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Olympic honour for University’s Sports Centre

04/03/2008
 
 
Walsall Sports Centre was officially announced as a base yesterday in a major coup for the University, which will see elite athletes using its facilities.Image of sports centre
 
It will be included in the Guide for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for the Olympic sports of Basketball, Judo and Taekwondo.
 
The Gorway Road venue is already one of the few judo centres of excellence and plays host to international sporting competitions.
 
University of Wolverhampton Director of Sport Mike Chamberlain said: “This is a great honour for us and we look forward to welcoming sporting stars and helping put the region firmly on the map for the 2012 Olympics.”
 
Mr Chamberlain, who is a former international judo star himself, added: “We are really excited to be selected and were very optimistic that the high standard of our facilities would help us make our bid successful. The centre provides judo enthusiasts with the chance to train in advanced surroundings. We also have outstanding basketball facilities.”
 
The Guide will be used by countries organising their training programmes in the run-up to the Olympics.
 
Walsall Sports Centre was part-funded by a £2 million Lottery Grant which helped create a permanent matted judo area. It is also used as a sports and fitness venue for the wider community.
 
Potential venues for the training bases were assessed against strict technical criteria.
 
This included 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.

Further information

For more information please contact Emma Kilvert in the press office on 01902 322003.
 

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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