By Matt Slater

The road to London 2012 starts down under this week for 120 talented teens, according to Team GB's new boss.

British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Andy Hunt is part of Team GB's contingent at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.

The five-day event, which will be contested by over 1,500 athletes from 31 countries, started on Wednesday.

"Those who get a chance to experience this kind of event are more likely to be successful later on," said Hunt.

"Examples of this would be Beijing medal-winners (gymnast) Louis Smith and (rower) Tom Lucy, who both medalled at the 2007 youth festival in Sydney."

Smith and Lucy were two of eight British Olympians last summer who also competed at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival, Team GB's first appearance in the event.

NINE STEPS TO LONDON 2012 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival 2009 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival 2009 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival 2010 Winter Olympics 2010 Summer Youth Olympics 2011 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival 2011 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival 2012 Winter Youth Olympics Official IOC events between now and the London Olympics

The Australians are fielding the biggest team, with 660 athletes and officials, but Britain's 190-strong team (including officials) is the third largest. China has the second largest presence in Sydney but New Zealand, Japan and the United States have also sent squads packed with medal potential.

For Hunt and the BOA, Sydney is the first of nine events accredited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) between now and London 2012, and each of them is crucial to the Britain's chances of success on home soil and in future Games.

"These events give youngsters the chance to compete in an international, multi-sport environment so they can get a sense of what it will be like to represent Britain at Olympics Games in the future," the 44-year-old former businessman said.

"We need to participate in all of them - and we will - not just to ensure we get the success we want in 2012, but beyond that in 2016 and in the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014."

Hunt dismissed suggestions the BOA was short of cash or overstretching itself in any way, and underlined his belief that as hosts of the next summer Games it was important for Britain to be an enthusiastic participant on the international stage.

Team GB's Sydney campaign begins in earnest on Thursday, with athletes in action in the archery, beach volleyball, canoeing, gymnastics and hockey competitions, although the men's and women's hockey teams have already played games, gaining a draw and a win respectively.

We think the Australian Youth Olympic Festival is better suited as a stepping stone for sub-elite athletes to get an idea of what the Olympics would be like AOC spokesman

But the real highlight of the first day was the Olympic-style opening ceremony at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Jess Walker was given the honour of carrying the British flag at the ceremony, a day before she goes for gold in the women's K2 canoe flatwater.

Walker, a European junior champion over 500m and 1,000m, is perhaps the most experienced member of the British team at the youth festival but her presence there has not been welcomed by everybody.

The 18-year-old is one of two British starlets in Sydney (hockey player Laura Bartlett being the other) who also went to the Beijing Olympics. Walker came ninth in the Olympic K2 500m event, a result that did not go unnoticed by the Australian Olympic Committee, the festival's organisers.

FROM SYDNEY TO BEIJING Aaron Cook (taekwondo) Tonia Couch (diving) Charlotte Craddock (hockey) Tom Daley (diving) Ashley Jackson (hockey) Daniel Keatings (gymnastics) Tom Lucy (rowing) Louis Smith (gymnastics) Team GB members at 2007 AYOF who also went to Beijing Olympics

"We could pick Melissa Wu or Cate Campbell, both of whom won medals at Beijing, but what's the point?" said an AOC spokesman.

"We think the Australian Youth Olympic Festival is better suited as a stepping stone for sub-elite athletes to get an idea of what the Olympics would be like."

Walker, however, is not the only member with of the British team with a strong pedigree and genuine hopes of success in London 2012.

Among the other British names to watch out for in Sydney are equestrian prospect William Whitaker, nephew of multiple Olympians John and Michael

Triathlete Jonny Brownlee is the younger brother of Beijing Olympian Alastair and a bronze medallist at the world junior championships.

And 17-year-old fencing star Jonathan May finished fifth in the under-17 world championships last year.

But perhaps the most interesting stories will come from the diving pool.

There, 14-year-old sensations James Milton and Meg Sylvester, both products of the Ponds Forge programme in Sheffield, will aim to match Tom Daley's exploits on this stage in 2007.

Overall, the 2007 festival was a huge success for the British team, with 91 of the 106 athletes winning at least one medal.

The final tally for Britain was 14 golds, 20 silvers and 14 bronzes, good enough for second in the medal table.

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