National Paralympic champion Gibran Sarfaraz and national Table Tennis coach Linden Johnson have been selected to participate in the Commonwealth Games Federation’s GAPS Birmingham training camp to be held from June 8-18 at Birmingham University.
GAPS is the acronym for Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain.
With 2024 being a full sports calendar building towards the Olympics and Paralympics, the main objectives of the GAPS programme are to:
Increase the number of countries participating in para sport at the Commonwealth Games
Provide opportunities for new, developing and more experienced para-athletes to be part of the programme
Support athletes on their preparation and journey to Paris 2024 or as they step onto their development pathway for the future
And coach development as a strategy to providing opportunities for developing new talents
This camp will focus on:
providing developing athletes and coaches with skills, knowledge and opportunities to advance
technical training session
coach development sessions
educational sessions (ie. sport science, safeguarding, anti-doping, etc)
Powered by Purpose- a series of tailored, highly personal, workshops and sessions, which will lead them to explore the world of sport and athletes for social change, as well as training them in the key skills they need for becoming compassionate, responsible, and effective social change makers.
The goal of GAPS is to offer emerging athletes and coaches from the Commonwealth access to additional skills, knowledge and resources. This is driven by advancing education and supporting the development of inclusive sport pathways that promotes positive social change in sport and communities.
GAPS is a sport for development and peace programme that supports the development of inclusive sport pathways throughout the Commonwealth.
Developed by the Commonwealth Games Federation and Griffith University, GAPS has expanded into a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship with other partners joining on this exciting but challenging journey.
The camp targets para Table Tennis and Powerlifting. (Modified press release from the Guyana Table Tennis Association)