03 September 2010

The 2010 European Sprints and Hurdles Conference, hosted by UKA, England Athletics and the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, will take place on 13/14 November at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Hayes, London (UB3 5AW).

The inaugural event, which forms part of European Athletics Coaching Summit Series, builds on the success of the UKA/England Athletics Coaching Masterclass Series – which most recently included event-specific seminars over the course of the Aviva London Grand Prix weekend in August – and continues the exceptional coach development opportunities on offer in the UK with an impressive roll call of world class speakers.

Already confirmed are internationally renowned sport scientist Dr Ralph Mann, Director of USA Track & Field’s Elite Athlete Sprint and Hurdle Programme, and UK-based coaches Malcolm Arnold and Dan Pfaff.

Mann, an authority in the field of sport biomechanics, has become a leader in performance analysis and developed the concept of Model Performance in sports movements, a programme now used to provide over 50 elite US sprinters and hurdlers with on-track performance feedback four times per year.

Arnold, who most recently coached David Greene and Rhys Williams to the podium in this year’s European Championships 400mH, is UKA’s National Event Coach for Hurdles. He has coached numerous athletes to Olympic, World and European titles including former 110mH World Record holder Colin Jackson.

Pfaff, coach to European Championships silver medallist Christian Malcolm, is UKA’s National Performance Centre Director at Lee Valley in London and has coached over 70 athletes – including former Olympic champion and 100m World Record holder Donovan Bailey – to Olympic Games and World Championships. 

Kevin Tyler, UKA’s Strategic Head of Coaching and Development said: “In our Year of the Coach, we’re delighted to announce the inaugural European Athletics Sprints and Hurdles Conference, a partnership between several organisations working together to communicate some of the best coaching practice and current information to British and European coaches, and the third event in the 2010 European Athletics Coaching Summit Series.”

“In addition to the keynote speeches and breakout sessions, we will be hosting a dinner on the Saturday night to acknowledge the support of the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. Not only does that support enable many UK coaches to attend this event, but following the successful World Class Jumps and Throws Conferences previously held in Loughborough, it ensures that his legacy in the coaching development field continues. We look forward to seeing you there.”

Booking details will be published on www.uka.org.uk/coaching from Friday 17 September and additional speakers will be confirmed in due course.

Other conferences confirmed for this Autumn include the European Walks conference in Leeds on 6 – 7 November.