The athletes aged between 13-19 will be competing in 11 Olympic sports; canoe/kayak; diving; figure skating; gymnastics; hockey; rowing; sailing; shooting; table tennis and taekwondo.

 

More than 2,000 athletes representing 23 nations, including China, United States, Australia and South Africa, will compete, by invitation, at the AYOF. The event was set up by the Australian Olympic Committee as part of the legacy of the 2000 Olympic Games hosted there.

 

Mark England, who will be the team's Chef de Mission, saidL “This is the largest Team GB squad selected outside of a Summer Games and provides a fantastic opportunity for over 100 of our finest young potential Olympians.

 

“The BOA recognises the importance of participating in such events for the preparation and development of future Team GB Olympic champions. With the London Olympic Games less than six years away, now is the time to focus on developing our wealth of young talent. I am convinced that we will be following many of this team all the way to medal glory in 2012 and beyond”.

 

John Leighton-Dyson, Performance Director for British shooting echoed his words: “Competing at the AYOF will be a fantastic opportunity for our young shooters.

 

"Giving them the chance to compete against a world-class field, using the outstanding venue from the 2000 Sydney Olympics will be an invaluable experience for them personally and inspire them further towards 2012 and medal winning aspirations.”

 

Team GB includes a number of athletes who have already been successful at major senior level events including gymnast Louis Smith who won a gold medal on the pommel horse at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and Aaron Cook who won gold in the Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships.

 

Similarly, World Junior gold medallists Tom Lucy, Lewis Beech and Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell are amongst a squad of 20 rowers. They will be joined in the men’s four by Mohammed Sbihi, ­a world junior pair finalist in 2006.

 

“This is an extremely important opportunity for our young rowers to experience a multi-sport environment”, said GB Rowing’s Performance Director, David Tanner.

 

“We welcome the chance to compete against some of the top rowing nations in the world and will relish the opportunity to build the experience into our lead-up to 2012 and the London Olympic Games”.

 

Chris Adcock, 17, winner of 12 National badminton titles, is excited at the prospect of competing against the world’s best at the AYOF.

 

“I can’t wait to get to Australia, the AYOF will be the biggest event we have been to," he said. "We competed at the World Junior’s last year in Korea, but it just doesn’t compare to the scale of the AYOF.”

 

Andy Wood, Badminton’s performance director and who will be the team leader in Sydney believes the AYOF will be an important stepping stone in the development of the young players:

 

“This is a very talented group of young players and we are looking to take this group through to the Olympic Games in 2012," he said. 

 

"The AYOF is a fantastic opportunity for them to experience a multi-sport event, for this age group there is no other competition of that scale. We are hoping to maximise their experiences in Australia as much as possible."

 

To view the full list of athletes representing Team GB, please click here: www.olympics.org.uk/AYOF07/teamgb.aspx