Team Behind Team GB

The British Olympic Association (BOA) provides the pivot around which Team GB revolves prior to, and during, the Olympic Games. Working in conjunction with the governing bodies of Olympic sports, the BOA’s role is to select, prepare and lead our nation’s finest athletes at the Olympic and Olympic Winter Games.

The BOA delivers extensive support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies throughout each Olympic cycle to assist them in their preparations for, and performances at, the Games. In addition, the BOA has the responsibility for developing the Olympic Movement throughout the UK.

Our mission for Vancouver 2010 is to enable every member of Team GB to reach his or her full potential, and in so doing, achieve a personal best performance.

In many respects, the BOA is the ‘Team behind Team GB,’ supporting athletes and sport performance is at the centre of everything we do.

Specifically, the BOA:

·         Provides a world-class performance environment for all Team GB athletes competing at the Games. We deliver Performance Centres that provide key services and facilities designed to enhance preparation for, and recovery from, competition and training during Games time.

·         Offers a sports science and medical research and development programme, which provides expertise on acclimatisation, hydration, jet lag, performance clothing etc. In many cases, this gives us a competitive advantage.

·         Delivers operational and logistical support to Team GB before and during the Games.  This includes areas such as travel and kitting out (with support from British Airways and adidas respectively), as well as accreditation, accommodation, transportation, legal advice and media relations.

·         Plans and operates the Preparation Camps, in Calgary and Lake Placid, which Team GB athletes use to train and acclimatise in the vital final few weeks prior to Olympic competition.

The BOA’s guiding philosophy is 'Better Never Stops' and we have worked relentlessly over the past years and months to ensure that we have taken any possible challenges into consideration and left no stone unturned in our preparations for Vancouver.

We want Team GB athletes to inspire the next generation of Olympic sport participants and enthusiasts in the UK through their performances on the field of play and their conduct as ambassadors for our country.

The ‘Team behind Team GB’ is led by Andy Hunt as Chef de Mission – a role comparable to being the Chief Executive of Team GB. The support team in place to serve Team GB in Vancouver includes world-class experts across performance, medicine, logistics, communications and hospitality and marketing. Andy Hunt will be strongly supported by Clive Woodward and Mark England as Deputy Chefs de Mission for sport and operations respectively. Click here to read Andy Hunt’s blog.