Local athletes to represent Geelong at national camp

TWO of Geelong’s junior athletics stars are heading to the Gold Coast to participate in the 2023 Coles Little Athletics National High-Performance Camp.

Geelong Little Athletics sprint hurdler Evan Bainbridge and triple jumper Cailin Walker will join 80 of the country’s best athletes for the inaugural under 14-year-old camp from Sunday onwards.

The four-day camp is designed to offer each athlete an opportunity to improve themselves on the track, in recovery, preparation, psychology, and give them a better understanding of the journey and process towards the elite.

It will feature coaching from current and former Australian international athletes and presentations about transitioning from national to international competition.

Bainbridge and Walker both received an invitation to attend the camp from their strong showing in the Australian Little Athletics National Championship in Melbourne in April.

Bainbridge finished fourth in the sprint hurdles, while Walker hopped, skipped and jumped to fifth place.

Both athletes said they couldn’t wait to attend the camp and learn more about the high-performance pathway.

“I’ve been doing athletics since under 11s, so it’s really exciting to get this opportunity,” Bainbridge said.

“I can’t wait to learn from the coaches both out on the track and in the workshops.

“We also do some pool sessions too, which will be really cool.

“They choose three or four people for each event from around the country, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of it.

“I hope it can help me improve my track times and try get higher on the rankings.”

I’m really looking forward to the workshops and hearing from the Australian athletes who have lots of experience,” Walker added.

“We get nutrition workshops too. It’s all going to be really relevant and great to learn about.

“One day I’d love to get to the world level, so this will be a great step.”

Bainbridge and Walker currently train more than three times a week with coaches at Landy Field, and also complete other methods of sports training.

“I like to do plenty of dancing and train quite a few times a week for it,” Walker said.

“It helps with my flexibility and makes my stepping a lot easier with triple jumping.”

“I like to make sure I can get nice and strong over the hurdles, so I head to the gym quite a bit,” Bainbridge said.

“You’ve also got to be flexible with the hurdles as well as have plenty of core strength, so I try work on it outside my training sessions.”

For more information, head to www.littleathletics.com.au