Southampton and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
The University of Southampton has a strong desire and willingness to become involved with the London Olympic Games and Paralympics in 2012 and is ready to face the most significant sporting challenge in the United Kingdom for many years. Here are just some of the ways which demonstrate our contribution to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Supporting Team GB in its preparations for 2012
The University's world-renowned Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics (WUMTIA) is one of eight organisations chosen as Innovation Partners to UK Sport, providing support to the UK's best athletes and coaches so that they can reach their full potential in international competitions.
Engineers from WUMTIA used our R J Mitchell wind tunnel for testing to accelerate the development of British cycling's track bikes and riders to help with their success at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In addition to supporting British cycling, our School of Engineering Sciences currently has three Engineering Doctorate students sponsored by UK Sport to allow in-depth study of other sports in a research-based environment.
Sport staff in our School of Education are involved in research and consultancy projects projects at local, national and international levels and work alongside key organisations to effectively plan and deliver sport in the south of England. The school has a purpose-built Human Performance Laboratory to undertake sport and physical activity research.
Southampton as a pre-games training camp for 2012
World-class athletes have been invited to use our sporting facilities for training in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. The Jubilee Sports Centre on our Highfield campus and Boat Hard on the River Itchen have been selected for the official Pre-Games Training Camp and appear in a list of more than 600 British venues that feature in the official training camp brochure, produced by LOCOG.
The Jubilee Sports Centre will offer international competitors training facilities for the Olympic sports of badminton, basketball, judo, indoor volleyball, wrestling, while the Boat Hard will provide facilities for sailing.
The Centre is a state-of-the-art £8.5 million complex, located on the University's Highfield Campus. Its facilities include a six-lane 25-metre swimming pool, a split-level gym with 140 fitness stations - one of the largest facilities of any UK university - and an eight-court sports hall, used for badminton, volleyball and basketball.
Olympics and the local community
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are about more than medals and we have taken the opportunities afforded by the Games to further our contribution to ensure a lasting legacy for sport and the community.
Our Community Sports Volunteer Ambassadors have created a 2012 inspired project that will involve local school children taking part in various sports, creating and designing Olympics related flags and T-Shirts and a team challenge around the University to uncover and answer Olympics and Paralympics related questions and facts. We also hope to take our Olympic and Paralympic knowledge into local primary and secondary schools in the form of interactive workshops, with our student volunteers taking a lead role.
We are encouraging our volunteers and potential volunteers to help with translating literature for all the many nations used before and during the Olympics. Plus we are supporting our volunteers through the officiating accreditation pathway in time for 2012 and getting student volunteers recognised by various NGBs, Youth Sports Trust and other organisations to help train them up to become valued and skilful volunteers in time for the Games.
Cultural Olympiad
The London 2012 Games are not just about sport. They will also celebrate cultures, people and languages - in London, the UK and around the world. The Cultural Olympiad, which launched in September 2008 with an Open Weekend of events, is a four-year celebration on a scale never before seen in Olympic and Paralympic history.
The University is playing its part in the Cultural Olympiad in a number of ways:
- the three professional arts organisations on the University's Highfield campus - John Hansard Gallery, Nuffield Theatre and TurnerSims Concert Hall - were actively involved in the Open Weekend and have projects planned for the duration of the Olympiad
- the University is involved in SHAPe (Southampton's Heritage and Arts People), a city-wide group of individuals and organisations seeking to champion the whole spectrum of cultural and creative interests in the City, including the Cultural Olympiad
- the University is a member of the Creative Campus Initiative, a consortium of South East Higher Education institutions working together to help realise the potential of the Cultural Olympiad.
Historical research being carried out in the School of Education in collaboration with English Heritage will also contribute to the Cultural Olympiad.
A number of Olympic-themed events have also been planned. The recent Southampton City Lecture explored the challenges faced by the city to create a powerful and positive legacy that extends from sport to economic development, regeneration, skills, employment, culture and tourism. Later this year, we hope to host a conference focussing on disability sport and Paralympism in Southampton to raise understanding of the issues facing disability and Paralympic sport and services.
Building partnerships
We are part of a partnership called Active Southampton, which includes the City Council, Southampton Solent University, the PCT (Primary Care Trust), SUSTRANS (The UK's leading sustainable Transport Charity), Saints in the Community, Solent Youth Action and Southampton Voluntary Services.
The aim of Active Southampton is to get people more physically active through making the people of Southampton more aware of what sporting activities are out there for them to take part in.
How will the Olympics affect you?
The Olympics will affect many people in many ways from provision of training camps for elite athletes through to opportunities in education and everything in between.
Are you an athlete?
Would you like advice on training and preparation for your chosen sport or access to facilities to train? We can help to coordinate both of these through our Jubilee Sports Centre and can help you with your training.
Are you a potential student?
The University's School of Education offers three programmes for the study of sport. In addition, the University offers a Sports Bursary Scheme. Several of our Academic Schools can offer doctoral research degrees on many aspects of the Olympics and Paralympics, ranging from engineering and medicine to history and law.
Further information and contact details
If you wish to request further information, please contact:
Laurence Barber
Director of Sport and Recreation
Tel: 023 8059 2229
www.sportrec.soton.ac.uk
For more details about the Cultural Olympiad, the University and City's involvement in it please contact:
Kevin Appleby
Manager, Turner Sims Concert Hall and Chair, Cultural Olympiad Working Group for SHAPe
Tel: 023 8059 3870
Email: kma@soton.ac.uk
