Due to be held at the University of Bath from January 3, the first such three-day event will provide attendees the opportunity to "spend time with athletes and staff from other sports in a multi-sport environment which would otherwise not be experienced outside of the Games."

Following on from similar and successful camps held ahead of the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Games, it is designed for athletes aspiring to compete at a Paralympics and it is hoped it will give them an understanding of the "unique" Games environment.

Approximately 100 athletes and staff from ten sports will attend - consisting of athletics, boccia, cycling, canoeing, triathlon, rowing, shooting, table tennis, sitting volleyball and wheelchair rugby.

They will participate in a series of workshops run by BPA staff, consultants and external experts as well as partner organisations such as UK Anti Doping, as education forms a major
component to the camp in addition to merely training.

Participants will also have the opportunity to hear from Paralympic veterans about their experiences, providing both inspiration and practical advice for developing athletes.

The new Paralympic sport of triathlon, and British stars therein including Steve Judge, will be among those taking advantage ©Getty Images


BPA director of performance at the BPA, Penny Briscoe, described how "the Paralympic Games environment is unique and very different to that an athlete experiences at their World Championships."

"The aim of our multi-sport preparation programme is to make the unfamiliar familiar so that when an athlete becomes part of the ParalympicsGB team, they know what to expect and can just focus on delivering their personal best performance," she added.

"The camps are therefore one of the most important programmes that we run for aspiring athletes and our National Governing Bodies, and we are very proud of their success in previous cycles.

"Following the great camps programme for London 2012 hosted at the University of Bath, I am very much looking forward to returning to Bath for the first of the series to prepare for Rio.

"There may be 1,000 days to go to Rio but we are already thinking about how our actions and experiences now can influence what happens on the field of play in 2016."

Similar justification was provided by Stephen Baddeley, director of sport at the University of Bath, who described how they are "delighted to be hosting the BPA's first multi-sport preparation camps in the lead-up to Rio."

"The camps held at the University of Bath ahead of London 2012 were a big success and we're proud of our partnership with the British Paralympic team," he added.

"It will be a fantastic and very fitting start to the New Year for us to host the first camps ahead of the Rio Games and to help support some of the nation's aspiring athletes on the road to Rio."