First 2012 Olympic Venue Unveiled
The Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy's Upgrading is Completed
Nov 28, 2008
The Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy has become the very first purpose-built sporting venue for the 2012 Olympic Games to be completed. The complex that has cost a total of £15m, was today finished ahead of schedule and under budget.
2012 Olympics Sailing Venue
The Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy that is based on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, will play host to the sailing events that will take place throughout the 2012 Olympics.
The completed venue is little short of a world-class facility and around 400 Olympic athletes will experience the academy first-hand when they converge upon the venue between 28th July to 11th August 2012.
Once the 2012 Olympic Games are over, London will begin to look towards the Paralympics. The Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy will be no different, as Paralympic events will be staged there from 31st August to 5th September 2012.
Training Facility for British Hopefuls
In recent years the Great British Olympic team have excelled in the sport of sailing. Britain’s sailing credentials were further bolstered by a superb performance at the 2008 Olympics. In total the British sailing team took home six medals, of which four of them were gold.
The completion of the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy is great news for Britain’s sailing hopefuls preparing for the 2012 Games. It is clear that British sailors are more than equipped when it comes to challenging for medals. They will now be able to further their skills as they can train for just under four years in a world-class academy. However, perhaps more importantly they will be training on the very spot where they will be competing for Olympic medals in four years time.
Britain’s Sailing Efforts for the 2016 Olympics
While the academy has been upgraded for competition at the 2012 Olympics, thoughts are already drifting towards the 2016 Games. The British team will no doubt use the facility in order to hone their skills for the upcoming Summer Olympics but many believe that it could produce stars of the future.
Paul Goodison, the Olympic gold medallist in the Laser class in Beijing, stated, “It is a fantastic opportunity, not just for myself, but some of the youngsters to see us in 2012 and aspire to in 2016.”
2012 Olympic Venues in Progress
In the midst of this great news about the early completion of an Olympic venue it is sometimes hard to forget that there is plenty of work still to be done. Around 120 miles away from the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy, in central London work is still some a long way from completion.
Amongst the sites still to be completed are the Olympic Stadium, aquatics centre, handball arena and hockey centre.
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