Allan Wells, (1980 Olympic Gold Medallist, 100m) launches South East Paralympic Pre-Games Training Camps Guide
Wednesday 11 June 2008
It was announced today (11 June) that the South East region has secured more Paralympic venues in the official Pre-Games Training Camps Guide than any other nation or region in the UK.
This Guide, which was launched in the region at the University of Surrey (one of the venues included in the guide), is produced by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to advise foreign Paralympic teams where they can train before the 2012 Games. The completed Guide will include 35 facilities for Paralympic sport from the South East including five venues from Surrey – the National Rifle Association at Bisley, Guildford Spectrum, University of Surrey, the Edge Leisure Centre in Haslemere and the Excel Centre in Walton-on-Thames.
This is a fantastic opportunity for all these venues as in the weeks, months and years leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, athletes from around the world will be training and preparing for the competition.
Some will choose to do this in their home countries but others will use facilities known as 'Pre-Games Training Camps' in and around the UK and South East. This brings with it economic benefits, as each country choosing a camp in the region will be given £25K of vouchers to spend in the local economy.
The South East region places particular emphasis on the Paralympic Games. Stoke Mandeville is the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, and the South East region’s Legacy Trust programme aims "to use the inspiration provided by the International Paralympic Movement, with its origins in South East England, to tackle disadvantage, raise aspirations and celebrate excellence."
Paddy Herlihy, SEEDA’s South East Regional Co-ordinator for the 2012 Games, comments: "The Paralympic Games were created in the South East and we are strongly supportive of the movement. We are committed to using the inspiration of the Paralympic Games to celebrate excellence in the field of disability. SEEDA is delighted to have been instrumental in securing more Pre-Games Training Camps than any other nation or region in the UK. We will now begin working with the venues selected to promote these excellent opportunities to National Paralympic Associations throughout the world, in order to ensure the South East makes the most of the Paralympic offer."
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