11 March 2008
Towards the end of January 2007, Eastbourne Borough Council submitted a bid to LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games), for Devonshire Park to be included, within London's Pre Games Training Camp guide.
We were notified on Friday 29th February of our successful bid, the next stage now is to submit a detailed template by the end of March.
The bid was a consortium bid offering the facilities at Devonshire Park International Tennis Centre supported by extensive medical expertise provided by Sportswise based at Brighton University.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Health and Community Services, Councillor Margaret Bannister says, “The International Lawn Tennis Centre at Devonshire Park has been the venue for the WTA tour International Women’s Open for over 30 years and a home venue for the GB team for Davis Cup ties as recently as 2006 and on many occasions in the past. The venue has 20 grass courts and has a record as one of the longest continuous tennis playing venues in the UK having staged its first tournament in 1881 15 years prior to the first Olympics. So it is an honour and a privilege that the venue has been chosen to assist in the preparations for 2012.”
LOCOG is developing the Guide as an on-line facility in partnership with VisitBritain, the national tourism agency. This is a first for any Olympic or Paralympic Organising Committee. The Guide will allow NOCs (National Olympic Committee's) and NPCs (National Paralympic Committee's) to search for training camps on a sporting and geographical basis and will be presented to NOCs and NPCs at a series of invitational events during the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games later this year.
Once published, this guide will allow national tennis teams from around the world to consider being based in Eastbourne and using the first class tennis facilities, in preparation for the Games.
All agreements to host teams will be arranged directly between the NOC/NPC and the facility. Facilities then notify LOCOG, once a camp has been confirmed.
