Southampton’s sporting facilities took centre stage last week when the President of the Malawi Olympic Committee, Floriano Massah, visited the city to assess its calibre as a potential training base for Team Malawi, prior to the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Representatives from the University of Southampton, Southampton City Council and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) welcomed and escorted the President and his delegation to sample the variety of first-class facilities the University and City have to offer.
The party began their tour at the University’s Jubilee Sports Hall, a state-of-the-art £8.5 million complex, which will offer international competitors training facilities for the Olympic sports of badminton, basketball, judo, indoor volleyball and wrestling.
The Jubilee Sports Centre and the University’s Boat Hard 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 the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).
Next stop was the University’s accommodation at the Glen Eyre halls of residence, followed by a visit to the Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre at Bassett to see the facilities including the athletics track. The party then moved onto the Quays 'Eddie Read' Swimming and Diving Complex, with its 25 metre national short course championship pool and diving pool, which has a movable floor that enables the depth to change.
The visit finished back at the University of Southampton, with a tour of its Sports Science Laboratory.
Laurence Barber, Director of Sport and Recreation at the University of Southampton, comments: “We were delighted and very proud to host the visit by the Malawi delegation. It reflects the strength and diversity of our sporting facilities and how the University and the City can help to make the London 2012 Olympics a huge success.”
“The University 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.”
Councillor John Hannides, the City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Heritage, says: “Southampton has a rich sporting tradition and was proud to welcome representatives from those Olympic nations who are considering using the City as a base for their future Olympic training camps. The Malawi delegation visited several of Southampton’s sporting venues but they were also interested in the cultural, medical and educational facilities that the City can also offer to their athletes.”
Oona Muirhead, SEEDA’s Executive Director for Skills and Sustainable Prosperity, says: “The South East has a huge amount to offer the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
“SEEDA and its partners are committed to using the inspiration of the Games to celebrate excellence and are therefore delighted to welcome representatives from Malawi National Olympic Committee to the region. We are confident that we have world class facilities in our Pre-Games Training Camps venues and can offer Malawi a welcome which is second to none.”
