Malvern College appoints former Olympian as new Director of Girls' Sport
Malvern College has appointed triple Olympian and Commonwealth champion Christina Boxer as its Director of Girls Sport.
The first British woman to run 800m in under two minutes is keen to take the triumphs and passion of the national team in Beijing to the grass roots level and encourage girls of all abilities to achievement in the sports arena.
Christina, who competed in three Olympics from 1980-1988, took Gold and Silver medals in the 1982 and 1990 Commonwealth Games, and has coached top international athletes including an Olympic finalist, said: “I have been thrilled with the outstanding performance of the British team at Beijing and am pleased to be joining Malvern College at such an exciting time in British sport. I am passionate about helping young talent and having just missed out on a medal when finishing 4th in Seoul I know from experience that with encouragement, support and the right environment the Olympic dream can become a reality".
"I believe there is great potential to raise the profile of girls sport within the College and to also develop athletics in such an inspirational setting. The location and new facilities being developed together with the school's focus on encouraging creativity, confidence, integrity and achievement provide the perfect environment for helping young people reach their potential."
Christina, who ran 800m in 1:59.05 in 1979 a faster time than the British athletes competing in Beijing recorded in their qualifying rounds, said it is amazing that Britain is currently third in the Olympic medal table, but while standards have improved dramatically in many sports disciplines since I was competing at an Olympic level, middle distance and endurance running hasn't progressed as much - although hopefully the women in the 1500mts will perform well. With Team GB winning so many medals in sports like cycling, swimming and rowing it is obvious that Britain has much sporting talent and so I'm determined to take this opportunity to use my experience to help develop future talent in athletics."
"Many of our greatest British athletes, especially runners, have lived or been educated in large towns similar to the size of Malvern and so I passionately believe that there is a real and genuine opportunity to establish a running academy and develop some international athletes and future Olympians. The plans for an all-weather track at Malvern College to compliment the surrounding grass fields, parks, hills and trails provide the perfect surroundings for carefully developing running talent"
The Former British & Commonwealth record holder at 800m, 1000m, 1500m and mile joins Malvern College from the University of Worcester where she held the post of Course Leader of Sports Coaching Science and Senior Lecturer. She has travelled the world as an international athlete and coach, and has also worked in marketing, sports promotion for Nike and for national sports initiatives.
Christina, a highly qualified athletics coach, has also worked with rowers and a young sailor when studying Sports Psychology at Masters level. She is keen to put these skills, as well as her experience, into practice. She said "What the gold medalists in swimming, rowing, sailing and cycling have been stressing in Beijing is that the key to success is focusing on the process rather than the outcome with regards to their goals as you can control the processes. In recent years many schools have shied away from competitive sport but my philosophy is that life is competitive and it's the way you manage competition that is crucial setting goals for yourself and concentrating on the process of self-improvement is what makes a person progress and can be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. To eliminate the opportunity to develop by stifling competition can be damaging; it's crucial to learn from it and develop the skills to be able to deal with challenging situations."
To maximise the potential of attracting talented young athletes particularly girls - to Malvern College, Christina aims to set up a bursary to help put budding stars on the right track.
"My talent was initially developed at school and it will be a real pleasure to help nurture upcoming talent, said the international track and cross-country international, but it's just as important to encourage all levels to take part in sport as it gives you so many other skills that are useful in life. Apart from keeping you healthy, it gives you all sorts of skills such as the ability to work with people, to plan, work towards goals, make important decisions and to have confidence in yourself. All these things go beyond sports performance and add to your development and later life."
Lord McLaurin, chairman of Malvern College Council and former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, commented: "We are extremely pleased to have someone of Christina's ability and ambition joining our staff. Her vision for delivering and developing girls sport at Malvern College into the envy of the country closely mirrors our aim to nurture talents of all kinds and offer an outstanding all-round education."
The College is investing £10million in world-class sports facilities to open in September 2009, which will also be accessible to the community. As well as an all-weather athletics track, the world-class sports facilities will include a 25m swimming pool, an eight-court sports hall, a firing range, and squash courts. The investment builds on the school's excellent reputation for pastoral care as well as high co-educational academic standing.