News Article

Sport England and One North East are urgently reminding North East sporting facilities and venues that there are only 15 days to go before the deadline (31st Jan 2007) to be considered for inclusion in the Pre Games Training Camp Guide for the 2012 Games.

The London 2012 Games will showcase the best sporting facilities in the UK to all Olympic and Paralympic Teams in a guide to be published in Beijing in 2008.

Contributions of up to £26,000 will be available for all National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees to assist them in setting up pre Games training camps. This contribution will enable athletes to acclimatise prior to the London 2012 Games, whilst also helping teams and athletes from small nations who would not otherwise have the financial resources to prepare their athletes for the London 2012 Games.

Pre-Games training camps will engage the whole country and spread the benefits of the Olympic and Paralympic Games throughout the UK.  The training camps will provide a great opportunity for the nations and regions of the UK to host an international team of athletes, bringing cultural, economic and sporting benefits to all parts of the country.

Ian Gardiner, interim director at Sport England North East, said: “Sport England, One North East and key partners across the region are fully committed to maximising the opportunities offered by the London 2012 Games. We can already boast some world class facilities and it would be a significant boost for sport in the north east if we can successfully host a pre-Games training camp.”

North East sporting facilities can assess their suitability for hosting pre-Games training camps in the run up to 2012 by visiting the London 2012 website at: www.london2012.com/trainingcamps <http://www.london2012.com/trainingcamps> 

The website provides information about the sporting requirements and the critical additional support services that visiting teams will need. 

Sports facilities that believe they meet the standards for hosting a camp must apply for inclusion within London 2012’s guide using the on-line submission form available on www.london2012.com. The relevant information is shown there and sports facilities have only 15 days left (31st January 2007) to apply.

Timeline Reminder

31st Jan 2007:     Deadline for submissions from facilities
1st May 2007:     Nations and Regions Group submissions provided to London 2012 organising committee
10th Jan 2008:    Final selection made by the London 2012 organising committee for inclusion in Pre-Games Training Guide
31st July 2008:     Guide distributed to National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees

For further information regarding the process and your application please contact the regional coordinators: Tanya Gray, One North East, 0191 229 6584 or Ian Thurlbeck, Sport England, 0207 273 1681. Alternatively email pregamestraining@onenortheast.co.uk.

- Ends -

For further information:

Robson Brown
Lyndsay Cantu on (0191) 244 6646, lyndsayc@robson-brown.co.uk <mailto:lyndsayc@robson-brown.co.uk>
or
Lisa Ingledew on (0191) 244 6685, lisai@robson-brown.co.uk <mailto:lisai@robson-brown.co.uk>

London 2012 Press Office - +44 (0)203 2012 100
website at www.london2012.com <http://www.london2012.com/>