Over 50 Facilities From Across The Yorkshire And The Humber Region To Appear In London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide
51 sporting facilities from the region, covering 29 sports, will feature in the London Organising Committee Pre-Games Training Camp Guide, it was announced today.
Successful venues include the English Institute of Sport Sheffield, the John Charles Centre for Sport, Richard Dunn Sports Centre, York University and the Costello Arena in Hull.
Martin Havenhand, Executive Chair of the Yorkshire Committee for the 2012 Games said “I am delighted but not surprised that Yorkshire and Humber has a strong presence in the Training Camps offer for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sport has long been one of our region’s great strengths and is central to the Yorkshire Gold strategy. Attracting National Olympic Committees to base their Pre-Games Training Camps in the region is not only important for Sport but has real benefits for Business, Tourism, our Communities and Culture. The facilities and resources for sport we have in our region will be a major contribution towards achieving the aims set out in Yorkshire Gold”
David Gent, Regional Director, Sport England Yorkshire said "Yorkshire and Humber is home to many excellent sporting facilities and the fact that they will feature in the Guide means we now have a fantastic chance to showcase them to the rest of the world. The hard work to attract teams to train in Yorkshire has already started, with sports venues, local authorities, accommodation providers and many other organisations working together to offer the best possible package to Olympic and Paralympic teams.
Many of the venues featured in the guide have received Sport England investment. I'm really pleased that across the region, this investment has helped to create a very, very strong network of sports facilities that are available to local communities and elite athletes alike."
Over 600 facilities from across the UK will appear in the Guide, to be published at the Beijing Games. It contains high quality elite sporting facilities right across the UK which will give teams and individual athletes a great selection of venues from which they can choose to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Guide will be circulated to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). These organisations will then decide where they base themselves or where to send individual athletes to prepare and acclimatise for London 2012.
Extensive details of the facilities will appear on a dedicated website showcasing the quality and variety of options throughout the UK which will help NOCs / NPCs decide where to train. The national tourism agency, Visit Britain, is developing this new website with LOCOG and will bring its experience of marketing destinations and tourism products to international audiences.
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is also able to offer a financial award of up to £25,000 to NOCs/NPCs to help encourage teams to base themselves in the UK. LOCOG has an allocation from its privately raised budget for this process and believes this will be an incentive for NOCs / NPCs to base themselves in the UK.
Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee, commented: “We said that we wanted the London Games to be for athletes, and the facilities listed in this Guide will really help overseas athletes prepare well. It also provides a great opportunity for towns throughout the UK to get involved in our plans. The process we have been through shows a great spread of high quality facilities throughout the UK that can be used by elite level athletes. The new website will continue to be an asset to keep an up-to-date log of the elite facilities we have across the UK.”
Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister, said: “The strength and diversity of our sporting infrastructure is demonstrated by so many high quality facilities having met the strict criteria to be included in this Guide. This is a real opportunity for communities across the UK to capitalise on the benefits that hosting 2012 offers. There are no guarantees of success just by making it into the Guide. There will be fierce competition to host foreign teams and individuals, and now it is for every nation and region, every venue, to sell itself internationally.”
Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees, said: “I am delighted that LOCOG is making good progress in preparing this Guide which promises to contain an excellent range of sporting facilities. Training and acclimatising is an essential part of an athlete’s preparation for an Olympic Games. This Guide will greatly assist those NOCs wishing to experience training in the host nation to make suitable arrangements for the London Games.”
Simon Clegg, Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, said: “LOCOG’s Pre-Games Training Camp Guide is an outstanding publication, highlighting the huge choice of world class facilities on offer within the UK, which will greatly assist the other NOCs and NPCs in their final preparations for London 2012. The last weeks of an athletes’ preparation for an Olympic Games can have a significant impact on their performance. I am confident that this Guide, together with LOCOG’s generous financial award scheme, will enable a far greater number of Olympic and Paralympic teams to participate in pre Games training within the host nation than in any previous Games.
Facilities in the Guide range from well known major sporting hubs, universities and independent schools, community facilities, and sport specific clubs. A full list of the facilities that appear in the Guide is published by nation and region breakdown in the “Note to Editors”. They were assessed against strict technical criteria such as the ability to offer high quality sports training facilities, experience of hosting elite teams, comfortable but affordable accommodation, the ability to offer appropriate catering, good transport links, access to a good hospital, and good sports science facilities.
Facilities that appear in the Guide will now market their facilities directly to NOCs and NPCs. There will be workshops organised to give guidance on this.
This is an official Operational Note from LOCOG, distributed by the Yorkshire Committee for the 2012 Games.
Note to Editors
For further information, contact:
Caroline Gilbert Sport England: 020 7273 1639
caroline.gilbert@sportengland.org
Click here to see the list of facilities
Click here to see the distribution map of facilities
Facilities were invited to apply in July 2006. The assessment process was carried out during 2007. For further information please contact the London Organising Committee Press Office on 0203 2012 100.
|
