This time next week, we will have reached the conclusion of our 11th World Class Performance Conference, the final opportunity for the entire high performance community to congregate ahead of next year's home Olympic and Paralympic Games, having spent three days with our leading performance directors, coaches and support personnel, exploring the theme of "Aspiration".

Our 2011 conference stands in complete contrast to our 2010 event. We are swapping the splendid isolation of St Andrews for an East London competition venue and the reality of Mission 2012. Last year we invited delegates to stop, reflect and, if necessary, make courageous changes before embarking on a final year of development and preparation.

This year we are asking them to pause briefly to check where they are and where they've been, and then to grasp the moment and aspire to go where they may once have thought impossible.

2012 will test us all in ways we cannot with certainty predict, so the best we can aspire to be is comfortable in the knowledge that we have done all we can, with the time and resources available to us, so when the torch is lit we capitalise on whatever opportunities materialise, and confront any adversity with maximum positive energy.


It's tempting to argue that this notion of positive energy and the mindset it alludes to is the final, defining element of complete preparation - the last opportunity available to us that is within our gift to determine. I'm struggling to think of anyone or any team who has had a trouble-free journey from the moment the bid was won on July 6 2005 to the present time. There have been clashes of opinion and belief, losses, setbacks, disagreements, tears and, I daresay, some scars to show for it.

But as we look back briefly for the last time before 2012, it may be worth reflecting on what might be gained by leaving behind whatever negatives we are still carrying in our metaphorical kitbags, simply on the grounds that they can only reduce our chances of success.

As the World Class Performance Conference gathers for a final time before what is sure to be an exceptional year for British sport, there is no better opportunity to acknowledge that we are all in this together.

Peter Keen is director of performance at UK Sport, the nation's high performance sports agency.

UK Sport's 11th World Class Performance Conference takes place at ExCeL London from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 November. The aim of the Conference is to reflect on and learn from collective experiences of the sporting year across different sports and environments, in order to share best practice and prepare for the challenges ahead. Workshop leaders this year include Biz Price, Bill Endicott, Jason Lee, Hugh Morris, Yogi Breisner, Craig Hunter, Steve Peters, Malcolm Arnold, Neil Laughton and Steve Heppell