Jo Calvino, Sports lecturer at South Thames College brings a wealth of experience coming from elite sport whilst working across the sports development and education sectors bringing a new perspective to students within our sports courses.
Jo recently attended the Roma 2020 Weightlifting World Cup & Tokyo Olympic qualification event as a technical official. Jo is a category 1 Olympic technical official who is also an international athlete herself having competed for GB and England for over 20 years, who now also coaches and officiates within the sport.
Jo Calvino commented, ‘I was delighted to be selected to officiate at the Roma 2020 Weightlifting World Cup and continue to gain international experience officiating at world class events. As 1 of only 6 female officials in attendance it was a special event with some fantastic performances by athletes looking to gain Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020 later this year.
Rachael Watkeys, Curriculum Manager, Health Salon & Sports Services, has been the Head Coach of the Great Britain Women’s Softball Team since 2016. Before that she was the coach of the U19 women’s GB national side from 2012-2017. In that time Rachael has coached at 5 World Championships, 4 European Championships – winning two bronze medals, 2 Olympic qualification events, and coached and presented at five international coaching conventions.
This year Rachael will be coaching at another Europeans Competition in Italy. Rachael commented, “Whenever events have fallen into the academic year the College has very generously allowed me to pursue this opportunity with their full support and encouragement.”
