Missy Franklin hopes to join U.S. Olympic team in 2012

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Missy Franklin takes a rare few seconds to rest during a 

                                 Regis Jesuit practice.

London 2012 may seem a long way off for our guests that have already booked tours with us, but for young Olympic gold hopefuls the countdown is on and the pressure is building. If you would like information about our luxury tours on offer, email info@spyns.com for a list of our 5,7, and 10 day packages for every budget.

Missy Franklin is just your typical 15-year-old student if typical means being one of the best swimmers in America with hopes of being a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2012.

It's 4 a.m. and the Franklin household is coming to life. Mom D.A. starts the coffee and wakes her husband, Richard. Ruger, the dog, awakens as Richard puts breakfast in a bag and throws a parka and blanket in the warm dryer for their daughter Missy, just in time for her to make it to the car in her swimsuit.

It's the beginning of another 17-hour day filled with two swim practices, dryland practice and school for Missy Franklin, the 15-year-old Regis Jesuit sophomore and 2012 Olympic swimming hopeful. She is still chauffeured around to each destination by her dedicated parents, who are waiting patiently for her to get her driver's license in July.

Franklin has taken the swimming world by storm over the past two years — breaking into the world's top-10 rankings in seven events — but good luck getting her to brag about it. Missy can't bear her dad putting up Facebook updates about her accom- plishments. The family rarely talks about swimming around the house.

As she leaves home, one of just two visible signs of Missy's success hangs on the entryway wall, a framed copy of the October 2009 issue of Swimmer's World magazine with Missy doing her self-described worst stroke — the breaststroke — on the cover. When Franklin made that magazine cover is when their world began to blow up.

"When you see your daughter on the cover of a magazine, that just blew us away," said D.A., a family physician. "That's what really started it."

The magazine cover, coming after her per- formance at junior nationals, did more than add art to the wall. It aided her in getting a special invitation to join the U.S. national team for the first time at Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England, later that year. Placed in the lead position of the 400 freestyle relay, her time of 52.78 clocked in as the second-fastest leg in U.S. history.

"I didn't know anyone (there)," Franklin said. "I was so young compared to all of them. I was freaking out at the beginning because we were all given teddy bears to sign and throw up into the stands. I didn't want to throw mine because I thought someone will get it and not want it because they won't know who I am. I thought someone would throw it back."

The 6-foot-1 Franklin, who has a 6-foot-4 wingspan, needn't worry about being just another swimmer. America's top prodigy in the sport has a trophy shelf sagging in the middle. The medals that were once held up on a shower rod became too heavy and have found their way into drawers scattered around the house.

Missy has come a long way since maneuvering the pool without floaties as a toddler. She was recently named the youngest member of the U.S. national team set to compete in Shanghai in July, the final international competition before the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

"There has been an acceleration (of attention) as we get closer to London and Missy making the national team," said her father, who estimates the cost of Missy's swimming around the world so far equating to a full-ride college scholarship to a top NCAA school.

Over the past three years, her success has transformed family life from scheduling and travel to trying to fit in bits and pieces of a normal teen's life. Between practice and school, Missy, who manages a 3.95 grade-point average, said she finds ways to keep up with Regis Jesuit's academically rigorous honors schedule by finding her way to the dining room table to study, or her own study, whenever she has a free moment. Her snow days turn into school catch-up days. She occasionally has to take a day off from school just to recuperate.

"We don't have to make sure anything is done," D.A. said. "Missy takes accountability for her swimming, but also she takes responsibility for her schooling."

Her father agrees.

"This girl gives up a lot," he said. "She does very few things very well. There are a lot of distractions, but Missy chooses not to do them."

Missy's sacrifice of personal time has been amply rewarded as she solidifies herself on the international stage. Yet Missy said it is her time spent with her Regis Jesuit teammates that keeps swimming in perspective for her.

"High school swimming is just so much fun," she said. "High school state is unlike any other meet in the world. You know every person, lanes one through eight."

Her life may revolve around the pool, but she doesn't hesitate to be involved in other school activities. In December, at the World Champions meet in Dubai where she won a silver medal, Missy also was contemplating how she would ask a friend to Regis Jesuit's winter formal. She turned to teammate Nathan Adrian for advice.

"Well, just let him know that if he's mean to you that you have a bunch of older brothers on the national team who will go after him," Missy recalled of their conversation.

Her new "family" includes Adrian, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin and other Olympic-caliber athletes. Being around those world-class swimmers has her parents worrying less about their daughter as the baby of Team USA.

"It is hard, when you have a 13-, 14- or 15-year-old, just to hand them over to the USA," D.A. said. "That's what we have done since she has begun making national teams. The only time we see her at meets is from the stands, and occasionally she will come up."

Through a whirlwind of travel, school and swimming, Missy's life can be a blur. Her rising stardom is reaching beyond the pool.

Richard, the co-chair and executive director of Rocky Mountain Cleantech Open, which looks to help clean-energy startup entrepreneurs, said he had a reality check at a recent chamber meeting when John Brackney, president and CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, introduced him as Missy Franklin's father, rather than his job title.

"This is just another time when I realized my world was changing," he said with a grin.

D.A. prefers to stay in the background. Though she has traveled the world to follow her daughter, having missed just one of her daughter's meets, you won't find her in the front row making sure everyone knows who Missy is.

"I have always liked to stay in the background," she said. "But I know things are changing, and this last year things have been happening very quickly."

Before they know it, their daughter will be in Shanghai in July for the FINA World Championships and, next summer, the Olympic Trials in Omaha. Then, if everything goes right, it will be on to London and the 2012 Olympics.

It may be time to extend the trophy shelf.

Life in the fast lane

Wake up, breakfast in car, go to pool.

Practice with Colorado Stars, her club swim team.

Breakfast with Stars swimmers who attend Regis Jesuit High School.

Classes at Regis, and lunch.

Homework and meal in car.

Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Lone Tree for physical therapy and dryland training or Regis Jesuit practice.

Meal in car.

Colorado Stars practice.

Ride back home.

Dinner and homework.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.

A look at the Eco-friendly Olympic Water Polo Arena

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Specialised: water polo will have its own

arena on the Olympic Park site 

At Spyns we are busy planning our client’s adventures in the London. We have 5, 7, and 10 day tours available for every budget. Our Gold class tours is our premium package with suites reserved at London’s finest Hotel and it includes dinners with chef including Gordon Ramsey’s. Our Silver package is still extravagant; we have suites at a brand new central located luxury hotel, dinners and London tours. While our Bronze tour is designed for the Olympic goers who is happy to experience London by themselves all the while staying at a luxury hotel on the Thames.

Specialised: water polo will have its own arena on the Olympic Park site 

Hosting: Water Polo
Schedule: Water Polo: 29 July – 12 August
Capacity: 5,000
Fact: The Aquatics Centre and Water Polo Arena will be adjacent to each other in one of the most tightly-packed areas of the Olympic Park.
Test event: planned for 2012
Post games: the arena will be taken down, although it is expected that materials will be reused or recycled.
Transport: Stratford (DLR, London Underground, National Rail) West Ham (London Underground, National Rail)

Possibly the only elite sporting venue in the world to be built from recycled cushions, the water polo arena is a temporary venue located next to the Aquatics Centre in the south-east corner of the Olympic Park. The venue will feature a 37-metre competition pool and warm-up pool.

Designed to complement the look of the Aquatics Centre, the wedge-shaped arena will rise from 12 metres to 25 metres and feature a rippling roof made of recycled PVC cushions inflated with air to provide extra insulation.

It will share some of the Aquatics Centre’s back-of-house facilities such as catering, security and the area for broadcasters.
After the Games, the arena will be taken down. Various parts of the dismantled venue are due to be re-used or relocated elsewhere in the UK

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.

White wins 4th straight pipe title at Winter X

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Writing from the south of France where the winter has been relatively warm in January, snow sports have and resorts have had a tough season. This is not so for Shaun White who has been dominating the X Games, and Olympics for some years now. Spyns is hoping he’ll be in Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Games. For information on the 2012 London Summer Olympics, check out our website for a range of luxury affordable 5,7, and 10 day adventures.

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- Shaun White's sense of fashion was impeccable.

His snowboarding wasn't bad, either.

Wearing a black leather jacket and skintight pants, White captured his fourth straight superpipe crown at the Winter X Games as he held off Scotty Lago by performing his signature trick, a difficult maneuver few can do.

White, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, cemented the win on his second run Sunday night, pulling out the Double McTwist 1260 in which he launches himself high above the pipe, then does two head-over-heels flips and 3 1/2 rotations.

That was good enough to overtake Lago, who led after the first run despite competing with a broken jaw. Louie Vito was third.

Hard to believe this was White's first major competition since winning Olympic gold in Vancouver.

Just as stunning, it's only the second time since the Olympics he's even attempted the dangerous McTwist. He nailed the trick in practice the other day, and figured it was competition ready.

"I knew the only way to top Scotty's score was to pull out all the stops and land my best trick," White said. "I was a little nervous."

Before Sunday, White never really had to turn to the McTwist for a comeback win.

Usually, he's only brought it out for victory laps.

But the trick was spot-on when he needed it most.

"I'm happy that thing is in my back pocket," White said.

Almost as sharp as his performance was his garb. The Burton-created outfit was his design, his inspiration.

"It started out as a joke in a way because I sitting around talking about how we have a women's line for the White Collection, but we never get to promote it right because we don't have any women's riders for the stuff," White said. "I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to do it.' It feels like what I'd wear in street clothes."

With the victory in hand, White leisurely traversed the pipe on his final lap, spraying snow at the bottom.

A fitting end to a rocky Winter X.

He captured his 11th gold medal at Winter X, but the legend of White took a ding when he washed out of the slopestyle competition, failing to qualify for the finals Sunday afternoon.

White won the slopestyle event in 2009 at Winter X, but his game slipped as he focused on the pipe in the lead-up to the Vancouver Games.

"I'm proud to show up and take a beating in slopestyle and then come here and grab a four-peat," White said. "I knew going into slopestyle what I was up against. I went anyway because I wanted to get that fire lit. It takes so much for me nowadays to get fired up about something."

A young group of riders led by teenager Sebastien Toutant will definitely stoke that fire, showing White just how much catching up he has to do in the event that tests a rider's ability to handle a variety of terrain by rolling over rails, jumps and other obstacles.

"I'm sure if he practices more, Shaun White will be able to do good in slopestyle as well," said Toutant, who edged fellow Canadian teen Mark McMorris in the finals. "When he learns all those double corks, he's going to be able to put it down every run. I can't wait for him to get back on slopestyle. He's a rock star."

White, of Carlsbad, Calif., looked at the superpipe as an opportunity to redeem himself.

This may provide even more motivation: There's a strong probability the International Olympic Committee will add the snowboarding slopestyle event - along with skiing slopestyle and skiing halfpipe - to the program for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

White has some polishing to do.

"I'm probably at the bottom of the barrel in slopestyle, trying to catch up with where they're at," he conceded.

It's strange to see White so vulnerable on a snowboard, so human.

"I don't think he's ever been far behind in anything in snowboarding," said Kevin Pearce, who's serving as an analyst as he recovers from a traumatic brain injury he sustained just over a year ago while practicing in the halfpipe. "I think that's exciting for him, because he's never had anything to work on. He's unstoppable in the pipe."

Lago was competing despite breaking his jaw, cracking a bone in his chin, chomping through his tongue and chipping teeth two weeks ago when he landed awkwardly from 40 feet in the air while filming scenes for a movie.

He grabbed the early lead with one of the best runs of his life.

"I think it was better than the Olympics," said Lago, who won the bronze in Vancouver. "I was fired up. But I knew Shaun was going to throw down. That's Shaun White."

True to form, White went big on his second attempt, pumping his fist after a nearly flawless run that included the McTwist.

"I think if you believe in your tricks enough, they come through for you," White said.

In other finals on the last day of Winter X:

- Snowmobiler Tucker Hibbert, of Goodridge, Minn., won his fifth straight crown in SnoCross.

- Rookie Enni Rukajarvi of Finland captured the women's snowboard slopestyle final.

- Despite both crashing on the final jump and sliding across the finish line, Canada's Kelsey Serwa ended the reign of France's Ophelie David in women's skier X. Serwa bruised her tailbone and scraped her nose in the win, while David didn't seek medical treatment.

- John Teller, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., held off defending champion Chris Del Bosco in men's skier X, while Casey Puckett, of Aspen, ended up with the bronze.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. http://www.spyns.com/.

Longer pub hours and no council staff leave during Olympic Games

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At Spyns, we are getting excited about the Olympics. London will come alive, with an expected 2million people coming to town the council is looking at extending pub hours and public transport. The city will be a buzz as the largest series of planned events starts. Spyns has a luxury adventure for everyone with 5, 7, and 10 day tours available from opening to close.

Pubs and restaurants in central London could be open for longer hours during the Olympics.

Westminster council said today it would consider longer licences and announced public transport operating hours will also be extended.

The council, which will host many Olympic events, has ordered a ban on key staff holiday during the summer of next year.

It may also draft in key council staff from Manchester with experience of the 2002 Commonwealth Games to cope with demand.

Westminster set out its plans to cover 100 days in the summer of 2012 when it will play host to the largest series of planned events in its history.

These include the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the World Pride Parade which take place before the Olympics and Notting Hill Carnival between the Olympics and Paralympics. Westminster will play a pivotal role in the success of the Games, expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors including the International Olympics Committee who will be staying in Park Lane.

It will host the Olympic torch relay, beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade, archery at Lord's and Olympic and Paralympic road events such as marathon and cycling.

Transport for London is extending public transport operating hours for those returning from events.

Councillor Angela Harvey said: "We will need to strike an appropriate balance between the needs of the Games themselves; helping Westminster businesses to maximise the opportunity which the Olympics present; and supporting the wider Westminster residential and business communities to get the best out of the Games."

All building work now under way is due to be complete by the 100 days.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.

The year head for the London 2012 Olympic Games. What do you need to know?

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From tickets going on sale in March to the final lick of paint being administered to the Olympic Park, 2011 represents a key year in for Olympic goer as the biggest Olympic Games yet, builds up momentum. Spyns takes a looks at the key dates throughout the year.

JANUARY
London 2012 organising committee will publish dates of Olympics and Paralympics tickets going on sale. Water polo, beach volleyball and handball are expected to find out their fate for 2012 inclusion from the British Olympic Association. Volleyball was granted an automatic spot last month, so it remains to be seen whether the BOA will take ahard line approach to the remaining sports. The full schedule of test events are also due to be announced in the first quarter of 2011 too.

FEBRUARY
The Olympic PR machine will crank up a few gears when full details of all the 650 separate sessions for the 26 Olympic sports are published. It will give the British public time to take in and plan when the stars are likely to be competing.

MARCH
Likely to be around March 15 – 500 days to go until the start of the Games – some 6.6 million tickets for all the Olympics sports will go on sale. A giant clock counting down the hours until the start will also be installed in Trafalgar Square.

Around 2m people have already registered for tickets in preparation for the launch. Ticket prices will vary according to the demand for the sport and will range from £20 to £2012 – the most expensive ticket at the opening ceremony. Ticket sales will not be a bun fight. It will be in ballot form, the idea being that families can plan their Olympic experience with preferences for sessions.

The IOC co-ordination commission will also visit London to inspect preparations. They were last in town in December.

APRIL
London will be abuzz in the first week of the month when hundreds of chief execs and sponsors attend Sportaccord 2011, the annual convention which gels sport and business. Themed ‘Why Sport Matters’, the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster will feature over 100 federations from 60 nations, including Sepp Blatter and Martin Sorrell.

The International Olympic Committee’s executive board will also meet in the capital for the first time since the city was awarded the 2012 Games.

MAY/JUNE
Details on the London 2012 torch relay are expected to be announced. The relay will involve 8,000 runners, more than half of whom will be aged 24 or under, and will go to within an hour’s travel of 95 per cent of the population of the British isles.

JULY
Mark your cards for July 27 when celebrations will take place for exactly one year to go to the Olympics.

AUGUST
A month for fine-tuning. Test events for beach volleyball in Horse Guard’s Parade, sailing in Weymouth, open water on the Serpentine and rowing on Dorney Lake will all take place. Badminton’s World Championships at Wembley Arena will also act as a Locog test event. Meanwhile, events marking one year to go to the opening of the Paralympics will take place on Aug 29.

SEPTEMBER
Tickets for the Paralympics are expected to go on sale.

OCTOBER
The IOC co-ordination commission will make their second visit of the year to London to inspect preparations.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
The main venues including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Velodrome and the Olympic Park are due to be completed by this time and handed over to Locog to be fitted out for the Games. The main press centre is also likely to be finished.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Written by Rod Gilmour, Olympic and Commonwealth Games sports reporter for the Daily Telegraph

Olympic Games borrow sports from X Games

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Spyns tours loves meeting clients needs and if you like a sport at the Olympic Games that is new or not as popular as swimming, athletics, or beach volleyball, then get in contact with us at www.spyns.com, http://www.london-olympiad.com/, email henry@london-olympiad.com or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. We have a range of deals for the London 2012 Olympics’ and register you interests for the next 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

For 15 years, the Winter X Games have acted as an incubator for hip, new Olympic sports that tend to lure larger and younger television audiences. Although officials at the International Olympic Committee do not credit the X Games directly with influencing what winds up in their program, many recent additions — and the athletes who star in them — earned their start at the Winter X Games, which begin Thursday on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo.

It began with halfpipe snowboarding. Next came snowboard cross, and ski cross. Now three more events — ski halfpipe and snowboard and ski slopestyle — appear set to become the latest, in time for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“The chances are extremely high for ski slopestyle, ski halfpipe and snowboard slopestyle to be part of the Olympic program in 2014,” Christophe Dubi, the I.O.C. sports director, said in an e-mail.

Competitors in ski halfpipe use the same 22-foot-tall halfpipe as snowboarders, and they perform similar soaring, spinning aerial maneuvers. Ski and snowboard slopestyle share a downhill course familiar to anyone who has seen a mountain resort terrain park filled with features like picnic tables, handrails and massive jumps, from which competitors perform a series of tricks for a judged score.

All three events are already part of the 2012 Youth Olympic Games. Adding them to the Winter Games would continue a trend.

After the success of ski cross and snowboarding halfpipe in Vancouver, the International Ski Federation, known as F.I.S. — the sanctioning body for skiing and snowboarding at the Olympics — has fast-tracked Winter X Games mainstays ski halfpipe and snowboard and ski slopestyle. In October the I.O.C.’s executive board empowered Jacques Rogge, the committee’s president, to make a final decision about which new sports to add.

Rogge is expected to announce their inclusion by the end of April.

“We’re all expecting it and training right now, basing the next few years on it being in,” said Sarah Burke, who will compete in the women’s ski superpipe final at the X Games on Thursday. Burke, a Canadian, won gold medals in superpipe from 2007 to 2009.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer in my eyes,” Simon Dumont said about the Olympics adopting halfpipe. On Friday Dumont, 24, will ride in the men’s superpipe final, where he has won six medals, including two golds (2004 and 2005).

If selected, ski halfpipe and slopestyle would be the first freeskiing events in the Olympics. Freeskiing is a new-school movement and has a sensibility similar to snowboarding.

“Ski slopestyle and ski halfpipe are the type of events that the younger generation practices every weekend in snow parks,” Dubi said. “Observing what happens on the ground is the best way for the I.O.C. to remain relevant in its choice of Olympic program content.”

The Olympics, in turn, have made mainstream stars of competitors like Shaun White and the Australian Torah Bright, who each won gold medals in snowboard halfpipe at the Vancouver Games and will compete in superpipe and slopestyle at the Winter X Games this week.

Still, the marriage between the Olympics and snowboarding provides a cautionary tale for freeskiers.

In the early 1990s, before the principals in snowboarding were well organized, F.I.S. recognized the sport. In turn the I.O.C. deemed F.I.S. the governing body for Olympic snowboarding. A rancorous relationship between the ski federation and snowboarding worsened, and several of the world’s best riders, including Terje Haakonsen of Norway, boycotted the debut of snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

Ever since, snowboarders have criticized F.I.S. judging criteria, contest formats and Olympic qualifying requirements, all of which they say stifle the sport. Although many of these concerns have been addressed, some snowboarders still prefer not to compete at F.I.S. events.

Last week, as F.I.S. held the world snowboard championships in La Molina, Spain, several of the world’s top competitors were in Killington, Vt., at a Winter Dew Tour event.

“Snowboarding has its own tours, which are far more competitive than the actual F.I.S. tour, which is how you qualify for the Olympics,” Bright said. “I would very much like the I.O.C. to work with us to make it easier for us to participate in the Olympics.”

Last week, Haakonsen, who has gone on to help create Ticket to Ride, known as T.T.R., a rival tour to F.I.S., criticized the skiing body in an open letter published by several news media outlets.

Freeskiers have taken note. Dumont and Chris Schuster, ski sport organizer at the Winter X Games, helped create the Association of Freeskiing Professionals, an international rating system for competitions meant to ensure progressive courses and consistent judging.

“We wanted to make something that wouldn’t repeat the problems with snowboarding,” Schuster said.

This season there has been buzz about a new generation of freeskiing tricks, including a 1,260-degree triple flip, an inverted maneuver while spinning three and a half rotations. In an attempt to put on the best show at the freestyle world ski championships next month in Utah, the freeskiing professionals have discussed using their judges with F.I.S. officials.

“The cool thing about our sport is how unique it is, the creativity, and how it’s changing each year and the progression,” Dumont said.

After all, landing in the Olympics is one thing. The competitors also want to land the gnarliest tricks.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/, email us at henry@london-olympiad.com or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Hockeyroos look to youth ahead of the London Olympics

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Spyns clients are fans of every sport, and with over 45 disciplines being played in London 2012 it can be hard to choose a favourite. Female hockey and Beach Volleyball have both gained popularity in recent Olympic and I’m sure the Australian female hockey team will be closely watched in 2012.

New coach Adam Commens has wasted little time making his mark on the Hockeyroos squad, bringing seven new young players into the national squad.

Following last weeks national training camp in which over 60 players from across the country participated, almost a third of the Hockeyroos squad has changed from 2010 in an attempt to fast track several players ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

The new comers are Jill Dwyer, Bianca Greenshields, Marnie Hudson, Kandice Olivieri, Jodie Schultz, Jade Warrender and Kellie White. Jade Close, who played six senior games in 2010, has also been included in the national squad for the first time.

Commens said he was encouraged by the amount of talent shown by the players at the training camp.

“Overall I think we have an exciting group. It was pleasing to see how much talent was out there at the camp. When it came time to select the final 24 for the national squad it was actually quite difficult and there were several players who were not far away. However the 24 players we selected were the standout players. It was good for everyone to start with a clean slate and show what they can do,” said Commens.

In an indication of the style of play Commens intends for the team, many of the new players will bring speed and scoring power to the Hockeyroos, areas which have been lacking from the team in recent times.

“A lot of the new players will bring speed in the front. Jade Close, Marnie Hudson, Kandice Olivieri are all strikers and Jill Dwyer is an attacking midfielder. We were looking to inject some speed into the team and not only do these girls bring that but they also have good ball control at pace. I think they can assist the strikers we already have and they will receive good support from the quality midfielders in the team such as Casey Eastham, Megan Rivers and Ashleigh Nelson,” said Commens.

In an attempt to match it with some of the more physical European nations, Commens said he purposefully targeted athletic and bigger bodied players for the squad.

“That is one area where we need to improve. In the past it has been the Hockeyroos who have set the tone in terms of physicality, and we need to get back to that,” said Commens.

Aware that there is little time remaining until the 2012 London Olympics, Commens said that he hoped bringing some younger players into the squad now would help them gain experience and fast track their development.

“It is going to be a big test for these girls when we play some good teams over the next few months. We will see how they handle it, it is a big step up to this level of hockey,” said Commens.

Their first opportunity to do so will come sooner rather than later, with the Hockeyroos set to play world number one team Argentina, USA and Germany in a series of matches in Argentina from February 9-20.

“There is only 18 months left until the London Olympics so we need to work quickly and one way to do that is to expose our players against quality teams as often as possible,” said Commens.

Three players who were previously in the national squad – Kate Hollywood, Alison Bruce and Stacia Joseph, have been retained in the development squad.

“All three showed enough during the camp to suggest they are worth having in the group. They need to work hard to improve their games so that they can force their way back into the senior side,” said Commens.

Former Hockeyroo Renee Trost has also worked her way back into the program, securing a place in the development squad. At 30 years of age, Trost has not been in the national program since travelling to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as an emergency.

“She did very well at the camp. Physically, she is one of the best players in the whole program. That strength and her ability to break the lines could see her move back into the national squad and when she plays over the next few months we will see where she is placed at an international level,” said Commens.

In addition to selecting the national and development squads, Commens has also awarded AIS scholarships to six younger players outside of the Hockeyroos squad. Commens said this was done keeping an eye to the future to assure long term success.

“We need to be continually building for the future and I feel that these girls could be a chance to make it in the team for the London Olympics. But if they don’t, it is important that we begin their development for beyond London so they will be ready down the line in order for the team to have sustained success,” said Commens.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Olympic stadium: Don't betray the legacy of London's Games

www.london-olympiad.com

Spyns clients have been looking into our 5, 7, and 10 day tours focusing on Opening and Closing ceremonies, Swimming, Athletics, Basket ball, and Beach Volleyball. The Olympic Stadium has a maximum capacity of 80,000 but will have 30,000 removable chairs so after the games it can be converted for other purposes.

As West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur football clubs fight over who will take over the main arena it would be wise to remember why we won the Games in the first place.

London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games because the city's bidding team promised a legacy – for athletics and for east London.

Whether those promises are kept depends in part on a vote by the board of the Olympic Park Legacy Company. Members will consider rival bids by West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur football clubs to take over the main stadium after the games. A crucial difference between the offers is that West Ham would preserve the arena, complete with running track, and modify it to suit the needs of a football stadium. Spurs would demolish it and build something more fundamentally soccer-friendly.

Most football fans agree that athletics lanes spoil their view. Spurs says it would compensate runners by investing in athletics infrastructure in Crystal Palace. But removing the track from east London would be a clear breach of the commitment to make the Olympic park "a purpose-built home for athletics for generations to come".

Spurs' main backer is US entertainment giant AEG, which has its eyes on the site as a concert venue. West Ham has event company Live Nation on board for similar reasons, but also has financial support from Newham council, the local borough. That local connection is vital. The Tottenham bid is commercially punchier – who pays to see athletics these days? – but it is also mercenary. Whoever takes over the site will inherit fabulous infrastructure and transport links, funded by the taxpayer. The decision about who should benefit must be about more than commerce. It is easy to see why AEG would like a piece of that action, and why it makes sense for them to make Spurs the vehicle. But

Tottenham is a place, not a brand. Its football club shouldn't be uprooted to chase a nice little earner for the proprietors.

Meanwhile, the promise was of an Olympic legacy for athletics and for east London, which presumably extends to its historic sporting institutions. Only one bid passes that test.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.