Bath will be key base for British Paralympians

ParalympicsGB have selected the University of Bath as the key base for the British team for a series of preparation camps in the lead up to the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

The first athletes to use the ParalympicsGB set-up at Bath will be young "hopefuls" in late 2009, followed by larger-scale multi-sport camps in 2010 and 2011. Bath will become the main springboard for athletes in their final preparation weeks for 2012 and the move into the Games Village.

"Research has shown that these camps are crucial to the team's final preparation," said BPA chief executive Phil Lane. "Athletes settle into the multi-sport environment more quickly and have the best possible support services. It means that they can go into the Games well-prepared for the challenge ahead."

Bath won the right to hold these vital preparation camps against stiff opposition from seven different locations around the UK. Some were city-based bids while others were University-campus set-ups. Each site was judged on its sports facilities, ancillary sports support areas, accommodation and catering.

Bath's world-class facilities, compact site and sports technical expertise were the deciding factors.

Lane added: "We have been successful at the past four Games and we know that other nations would love to topple us on our home patch.

"They are investing heavily so we are absolutely focused on taking the best prepared team to reach our target of second in the medal table with more medals across more sports.

"Our preparation camps for Beijing played a vital role in securing our success and we are convinced that with Bath as a partner we can raise the bar in everything we do."

ParalympicsGB performance director Penny Briscoe said: "The Bath bid stood out not just because of the facilities on offer at the Sports Training Village, and the ability to create a secure environment where athletes can focus solely on their training, but also because of their desire to partner with us across a wide range of our operations from talent identification, sports science and medicine and coaching.

"That work will begin right now and we believe will carry on post 2012 leaving a lasting legacy for Paralympic sport."

Source: Virgin Media, friday 17th July, 2009