UIPM Para Sports Spotlight: UK Para Pentathlon Projects receive funding boost

The first ever Pentathlon GB Para-Pentathlon Training Camp and Discovery event was hosted in Liverpool (GBR) on January 13-14. 

The training camp symbolised the progress already made in the Para-Pentathlon project which has already made a big impact in Great Britain.

The country was the site of much progress when during last year’s UIPM 2023 Laser Run World Championships the UIPM Para Laser Run World Championships was live-streamed for the first time, featuring Para athletes from Egypt, France and Great Britain.

The aim of the January camp in Liverpool was to extend existing registered athletes and engage new participants from across the UK in a multi-sport pathway involving both the Laser Run and swimming disciplines of the sport.  In total, 35 athletes from Exeter to Edinburgh were involved over the weekend. 

They were supported by national-level coaches and classifiers, as well as LJMU BSc Sport Coaching and MSc Sport Psychology students and aided by LJMU Sport staff and Liverpool City Council as facility hosts. 

The athletes were exposed to technical laser shooting drills, Laser Run cardio-based training, swimming technique, sport psychology workshops, as well as the new athletes engaging in the Para Pent Classification process.

At the start of the weekend a discovery event was also held to introduce new participants to the sport, with people attending from across Merseyside and beyond.

There was also a large emphasis on team building and fun. In addition, a separate activity stream was started with PhD student Jozef Grindley from the LJMU School of Engineering scoping the experiences of Visually Impaired athletes in seeking to re-design the pistols to augment feedback for the athletes.

Feedback from the event has been extremely positive relating to community building, developing self-belief and training knowledge as the research group continue to break down barriers to increase inclusivity in Modern Pentathlon.

The project, which is run by researchers Dr Nic Robinson and Danny Cullinane from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, launched in January 2023 and has since exploded in impact across all scales in its first year.