoria, the first 2012 Talent Identification Camp is going on.

Athletes and coaches from six African countries have gathered as they start the process of identifying athletes with the potential to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games. Along the way they will also participate at the All Africa Games and the Olympic Qualification Regatta in 2007 and 2011.

FISA’s Development Manager Sheila Stephens-Desbans said the camp is supported extensively by Rowing South Africa. The team of coaches attending is led by Peter Cookson, Jamie Pike and Grant Dodds with the help of South Africa’s national team head coach Christian Felkel and former international rower and FISA development consultant for English-speaking Africa Colleen Orsmond.

Fourteen rowers are taking part and they range from complete novices to international athletes from Zimbabwe, Egypt, Kenya, Zambia, Sudan and Nigeria. As part of the programme these athletes will take part in the South African Senior Rowing Championships from 5 to 7 May, 2006.

The athletes were chosen from nominations by the relevant country’s National Olympic Committees and Federations and due to the varying abilities of the athletes, individual goals are being set.

Stephens-Desbans said the hope is that this will be the beginning of a long-term development process for athletes and coaches leading on to further planned identification camps, national camps and group camps.  “A similar camp will take place in Tunis (Tunisia) starting on the first of May with participants from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Niger, Togo and Senegal,” said Stephens.

This initiative is funded by FISA and Olympic Solidarity.

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