The event held at Loughborough University was led by Andy Hunt, who, as insidethegames exclusively revealed last month, will be the Chef de Mission for Britain's team at London, delivered a detailed review of the high performance, operations and logistics plans to support Team GB prior to, and during, the Games.

The Team Leaders discussed and debated the plans, and shared ideas and best practice from their own sports, to collectively fine-tune and add detail to the Team GB preparations.

"The Team Leaders will play an absolutely vital role in supporting and delivering Team GB’s vision to maximise the once in a lifetime opportunity presented to us at London 2012," said Hunt.

"The Team Leaders meeting was hugely productive, and acted as a good check and measure for our 2012 roadmap.

"The meeting helped to further shape, define and add detail to our planning and preparation for 2012.

"I’d like to thank the Team Leaders for the excellent spirit of partnership and collaboration created between them, some of whom have never been to a Games before and some of whom are seasoned campaigners, which allowed for very open and constructive debate, for the benefit of the greater team - Team GB.

"We will now act on the suggestions and recommendations to continuously sharpen and refine the roadmap to success in 2012 – Better Never Stops for Team GB."



Brailsford, who led cycling to a record 14 medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including eight golds - three of them won by Sir Chris Hoy (pictured) - was full of enthusiasm after the summit. 

"This Team Leaders meeting has demonstrated the positive step change in the management and leadership of Team GB that has taken place over the last two years," he said.

"It was the best and most productive meeting since my involvement with Olympic sport began and I have great confidence in the quality of comprehensive planning and preparation being put in place for Team GB.

"Competing at home in 2012 presents us with unique opportunities and challenges, so it is right and neccesary that the Team GB leadership, together with sport Team Leaders, have been willing to question the status quo and seek improved and innovative solutions to deliver the maximum opportunity for British success at London 2012."

Stephen Park, the Team Leader for sailing, which claimed six medals at the 2008 Olympics, including four gold, echoed Brailsford's sentiments.

"There has been lots of change and development in the Team GB Leadership over the past two years and this meeting has left Team Leaders feeling very confident and in no doubt that the leadership team have strong, solid planning in place for London 2012," said Park.

"The changes have created a renewed vigour for us to cooperate and share best practice across sports, for the ultimate benefit of the single Team GB."

The summit also proved to be a useful networking opportunity for sports like basketball, in which Britain has little record at Olympic level.

"As a sport which has not been involved with Team GB at an Olympic Games for over 60 years, the Team Leader meeting provided a vital opportunity to discuss best practice and share experience with Team Leaders from consistently successful Olympic sports such as cycling, rowing and sailing," said Chris Spice, the Performance Director at Great Britain Basketball.

"We welcome the Team GB Leadership’s commitment to delivering a comprehensive programme of preparation for athletes attending their first Olympics, which will be crucial to our sport and to maximising the opportunity to inspire new participants in our sport in 2012."

Sir Clive Woodward, England's Rugby World Cup winning coach, who will be deputy Chef de Mission at London 2012, promised that the BOA will continue to provide valuable support in the build-up to the Games.

"The expertise and insights of the Team Leaders produced very useful outcomes for Team GB in terms of defining and agreeing our plans for 2012," said Sir Clive.

"The Team Leaders have really embraced our performance-first philosophy, which places athletes and coaches at the heart of all our decision making.

"Collectively, we will ensure that we provide athletes and coaches with the preparation and resources they need to succeed in a home Olympic Games environment."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
October 2010: Hunt to outline blueprint for 2012 success to GB team leaders