Cardiff Met wishes athletes and support staff all the best for the Commonwealth Games 2022

This week Cardiff Metropolitan University held a breakfast at the National Indoor Athletics Centre at the Cyncoed campus to say goodbye and good luck to all athletes and support staff taking part in this year’s Commonwealth Games.

Cardiff Met has an impressive 40 athletes and 12 support staff representing Team Wales, England, Guernsey and Jersey across 11 sports, all of whom have studied or work at the University. Cardiff Met has an enviable reputation for producing world class athletes in many disciplines and this is demonstrated by the range of sports represented.

From athletics to boxing and hockey to cycling, Cardiff Met will be in the thick of competition from day one of the Commonwealth Games and Stef Collins, Gold Coast silver medallist herself from 2018 where she captained the England Basketball Squad in 5 v 5 and who is now coaching the 3v3 game, is excited to be involved:

“Cardiff Met does a great job of supporting you – you’ve got the facilities here and the support staff and everything that helps you develop as a person and as an athlete and that speaks for itself based on how much success there has been with how many Welsh athletes there are now at these Games.”

When asked about the Cardiff Met mindset, Stef said: “There’s one tag line that has always stood strong with me which I experienced in the 2012 Olympics is that ‘better never stops’ so it’s knowing that, OK, you’ve put in all this hard work and you’ve gone through this process from where you’ve started to where you’ve wanted to end up but it never feels quite finished or polished …. but you want more, you want to go and see what else you can do.”

A former Olympian with Team GB, Stef studied a Master’s in Sports Development and Coaching at Cardiff Met and is now on the staff as a coach of the Cardiff Met Archers WBBL Team.

Dan Rabbitt (Judo U60Kg) spoke passionately about how Cardiff Met has helped him prepare for this sporting highlight:

“Cardiff Met has given me the confidence to speak to my lecturers about managing my time between study and training and that communication and understanding helped me get through my undergrad degree. They have helped me to balance and manage my time in a healthy way and without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Seeing off the athletes, Director of Sport, Ben O’Connell said:

“The Cardiff Met delegation for this year’s Commonwealth Games demonstrates the extent to which sport is integrated into our DNA. As a University, we sit firmly on the global map due to our unparalleled sports facilities, the dedication of our staff and our unique sport system.

“On behalf of the entire Cardiff Met community, I would like to wish all athletes and support staff the very best of luck in Birmingham. You are part of a special university and we are immensely proud of you all.”

Keep up to date in the build up to the Commonwealth Games by following Cardiff Met Sport on Twitter at @CMetSport and Instagram at cardiffmetsport as well as @cardiffmet main Twitter feed.

Cardiff Met students, staff and alumni taking part in the Commonwealth Games 2022:

Jeremiah Azu	Athletics	100m
Joe Brier	Athletics	400m
Hannah Brier	Athletics	200m
Piers Copeland	Athletics	1500m
Jenny Nesbitt	Athletics	5000m
Aled Sion Davies	Athletics	Discus, F42-44/F61-64
Jake Hayward	Athletics	1500m
Jonny Hopkins	Athletics	3000m SC
Adele Nicoll	Athletics	Shot
Julie Rogers	Athletics	Discus, F42-44/F61-64
Harrison Walsh	Athletics	Discus, F42-44/F61-64
Charlotte Arter	Athletics	10000m
Harrison Walsh	Athletics	Discus, F42-44/F61-64
Rosie Eccles	Boxing	70Kg
Harvey McNaughton	Cycling	Team Pursuit, Kilo
Daniel Rabbitt	Judo	U60Kg
Jasmine Hacker-Jones	Judo	U63Kg
Ashley Barnikel	Judo	U48kg
Fay Pitman	Weightlifting	71Kg
Iestyn Harret	Triathlon	Mixed relay and individual
Isabel Morris	Triathlon	Individual Female
Rhys James-	Triathlon	Guide
Gemma Frizelle	Gymnastics	Rhythmic
Gareth Furlong	Hockey – Men	Player
Dale hutchinson	Hockey – Men	Player
Joe Naughalty	Hockey – Men	Player
Luke Hawker	Hockey – Men	Player – Captain
James Carson	Hockey – Men	Player
Jo Westwood	Hockey – Women	Player
Livvy Hoskins	Hockey – Women	Player
Ella Jackson	Hockey – Women	Player
Jade Atkin	Wheelchair 3 v 3	Player
Ollie Turner	Jersey	Triathlon
Josh Lewis	Guernsey	Triathlon
Suzy Drane	Netball	Player / co-captain
Nia Jones	Netball	Player / co-captain
Bethan Dyke	Netball	Player
Georgia Rowe	Netball	Player
Owen Jenkins	Rugby 7’s	Player
Sam Cross	Rugby 7’s	Player
Support Staff
Nick Wakely	WRU	Assistant Coach
Matt Elias	Guernsey Athletics	Coach
Stef Collins	England Basketball – 3v3	Coach
Rhi Galvin	Hockey – Women	Analyst
Rebecca Daniels	Hockey – Women	Programme Manager
Danny Newcome	Hockey – Men	Head Coach
Alison Harrison	Netball	Umpire
Sara Moore	Netball	Head Coach
Gemma Davies	Netball	Performance Analyst
James Thie	Athletics	Coach
Ryan Spencer-Jones	Athletics	Coach
Nathan Stephens	Athletics	Disability Sport Wales – Performance Pathway lead
Team Wales Staff
Cathy Williams	Team Wales	Head of Engagement
Anna Stembridge	Team Wales	Non Exec Director
Dr Dan Clements	Team Wales	General Team Manager for Performance