Pre- Olympic Games Training Camps

In the weeks and months leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, athletes from around the world will be training and preparing for the competition.

Some will choose to do this in their home countries, however, some will use facilities known as 'Pre-Games Training Camps' in and around the UK.

On the 31st January 2007 three facilities from the Winchester District submitted pre-games training camp bids. The bids have come from The Westgate Badminton Centre, Sparsholt College Equine Centre and The University of Winchester.

The applications were assessed by Sport England South East and LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) and on the 3 March 2008 it was announced that over 600 facilities including the three Winchester facilities would appear in the Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The Guide will be published at the Beijing 2008 games and will be distributed to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) for them to be able to decide where to base themselves or where to send individual athletes to prepare.