WIREDGOV

The Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, today visited Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre to mark the completion of new £2 million elite training and rehabilitation facilities.

The investment by Sport England ensures home-grown athletes training for 2012 with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) will have the best possible facilities as they bid for Olympic and Paralympic gold.

Even before the improvements, Bisham Abbey was one of the cornerstones of Team GB’s record medal haul in Beijing – with 24 Olympian and 8 Paralympian medalists training there. The overhaul will help top rowers, hockey players, canoeists and synchronised swimmers stay ahead of the competition as they prepare for the London Games.

The new facilities include:

• A strength and conditioning gym with state-of-the-art weight machines and equipment, indoor rowing and canoeing machines and video analysis equipment in the EIS High Performance Gym
• A training and agility area, including 30-metre indoor track.

The improvements were planned - and implemented - in close partnership with national governing bodies of sport, UK Sport and the EIS.

Gerry Sutcliffe said: “Bisham Abbey is a world class facility and will support many of our Olympians and Paralympians’ preparations for London 2012 – just as it did before Beijing. The new training and rehabilitation facilities are at the cutting edge and embrace the latest sports science techniques that will be of great benefit to our rowers, canoeists and hockey players. The difference between finishing on the podium and missing out on a medal is tiny, so we need to ensure our athletes have the best training support possible to go for gold.”

Charles Johnston, Property Director at Sport England, said: "Winning Olympic medals isn't just about those final moments in front of the cameras in 2012; it’s about putting in years of hard work in training. The improvements to Bisham Abbey will help give top athletes that vital edge as they prepare for London 2012.

“As we unearth and nurture more talented young athletes, they too will benefit from training alongside our Olympians and Paralympians in state-of-the facilities.”

Richard Parker, Regional Director, EIS said: “We are delighted with the investment in the facility, helping us to build upon the sport science and medical services we deliver to elite athletes at this base. The EIS High Performance Gym, medical and rehabilitation areas will allow high performing athletes to access the best support they require in their bid for success at the London Games and beyond.”

Bisham Abbey is also an international high performance centre for tennis, and Sport England and the LTA have jointly funded four new ‘French Court’ artificial clay courts at the centre.

Growing the number of clay courts in Britain will help performance tennis players develop their clay court game, crucial for success on the international circuit. A number of Britain’s best junior AEGON Future Stars and senior Team AEGON players train at the LTA / Tennis Foundation funded WIN Tennis, which runs academies on site and programmes for Bisham Abbey tennis club and community members.