from Athletics Northern Ireland Sport Minister Gregory Campbell has visited the University of Ulster’s High Performance Centre (HPC) to meet Northern Ireland’s young sports stars preparing for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Pune, India during October 12-18. At the pre-Games training camp, the minister said: “I congratulate the 19 young hopefuls who have been selected to represent Northern Ireland and wish them all well for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. This is a wonderful achievement and one of which the team should be very proud.
Mr Campbell, who is Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, added: “I hope the team has been inspired by the recent Olympic an-d Paralympic Games as we now move towards the next Olympic Games in London in 2012. I wish them well and hope that their aspirations about getting to the 2012 London Games will be fulfilled.”
The team has been making use of the world-class facilities at the Jordanstown-campus HPC. It has a state-of-the-art 3G synthetic indoor training pitch, indoor throws area, 60 metre and 110 metre sprint tracks and Northern Ireland’s only acclimatisation chamber, which replicates the temperature and humidity the athletes will face in India.
Welcoming them, Professor Alastair Adair, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Jordanstown Provost, said: “It is wonderful to see Northern Ireland’s young dedicated sportsmen and sportsmen using to the full the world-class facilities here. This £13 million High Performance Centre is a tangible mark of the University of Ulster’s determination to become the leading university for sport on the island of Ireland. I wish the team all success at the Games and hope that their training here pays off handsomely for them.”
More than 1,300 athletes and 350 officials from 71 countries will participate in the games in nine disciplines – Athletics, Badminton, Tennis, Boxing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
Commenting on the future of Northern Ireland sport, the Minister said “My Department, in partnership with Sport Northern Ireland has been developing a new 10-year Strategy for Sport and Physical Recreation in Northern Ireland. The strategy is at an advanced stage and I hope to publish a final strategy in the near future.”
He added: “Simply taking part in sport is, in itself, fun and fulfilling and of value in its own right. Sport equally has the potential to help deliver other significant benefits. It can, play a vital role in improving public health and contributing to our children’s improved academic performance and self esteem. It has an important role in developing cohesive communities and, as we saw in the Olympics and Paralympics, inspiring young people to participate and to strive for excellence.
“In recognition of the value of sport, the Northern Ireland Executive earlier this year, agreed to substantially increase the level of funding for sport over the next three years. That funding will enable work to begin on implementing the strategy, particularly in encouraging more of our children and young people to play and enjoy sport.”
Keep an eye on the website for full reports and previews of the athletes and the lead up to the Games- visit the dedicated section on the homepage bar which has all the latest news as well as athlete profiles.
[Pictured:Professor Alastair Adair, Provost, Jordanstown campus, Sports Minister Gregory Campbell, Robert McVeigh, Chairman Commonwealth Games Council, Ben Reynolds (Holywood) – Athletics, Curtis Woods (Carrickfergus), Athletics]