The Tees Barrage To Appear In London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide
3 March 2008
The Tees Barrage, British Waterways flagship Teeside white water course, has been selected to appear in the London Organising Committee Pre-Games Training Camp Guide alongside 18 other facilities from the North East, it was revealed today.
The decision is a testament to The Tees Barrage's high quality capacity and existing contribution to sport in the Stockton/Middlesborough area, as only those facilities of the highest standard were picked as camps for athletes to train at in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.
The North East is already popping the champagne corks in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games with a staggering 19 facilities from the region scheduled to appear in the Guide. This is a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of the North East and the outstanding Barrage on a global scale.
The Guide detailing the successful facilities will first be published at the Beijing Games when all participating Olympic nations will learn about The Tees Barrage and the other facilities the North East has to offer for canoe, kayak and slalom enthusiasts.
The Tees Barrage has been selected, particularly, for it's ability to host world class training for Throughout the North East there is capacity to host a range of teams training in sports across the board from athletics to wrestling and boxing to rhythmic gymnastics.
Laurence Morgan, General Manager, British Waterways Yorkshire, which owns and manages the site, said: "We are delighted with the announcement that the Tees Barrage has been selected to appear in the Guide as an Olympic training centre. We are confident that it will attract significant numbers of elite athletes for training purposes within a 1-2 hours travel for canoeists, rafting enthusiasts.
"British Waterways is committed to the success of the 2012 London Olympics and is already involved in restoring the waterways around the Olympic park. It is fantastic news therefore that we can also contribute to the Olympic training programme with one of our northern regional assets and demonstrates that the event is of national significance."
Currently The Tees Barrage provides facilities for water sports enthusiasts, team building and water safety training via the White Water Centre which operates on site. Around seven sporting events already use the venue year on year such as the national British Touring Jet Ski championships, and The Northern Region Water Ski-ing Championships.
Judith Rasmussen, regional director for Sport England North East, said: "The Guide highlights a number of great facilities available to communities across the North East. It's a tribute to Sport England investment through lottery and club development funds, and fantastic news for the region with a staggering 19 training facilities selected to appear in the guide.
"In playing host to Olympic athletes we will in turn raise the profile of the region giving us the opportunity to showcase North East sport to global audiences."
Tanni Grey-Thompson, 11-times Paralympic Gold medallist, said: " Congratulations to The Tees Barrage and to all those that have made it into the Guide. An athlete's preparation for the Games in terms of acclimatisation is very important so it is great that there will be a wide choice of venues that countries can choose from to get ready for London 2012 - from all over the UK.
"The facilities here look very impressive and could attract a wide selection of teams, bringing a boost to the local economy, and also a chance to set up sporting and cultural exchanges with the visiting teams."
Stacy Hall, director of communications & tourism at One NorthEast?, said: "It is expected that the London 2012 Games has the potential to provide a multi-million pound boost to business in the North East, as potentially one in three of the region's companies has the skills and services to benefit from London 2012 contracts.
"The Tees Barrage and all the other Training Camps are a great way to encourage anyone in the North East to get fit and take part in sport or physical activity. It is also set to raise aspirations among the region's sportsmen and sportswomen and pave the way for our future Olympians and Paralympians."
The Guide 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 North East. 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: "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 and the online website can continue to be used after the Games to locate sporting facilities. 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."
Facilities in the Guide range from well known major sporting hubs, universities and independent schools, community facilities, and sport specific facilities. A full list of the facilities that appear in the Guide is published by nation and region breakdown in the "Note to Editors". As well as having the obvious advantage of having similar climactic conditions to Games time conditions, other technical criteria were examined 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.
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This has been issued for Sport England North East by Robson Brown Public Relations.
For press information please contact Lyndsay Cantu at: lyndsayc@robson-brown.co.uk, 0191 244 6646, 07739948855
Note to Editors
The list of regional facilities is [/images/Sport_England_NE_Venue_Contact.pdf attached] with a region by region breakdown. 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.
Ruth Lognonne Clavering House Clavering Place Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3NGRobson Brown Ltd PR Junior Account Executive T: 0191 244 6637 E: ruthl@robson-brown.co.uk
British Waterways cares for a 2,000-mile network of canals and navigable rivers across the country and works with a broad range of public, private and voluntary sector partners to improve the social, economic and environmental benefits of the inland waterways.
For media information about British Waterways, please contact Lesley Grogan , on 0113 281 6850/07917 846254 or email lesley.grogan@britishwaterways.co.uk