15-year-old Morven McCulloch is embarking upon the adventure of a lifetime.

The tennis player from St Andrews, has been named amongst 61 top young athletes to represent Team GB at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Tampere, Finland from 18-25 July 2009.
 
The 10th edition of the EYOF will see nearly 2500 athletes from 49 European nations competing in a total of nine sports: athletics, cycling, gymnastics, judo, swimming, tennis, basketball, handball and volleyball. Participating athletes will be between 13 and 16 years old, depending on their sport.

“I really didn’t expect to be picked for the team so it’s a great honour to be selected and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Morven, who last month marked her debut in a senior event by qualifying for the main draw of the $10,000 tournament in Edinburgh.

“The 2012 Olympics is a big goal of mine so the experience of playing in the Youth Olympics will be amazing. 

“Once I’ve experienced this type of event and atmosphere then it will help me prepare a lot better for an event of this size in the future.”

Few are more pleased than Mike Aitken who has coached Morven since she was seven.  “All along she has always said she would like to make a living from the game so this is another step in the right direction,” he said. 

Morven has for the past two years attended the Scottish Tennis Academy in Edinburgh under its head coach Marcel du Coudray.

Aitken, who still catches up with Morven at weekends, is very impressed with the progress she has made since joining.

“She is different from other girls in that she has slightly more variation in her game and mixes it up more than most.  She can adjust to all surfaces, and though she’s not the biggest hitter, her weight of shot has built up since she has been at the academy.”

Supporting her over the same time span is the Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport.  Providing high performance expertise to Scotland’s potential world class talent, its expert teams work together to deliver essential support services locally in sports medicine, sports science, strength and conditioning, and career and lifestyle guidance.

“The Academy is really good, there’s loads of support from both coaches and I play loads of tennis, up to 15 hours a week,” she said. 

“At the moment I’m working on being aggressive from the baseline, particularly with my forehand.
 
“The Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport gives me nutritional and Strength & Conditioning support.  It’s really helpful because I know what I need to work on and what I need to do to improve.”

At the 2007 EYOF, Great Britain finished third in the medal table with a superb haul of nine gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals. Team GB has been represented at every edition since it began.

A total of 28 British athletes have represented Team GB at an EYOF and also gone on to compete at an Olympic Games. Most recently Hannah Whelan, who participated in the 2007 EYOF in gymnastics, went on to represent Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
 
Said Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England: “It’s fantastic and a huge privilege to be taking a young and talented Team GB to the 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival. I’m confident that we will see some outstanding performances by the 61 athletes competing across the sports of athletics, cycling, gymnastics, judo, swimming and tennis.
 
“The Olympic Festival gives us the chance to discover future Olympic Champions and offers a fantastic opportunity for the athletes to experience a multi-sport environment reminiscent of an Olympic Games.

"The Festival strives to provide a true Olympic experience to young competitors, and the Opening Ceremony incorporates the traditions of an Olympic Games with an athletes’ parade, athletes’ and officials’ oath, lighting of the Festival flame, and the raising of the Olympic Flag.”

RE-J
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