Olympics 2008

Team GB head off to the European Championships in Vittel, France, this weekend determined to put up another good show, but at the same time, seeing this tournament as another step along the way to Beijing.

That is not in anyway to under-estimate tournaments such as European Championships, or the FITA World Cup events, but just to give you an understanding of how much the Olympics mean to our archers; indeed to all athletes, I'm sure.

All members of the Team GB elite squad have their attention focused on one goal: clinching a place on the Olympic team. And rest assured, the three men and three women who do make the squad won't just be going for the experience.

They'll be in the hunt for medals - and all of those still in contention for Beijing are more than at home in the company of the world's top archers.

So who are the contenders for Beijing, and what's the process of selection?

Well, let me start with the process. It's quite simple really: six men and six women are competing for three places each, and there will be two shoot-offs in June to decide who will be going to the Olympics.

The final shoot-off takes place at Lilleshall, the headquarters of British archery, in the middle of June and thereafter we'll know who'll be waving the GB flag on behalf of archery in Beijing.

As for the contenders: well in the men's line-up the front runners must be Alan Wills, Simon Terry and Larry Godfrey.

I say that with no disrespect to the other three, but Alan, Simon and Larry have been representing Team GB on the international stage for the past couple of years, and very successfully too.

But - life is never that straightforward!

Tom Barber is a teenager from Norfolk who burst on to the international scene last year, and has been shooting superbly well since.

He's definitely one for the future, without doubt, but he's achieving good scores and holding his own, and I have little doubt that his form is making the other three look nervously over their shoulders.

Then there's Michael Peart. He's a lovely guy (as they all are, actually), and obviously a very talented archer, but I'm sure he won't mind me saying he has yet to cause a threat to the Terry, Wills, Godfrey stranglehold.

That said, he emerged on top from the first GB Olympic shoot-off last month, he's qualified for the European Championships, and with the confidence that comes from a good run of form, he could well break through.

There is certainly no lack of ambition or determination.

Completing the final six for the men is Simon Needham, a member of the British Olympic team in 2000.

He's 48 now, and has drifted away from the international scene since missing out on qualifying for the Athens Olympics four years ago but nevertheless has been a popular and highly respected member of the GB squad for many years.

As with the men, the women's international team has been dominated three individuals - Alison Williamson, Naomi Folkard and Charlotte Burgess - for the past few years, and if I were a betting man, I would wager money on those three going to Beijing.

They've performed well individually, and collectively - as a team - they've been enormously successful, and would definitely be in with a very good chance of a medal.

Alison, who won an individual bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, is chasing a fifth successive Olympic appearance, which would be a fantastic achievement.

Naomi reached the last 16 in Athens, while Charlotte, who was just 16, gave Alison a run for her money in the qualifying tournament in 2004.

Of the other three contenders, Emma Downie has featured in the first two World Cup events this year, and shot with Naomi and Charlotte in the team tournament at Porec, last month, when they finished fourth.

Lana Needham - wife of Simon Needham - just missed out on selection for Athens four years ago, and until then had been a regular on the international circuit, while Philippa Lowe, who qualified as the sixth candidate for the shoot-offs is, with respect, the outsider.

Those two shoot-offs will be extremely tense affairs, with so much riding on the outcome. For some it will be the chance of a lifetime, for others, perhaps the last opportunity they will ever have.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, the line between success and failure is wafer thin at the top level of sport!