26th June 2009

2012 Performance Centres

 

26 June 2009

Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London and Loughborough University have been selected by UKA’s Olympic Task Force to become the new 2012 Performance Centres.

Supported by Lee Valley Park Authority and Loughborough University – and backed by UK Sport investment – the new 2012 Performance Centres will provide British athletes with the best possible facilities, support staff and environment.

The existing High Performance Centres in Birmingham and West London (Brunel University and St Mary’s College) will continue to be supported but as regional training centres alongside Sheffield, Cardiff, Bath and Manchester. Athletes will still have access to these centres, but there will be limited support services, as opposed to the permanent professional staff based at the two 2012 Performance Centres.

Charles van Commenee, UKA Head Coach – Olympics, said: “It has been a thorough process, but we have decided that Lee Valley and Loughborough will become the 2012 Performance Centres where we will concentrate most of our resources in these crucial next few years.

“Lee Valley and Loughborough are already good centres for performance sport. But ‘good’ is not good enough. If we want to win Olympic and World Championship medals, we need ‘excellence’. We will make these centres world-leading environments of excellence.

“In the coming months, we will work hard on developing all aspects of these venues’ facilities further so they provide the perfect environment for elite athletes and coaches.

“Everyone within the sport in the UK shares huge ambitions for the next few years. Together we can meet those ambitions. Athletes based at Lee Valley and Loughborough can be sure that every single provision will be given to enable them to succeed at Olympic and World level. The 2012 Performance Centres will be where British athletes can prepare and train together to take on and beat the world’s best.”

There will be further announcements made in the next two weeks regarding the restructure of the UKA performance department, including the appointment of two world-leading athletics performance experts as Centre Directors at Lee Valley and Loughborough.

Until the incoming Directors take up their posts, Steve Paulding (Lee Valley) and Neil Black (Loughborough) will act as Interim Centre Directors.