Worcester Warriors and the club’s home, Sixways Stadium, has today been included with London 2012’s Pre Games Training Guide.
A record number of sporting facilities across every part of the UK have featured in the London Organising Committee Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.
Over 600 facilities will appear in the Guide, to be published at the Beijing Games. It contains high quality elite sporting facilities right across the UK which will give teams and individual athletes a great selection of venues from which they can choose to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Sixways Stadium has been chosen as a potential base for Archery ahead of the 2012 games and the Guide will now be circulated to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). These organisations will then decide where they base themselves or where to send individual athletes to prepare and acclimatise for London 2012.
Charlie Little, General Manager at Warriors, said: “We are delighted to have been included in the Guide as a potential base for athletes ahead of London 2012.
“We were always keen to be involved, if possible, in some capacity in the biggest sporting event on the planet when it comes to the United Kingdom.
“There are no guarantees of success just by making it into the Guide. There will be fierce competition to host foreign teams and individuals. But being included in the Guide just shows just how much Sixways Stadium has developed and it is fantastic that Sixways has been recognised at this sporting elite level.
“Over the four years we plan to continue to develop the stadium with the creation of a new East Stand, continued improvement to the infrastructure around the site and work on a new North Stand to take capacity towards 20,000.
“The aim remains to make a sporting complex that the Midlands can be proud of and that any Olympic athlete would be keen to use as part of their preparations.”
Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee, commented: “We said that we wanted the London Games to be for athletes, and the facilities listed in this Guide will really help overseas athletes prepare well. It also provides a great opportunity for towns throughout the UK to get involved in our plans.
“The process we have been through shows a great spread of high quality facilities throughout the UK that can be used by elite level athletes.”
Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees, said: “I am delighted that LOCOG is making good progress in preparing this Guide which promises to contain an excellent range of sporting facilities.
“Training and acclimatising is an essential part of an athlete’s preparation for an Olympic Games. This Guide will greatly assist those NOCs wishing to experience training in the host nation to make suitable arrangements for the London Games.”