Guyanese Sarfaraz and Johnson attending GAPS Global training camp in Birmingham

Guyana’s National Para Table Tennis champion Gibran Sarfaraz and National Coach Linden Johnson both arrived safely at the University of Birmingham to participate in the Commonwealth Games Federation’s GAPS Global 2024 training camp.

GAPS is the acronym for Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain.

The goal of GAPS is to offer emerging athletes and coaches from the Commonwealth access to additional skills, knowledge and resources.

This is driven by advancing education and supporting the development of inclusive sport pathways that promotes positive social change in sport and communities.

The camp will run from June 8-18.

Twenty-one countries from across all Commonwealth regions are represented with just over 80 participants at the camp. It is funded and supported by the Commonwealth Games Federation in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, UK.

Athletes and coaches will undergo a series of tailored, highly personal workshops and sessions, which will lead them to explore the world of sport and athletes for social change.

They will gain knowledge in key skills they need for becoming compassionate, responsible and effective social change-makers.

The camp will focus on:

• Supporting athletes on their preparation and journey to Paris 2024 or as they step onto their development pathway for the future
• Providing developing athletes and coaches with skills, knowledge and opportunities to advance their capacity and abilities 
• Technical training session
• Coach development sessions as a strategy to providing opportunities for developing new talents in their respective countries 
• Educational sessions (i.e. sport science, safeguarding, anti-doping etc.) 
• Increasing the number of countries participating in para sport at the Commonwealth Games
• Providing opportunities for new, developing and more experienced para-athletes to improve their performance

GAPS is a sport for development and peace programme that supports the development of inclusive sport pathways throughout the Commonwealth.

Developed by the Commonwealth Games Federation and Griffith University, GAPS has expanded into a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship with other partners joining on this exciting but challenging journey.

The camp targets para Table Tennis and Powerlifting.