Dee returns to her old uni

Leeds Metropolitan to develop solo sailing star's physiological and psychological performance

Dee Caffari has teamed up with a team of sports science experts from her former University, Leeds Metropolitan, to shape her into the ultimate professional sailor as she prepares to race the world’s leading Open 60 sailors in her Aviva Ocean Racing Campaign.

The experts at Leeds Metropolitan University are tasked with monitoring and improving both Caffari’s physiological and psychological performance. Caffari has enlisted their experience at developing elite athletes to ensure her fitness levels are superior to her rivals. The training schedule will be designed specifically to give her the strength and stamina to compete for the entire duration of the races, enabling Caffari to push hard while others may need to rest.

The scientists will regularly carry out measurements on her heart, body mass and the effects of the training programme. To assess her fitness levels, the Carnegie Centre for Performance Sport uses state of the art finger-tip blood sampling technology to measure haemoglobin and blood lactate alongside monitoring heart rate response and blood pressure during incremental running on a treadmill.

Former school teacher Dee Caffari has shown she is tough by sailing around the world into the prevailing winds and currents in the record-breaking 2006 Aviva Challenge. She now faces the world’s best ocean racers in the 2008 Vendée Globe and is out to prove she is fast as well as tough.

The Vendée Globe is regarded as the most gruelling race in the world with competitors racing solo around the world for up to 100 days in high winds and ferocious seas. Open 60 racing requires not only a massive skill set, but also the ability to multi task and keep pushing day after day. The harsh physical and mental environment will demand that Caffari attains an incredible level of fitness in order to achieve her goal.

Caffari said: “I know from the Aviva Challenge last year that sailing non stop over such a long period drains you both physically and mentally. Racing against the best in the world will be a whole new experience. I know I need to download expert knowledge from a variety of disciplines over the next two years to ensure I am competitive in the Vendée Globe. The guys at Leeds Met are putting a professional fitness programme together, which I know will help give me the edge over many of my rivals."

Caffari will be returning to the Headingley Campus, where she graduated in 1995, for the physiological tests at the Carnegie Faculty of Sport & Education’s Centre for Performance Sport. The centre is one of the world’s leading sports development centres and has helped some of Britain’s best athletes including Dame Kelly Holmes and Tracey Morris.

Malcolm Brown, Performance Advisor at Leeds Met, commented: “To become an elite athlete requires not just grit and determination, you also need careful planning and preparation to succeed. Using our facilities and experts Dee will be able to monitor her progress to ensure she is in the best condition possible. Leeds Met are proud of Dee’s achievements and are pleased to be supporting one of our former students in her latest campaign."