Leaders in the field of providing Olympic training camps

Mar 19 2008

NORTH Lanarkshire picked up its own Olympic ‘gold’ last week with a clean sweep in the bid to provide ‘Pre-Games Training Camps’ for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Four North Lanarkshire facilities featured in the joint North Lanarkshire Council/North Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd bid.

All four were successful – the highest number in any one Scottish local authority area – and will now be included in a new guide that will help each of the 203 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and 161 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) identify suitable facilities for training camps within the United Kingdom prior to the 2012 Games.

More than 600 facilities across the UK – 28 in Scotland – will feature in the guide, which will be published at the closure of the Beijing Olympic Games later this year.

Details of the facilities will also appear on a dedicated website that will be created to showcase the quality and variety of options throughout the UK.

The North Lanarkshire facilities that will be included in the guide and website (and the associated sports they can support as training camps) are :

Broadwood Stadium/sports facility/gymnastics academy – rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics.

Ravenscraig regional sports facility – badminton, basketball, handball, judo, table tennis, indoor volleyball, wrestling.

Strathclyde Country Park – canoe/kayak flatwater, rowing.

Wishaw Sports Centre – athletics, judo, indoor volleyball, wrestling.

Each of the facilities was assessed against strict technical criteria such as the ability to offer high quality sports training facilities; experience in 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.

Councillor Jim McCabe, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, visited Strathclyde Country Park – one of North Lanarkshire’s four ‘winners’ – to welcome the news.

He said: “The success of the North Lanarkshire bid – with the highest number of training camps in any one Scottish local authority area – highlights the quality of the world-class facilities we have on offer here, some of which, like the rowing course at Strathclyde Country Park are already of an Olympic standard.

“It also recognises that we have the skills, experience and infrastructure in place to ensure that we can support international visitors in preparing for the Games and ensuring London 2012 is a great success.

“This news comes at a very exciting time for the council as we are also bidding – in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council and civic pride group, New Lanarkshire Ltd – to host the 2011 International Children’s Games, which are known as the ‘mini-Olympics’.”

He added: “We are very proud of North Lanarkshire’s inclusion in this guide, which now gives us a role to play in London 2012 as well as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Strathclyde Country Park will be the triathlon venue). And if we are successful in our bid for 2011, then that will be a hat-trick of North Lanarkshire golds!”