University hopes to become Olympic and Paralympic training ground

Warwick’s Sports centre is hoping to become a training and holding base for Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The application for the recognition that the sports facilities are good enough to provide a training base for athletes is a process that started two years ago and was finally accepted in April.

The University has been approved for the Olympic sports of athletics, fencing, volleyball and table tennis. The approved paralympic sports are archery, athletics, boccia, volleyball, table tennis, fencing and tennis.

James Robertson, men’s captain of Warwick Athletics, commented, “I think it’s a reflection of the great facilities we have for athletics here . . . . Hopefully it should force the powers that be to commit to maintaining and improving the sports facilities over the next couple of years, and hopefully raise the profile of sport on campus.”

The approval is based on many things including the quality of the facilities and infrastructure, the geographical location and any available accommodation. Warwick can boast all of these due to its abundance of student halls that are available during holidays, its excellent sports centre and its close proximity to Birmingham International Airport and easy access to London.

The University’s director of physical education and sport, Terry Monnigton said to the Coventry Telegraph, “We are very fortunate that we have fantastic sports facilities and fantastic accommodation at Warwick Conferences. Our athletics track is Olympic standard and the sports hall has the same flooring being used for Paralympic events.”

Monnington followed this by stating to the Boar that the sports centre management are being “very careful to ensure that there would be no disruption to our commitment to the student body.”

The Paralympic approval was due to the sports centre becoming much more accessible for people with disabilities; there is more wheelchair access, more electrified doors and there is new fitness equipment that is suitable for people with disabilities. These new services have also led to the centre gaining inclusive fitness accreditation from the Inclusive Fitness Initiative, which demonstrates the university’s strong commitment to catering for every ability. The equipment was officially launched on the 22nd January by Nigel Murray, a triple paralympic boccia medal winner.

There is the probability that the University may also get approval for the football facilities on campus and this may result in the University becoming a mini Olympic Village during the football period of the Olympics. This would be in July/August 2012 and so would not interrupt normal University business.