Skip to main content

Brunel to be included in Paralympic Pre-Games Training Guide

The Guide contains a selection of high quality, sporting facilities that meet the technical criteria of national and international sports bodies and also accessibility and support service requirements to be a suitable venue to host Paralympic teams.

LOCOG chose Brunel as the venue for the official launch of the Guide due to the University's outstanding sports and ancillary facilities on campus, which are all accessible to Paralympic athletes. Following the University's application to be part of the Guide LOCOG have assessed Brunel as being a high quality venue to host training camps for 11 Paralympic sports:

  • Paralympic archery
  • Boccia
  • Football 5-a-side
  • Football 7-a-side
  • Goalball
  • Paralympic judo
  • Paralympic table tennis
  • Volleyball (sitting)
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Wheelchair fencing
  • Wheelchair rugby

The launch was attended by LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton along with Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball star and TV presenter Ade Adepitan. During the press call Paul Deighton presented Professor Ian Campbell, Head of Brunel 2012 Programmes, with a certificate to show that the University will appear in both the Olympic and Paralympic Pre-games Training Camp Guides.

Professor Campbell said, “I am delighted that Brunel University has been included in the Guide. The University has invested £250million in new facilities in the past 5 years, which means that we can now play host to world-class sports teams in both Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. We have been really pleased with the British Paralympic Talent Identification days that we held recently and are looking forward to welcoming both the Great Britain Basketball and Wheelchair Basketball squads onto campus for training camps this summer. It is a clear demonstration of our commitment to play a leading role in bringing some of the world's best athletes to Brunel between now and 2012.“

Following the official launch Professor Campbell lead the guests on a tour of the University, which included the Lancaster Suite with its 30 fully accessible rooms, and the Sports Sciences labs where research into the physiological requirements of Wheelchair Rugby was being performed.

It was also the first time on campus for Phil Lane, the Chief Executive of Paralympics GB who said, “It is a significant bonus for National Paralympic Committees around the world to benefit form the same process and awards as their Olympic counterparts for the first time. We have worked closely with London 2012 in evaluating these sites and are sure that the UK's nations and regions will provide excellent facilities for Paralympic athletes preparing for the London 2012 paralympic Games.


Photos

Ade Adepitan playing tennis in the Brunel Netball Hall