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Coventry University giving young athletes the edge at International Children’s Games with elite sport experience
Team Coventry athletes will be working with Coventry University ahead of the International Children's Games
University news / Student news
Friday 27 March 2026
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Athletes heading to this year’s International Children’s Games will get to experience how elite sports people prepare for competition thanks to Coventry University.
The university will be supporting Team Coventry, a group of 12 to 15-year-olds who will represent the city on the international sporting stage this summer.
In preparation for the games, which take place between 1-6 August in the city of Hualien in Taiwan, a team of sport science students from Coventry University are working with young athletes to help them perform at their highest level.
This involves undertaking assessments to help hone their training to its optimal level and working with sports psychologists to try and give them an edge in competition.
Coventry is the only UK city sending athletes to the games and many of those taking part are from local sports clubs the university works closely with.
This year the games, which see around 1,500 12 to15-year-olds from across the globe compete, will see Team Coventry athletes competing in track and field events, as well as swimming. Coventry City Council is co-ordinating the city’s involvement and has supported those representing the city at the International Children’s Games annually since 1997.
In addition to benefiting the athletes taking part, Coventry University students will gain valuable hands-on experience about what it's like to prepare sports people for competition.
The Team Coventry athletes will get an elite sports science experience - they will have the chance to see how professional athletes prepare for competition. The athletes and their coaches can use the information we gather to improve their training and hopefully the experience enthuses them to the study of sport science, helping them to understand the way multi-disciplinary teams can assist them to reach their potential. The work we are doing with them mirrors what we have done for a range of elite level athletes.
For our students this is an opportunity to apply what they have learned in their studies in a real-world context, to develop their skills and see how their work can help athletes to improve in actual competition. You can’t do everything in the classroom so experiences like this are essential for our sports science students.
Although the athletes will be competing as part of a Coventry team at the International Children’s Games, because we are the only UK city sending athletes, they will really be representing the UK as well which is an incredible experience for them.
Dr Jason Tallis, Associate Professor of Skeletal Muscle Function and Applied Sports Science, who is leading Coventry University’s role in the Games
This is a great chance for me to put my skills developed on the course into practice in a real-world scenario. Having these kinds of hands-on experiences was one of the things that drew me to the course at Coventry University, getting these vital experiences of working in a sports science setting helps my development and improves my job prospects.
It has been really good helping the athletes; you could see they were all really enthusiastic and knowing they are doing the right things in their training will help to improve their confidence and perform at their best in the competition.
Olivia Costello, first-year Sport and Exercise Science student
We’re delighted to have the support of Coventry University for this year’s International Children’s Games. Thanks to support from the university and its Sport and Exercise Science students, our brilliant young athletes from Team Coventry will have the chance to prepare for this year’s Games in the same way professional athletes do.
It’s an incredible opportunity for them and I am sure they will benefit greatly from the experience.
Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council
Find out more about studying Sport and Exercise Science at Coventry University and you can follow Team Coventry’s journey here.
