“The difference between finishing on the podium and missing out on
a medal is tiny, so we need to ensure our athletes have the best
training support possible to go for gold.”
The Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, visited
Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre recently to mark the completion
of the new £2 million elite training and rehabilitation
facilities.
The investment by Sport England ensures home-grown a thletes
training for 2012 through the English Institute of Sport (EIS) will
have access tothe best possible facilities as they bid for Olympic
and Paralympic gold.
Even before the improvements, Bisham Abbey was one of the
cornerstones of Team GB’s record medal haul in Beijing – with 24
Olympian and 8 Paralympian medalists training there. The overhaul
will help top rowers, hockey players, canoeists and synchronised
swimmers stay ahead of the competition as they prepare for the
London Games.
The new facilities include:
- A strength and conditioning gym with state-of-the-art weight
machines and equipment, indoor rowing and canoeing machines and
video analysis equipment in the EIS High Performance Gym
- A training and agility area, including 30-metre indoor
track.
- The improvements were planned and implemented in close
partnership with national governing bodies of sport, UK Sport and
the EIS.
“Bisham Abbey is a world class facility and will support many of
our Olympians and Paralympians’ preparations for London 2012 – just
as it did before Beijing,” said the Minister.
“The new training and rehabilitation facilities are at the
cutting edge and embrace the latest sports science techniques that
will be of great benefit to our rowers, canoeists and hockey
players. The difference between finishing on the podium and missing
out on a medal is tiny, so we need to ensure our athletes have the
best training support possible to go for gold.”
Charles Johnston, Property Director at Sport England, said:
"Winning Olympic medals isn't just about those final moments in
front of the cameras in 2012; it’s about putting in years of hard
work in training. The improvements to Bisham Abbey will help give
top athletes that vital edge as they prepare for London 2012.
“As we unearth and nurture more talented young athletes, they
too will benefit from training alongside our Olympians and
Paralympians in state-of-the facilities.”
Bisham Abbey is also an international high performance centre
for tennis, and Sport England and the LTA have jointly funded four
new ‘French Court’ artificial clay courts at the centre.
Growing the number of clay courts in Britain will help
performance tennis players develop their clay court game, crucial
for success on the international circuit. A number of Britain’s
best junior AEGON Future Stars and senior Team AEGON players train
at the LTA / Tennis Foundation funded WIN Tennis, which runs
academies on site and programmes for Bisham Abbey tennis club and
community members
Find out more about Bisham Abbey