Team Wales name Cath Shearer as Performance General Team Manager for Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games Wales, the national body responsible for selecting and sending elite athletes to compete as Team Wales at the Commonwealth Games, have appointment Cath Shearer as Performance General Team Manager.
Cath brings a wealth of experience to support Team Wales’ elite performance ahead of and during the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022.
A Senior Sport Psychologist and Strategic Lead for System Building at Sport Wales, Cath has worked as a practitioner psychologist for 18 years and has provided sport psychology support to over 20 sports. In this time, she has been selected to provide HQ psychology support at 3 Paralympic Games and worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team at numerous international competitions.
Cath has been part of the HQ team providing psychology support at one Youth Commonwealth Games (Pune), 3 Commonwealth Games (Melbourne, Delhi and Glasgow), and was part of the Swim Wales support team at the preparation camp on the Sunshine Coast prior to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Cath Shearer said:
“I’m delighted to be joining Commonwealth Games Wales in this new exciting and vital role for Team Wales ahead of the next Commonwealth Games.
Behind a successful team and the medal table, there is a deeper story of success and that all comes down to institutes working together, and the correct preparation and support being put in place to ensure our athletes have all they need to be able to produce their best performance.”
The main purpose of the new role is to drive and coordinate the delivery of performance support to Team Wales both ahead of and during Birmingham 2022. The Performance General Team Manager will work with partners, including Sport Wales Institutes, Commonwealth Games Wales’ partner, University South Wales and National Governing Bodies to raise support standards in science, medicine and athlete well-being.
Team Wales became a record-breaking team for a second Commonwealth Games in a row at the Games in Gold Coast Australia, back in April 2018. The team, made up of around 200 athletes, produced some of their best performances yet, bringing home 36 medals including 10 Golds, 12 Silver and 14 Bronze.
Chris Jenkins, CEO of Commonwealth Games Wales said:
“We are very pleased to welcome Cath Shearer into the Commonwealth Games team for Birmingham 2022. Her role as Performance GTM is critical in delivering high quality performance support to Team Wales athletes and support staff in the lead up and during the Games.
With Cath’s knowledge from her successful career and multiple games experience we are confident she’ll be a huge asset to the Commonwealth Games family.”