WIREDGOV

A pioneering £23 million sports complex which gives members of the public the chance to use the same facilities as Olympic athletes will be officially opened by Princess Anne today (Tuesday Sept 28).

More than half a million people each year benefit from the philosophy of community involvement at the Sports Training Village at the University of Bath.

During her visit the Princess Royal will meet coaches, staff and athletes at the complex, including Athens Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener (4 x 100m relay) and bronze medallist Georgina Harland (modern pentathlon).

The Princess will also see sports including athletics, basketball, badminton, football, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, netball, swimming and tennis.

The Sports Training Village was funded through a £21m investment from Sport England, a grant from the Lawn Tennis Association and additional funds from the University of Bath. It opened in October 2003 and is the first of four similar complexes in the UK built using lottery funding,

The complex is important in giving access to sports facilities to students and University staff, leading athletes and members of the public.

The complex’s facilities include indoor and outdoor athletics tracks, 20 tennis courts, a judo dojo, three fitness suites, 50m and 25m swimming pools, a bobsleigh push-start track, grass and synthetic pitches, a dance studio, a sports injury clinic, video analysis facilities and conference facilities.

Organisers expect up to 700,000 people to use the complex each year, with regular visits from schools as far away as Bournemouth and Taunton. Regional, national and international sporting events have been held there, including an international 5-a-side football competition.

The Princess Royal will tour the facility with the University of Bath Vice-Chancellor, Professor Glynis Breakwell, and Director of Sports Development, Ged Roddy, who has worked to build the University of Bath as a major sporting centre since he began his post in 1992. He was awarded an MBE in 2000 for services to sport.

Professor Breakwell said: “It will be an honour to have the achievements of the staff and athletes at the Sports Training Village recognised by a visit from the Princess Royal to formally open the facilities.

“The University of Bath has made a significant contribution to the promotion of sport in the UK and, in 1970, was the first university to offer sports scholarships.

“I believe that the Sports Training Village will enable the University of Bath to develop into an international centre of excellence for sports performance and training, as well as sports education and research. The University is also very conscious of the need to promote sports as part of a healthier lifestyle for all age groups and ability levels and these facilities are also available to local schools and clubs, as well as individuals from the local community.”

Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport, said: “This facility is a fantastic resource, not only for our elite sportsmen and women to train – but also for the local community to get active and be inspired. I’m certain this will also prove to be the training ground for our young future Olympians who will hopefully win gold in London 2012.”

Roger Draper, Chief Executive of Sport England, said: “It is a great pleasure to see this state of the art multi-sport facility fully operational. This centre is now firmly positioned as a sporting hub for the South West of England. Consequently it will help achieve our two main goals of increasing participation in sport and boosting the success of our professional athletes. We have invested substantially in this facility because we firmly believe that Bath has the ability to drive through these objectives.

“The English Institute of Sport’s National Medical Director Rod Jacques will also be based out of Bath. He will focus on continuing much of the invaluable work of the institute in preparing and supporting out top athletes.”

During the visit Princess Anne, who is the British Olympic Association President and a former Olympic competitor, will see the new sports injury clinic, human performance centre and the fitness suite where tri-athletes and bob-skeleton athletes train.

Other athletes she will meet will include Sydney 2000 bronze medallist Kate Allenby (modern pentathlon), double Olympic medallist Kate Howey (judo), swimmers Mark Foster and Darren Mew, and champion bob-skeleton competitor, Kristan Bromley.

The Princess Royal’s visit begins in the morning, when her helicopter lands on St John’s Field on the University campus, where she is greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Lady Gass. The Princess departs two hours later.

The Princess Royal, an expert horsewoman, competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British three-day eventing team.

The Sports Training Village is part of the sporting activities at the University, run under the TeamBath brand. The University also has a Department of Sport and Exercise Science, which is a recognised centre of excellence for research and teaching