World Junior Championships Shadow Squad 

In 2010 the World Junior Championships will be held in Moncton, Canada from July 20-25. Athletics Australia will send a strong team of talented juniors born between January 1, 1991 and December 31, 1994 to this event.

To ensure the best possible results at the World Juniors next year, Athletics Australia are initiating a shadow squad of eligible athletes to monitor their progress and assist where we can in preparations.

We would like to invite athletes to nominate for the World Junior Shadow Squad and ask that they do this before November 1, 2009.  

There are a number of things that we require athletes and coach to do as an obligation of being part of the shadow squad. These are outlined in the table below and will be enforced once athletes have been accepted into the squad.

Squad obligations	Explanation
Blood test	Full blood count, iron studies and ferritin levels completed in November 2009 and March 2010 by your local GP. To test for low iron levels and to ensure athlete is able to maximise training and competition output.
Athlete monitoring form	Athletes are required to complete an online monitoring form each week. This form will take 5 minutes to complete and is required to be submitted for a Monday to Sunday training week (see link below).
Anthropometric analysis	Athletes will be required to have their skin folds measured monthly. This will be done through the SIS/SAS network and will be organised on acceptance into the squad.
Coach yearly plan	Personal coaches must complete a yearly plan (template sent to coaches on athlete selection) and emailed back to Rosie Ditton at Athletics Australia, who will send it on to the relevant National Youth Event Coach as a point of discussion.
Coach monthly contact with NYECs	Personal coaches will be required to initiate some contact with the relevant NYEC each month to discuss how the athlete is going and to see if there is any assistance required.

In order to be considered for the World Junior Championships and the shadow squad, athletes must complete an online registration form. This form can be found within the High Performance section on the Athletics Australia website or by clicking here.

In addition to this, Athletics Australia and the National Youth Event Coaches will be holding two information sessions for your personal coach to assist in planning and competition opportunities, to be held during the season and post-U20 nationals. One of these sessions will be at All Schools (for those who will be attending) and the other will be during the U20 nationals.

For further information please contact:

Sara Mulkearns
sara.mulkearns@athletics.org.au
Office: 03 9869 5023
Mobile: 0419 711 118
Fax: 03 9820 3544

Rosie Ditton
rosie.ditton@athletics.org.au
Office: 03 9869 5011
Mobile: 0410 574 117

Click here to access the online monitoring program