Pacific Island Countries snap up Lancashire Sports Facilities as 2012 training Base

Fifteen Pacific Island countries are set to use sports facilities in Lancashire as their training base in the run up to the 2012 Olympics in London.

The officials from the Oceania National Olympic Committees were so impressed by the facilities that they want to their athletes to use them to train and prepare over the next three years.

Sports facilities to be used in Lancashire

Preston Sports Arena, Cottam

Myerscough College, Preston

St Augustine’s New Avenham Centre, Preston

Fishwick Recreation Ground, Preston

Stonyhurst College, Clitheroe

Edge Hill University, Omskirk

Anderton Centre, Chorley

The full list of Facilities to be used

Four of the sports facilities to be used are located in Preston these include, Preston Sports Arena, St Augustine’s New Avenham Centre, Fishwick Recreation Ground and Myerscough College.

Phil Walsh the assistant director of leisure and community services at Preston City Council says “when the (Olympic) bid was won we said that this would be a Games for the whole country.”

“Signing this agreement means Preston will get a piece of the action.”
Some of the countries which will be using the facilities in Lancashire are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Palau, Gaum and Micronesia.

These countries are looking to send their swimmers, athletes, football teams and judo players to Lancashire to train.

Preston Sports Arena, one of the facilities to be used by the athletes

If everything goes according to plan the countries could return to use the facilities in preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Adrian Ibbetson, academic director of sport at UCLan said “the international athletes will provide role models for the next generation of kids in Preston.”

He also said there could be an opportunity for students to go out to the countries to do work placements. This will enable them to gain valuable experience and skills which will help them in the future.