Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club    Press release   

LONDON 2012 PRE-GAMES TRAINING BOOST FOR PWLLHELI

Pwllheli Sailing Club - National Sailing Events Centre - has been included on the prestigious London 2012 Olympic Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.

The Guide, issued by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, list venues chosen as potential pre-Games training locations.

Sporting facilities at over a 1000 venues were reviewed and the site on the Llŷn Peninsula is named as one of the sail training venues that will be offered to visiting teams before the big event. Each venue was subjected to an extremely rigorous evaluation process.

This is yet another accolade for the World renowned natural sailing conditions and superb facilities at Pwllheli. The Sailing Club has successfully hosted many World Championship and National Regattas whilst Pwllheli was also the chosen venue for the two Manchester Olympic bids.

The reputation of Pwllheli as a National Sailing Events Centre* continues to grow and the venue is identified in the ‘UK Sport/RYA World Class Events Strategy (2006-2012)’ for hosting major competitive dinghy sailing championships, the only location in Wales to receive this prestigious recognition.

Members of the GBR Olympic squad already train on the waters of Tremadog Bay and the facilities are in regular use by the RYA’s GBR Youth and Junior squads together with Class Association squads.

Welcoming today's announcement, Pwllheli Sailing Club President, Richard Tudor said: “Pwllheli can offer unrivalled options as the sailing conditions at Pwllheli are similar to those that will be experienced at the Olympic Sailing venue in Weymouth. Our superb sailing waters, with limited tidal effect and a southerly aspect, will provide the best possible opportunities for coaches and Olympians to prepare. "

Alan Williams, Centre Manager at Plas Menai and a member of the RYA coaching team, said “This is fantastic news for Pwllheli, it is one of the best sailing venues in Britain and it will be great to see International teams training here.”

*Note for Editors:

Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club was founded in 1958 and has always taken a responsible role in promoting sailing and encouraging youngsters onto the water and this year celebrates 50 years of promoting the sport of Sailing. The present Club House was opened in 1997 and was developed as a Sailing Events Centre.

Pwllheli Sailing Club has, with assistance from The Welsh Assembly Government, employed the very capable Gareth Roberts as ‘Training and Events Support Manager’. Gareth is today at the Dinghy Show promoting Pwllheli as an Events venue. He is also responsible for promoting and developing youth sail training at Pwllheli and is working on the 5 x 60 Schools scheme. He is also working with Plas Menai to offer outreach sailing sessions for young people.

The Sailing Club - National Sailing Events Centre works in close partnership with the Welsh Yachting Association, the National Watersports Centre of Plas Menai and with the Local Authority, Gwynedd Council.

Pwllheli Sailing Club’s Events Centre is located adjacent to the excellent marine facilities at Hafan Pwllheli.

The Welsh National Watersports Centre at Plas Menai provides elite sail training at Pwllheli and from their dedicated centre at Plas Menai. They form part of the UK network of National Institutes of Sport.

The Pwllheli Sailing Club’s National Sailing Events Centre works closely with, and is supported by the Royal Yachting Association (the UK Governing Body), the Welsh Yachting Association (the regional affiliated body), the Sports Council for Wales, Cyngor Gwynedd and the Welsh Assembly Government in developing the facility for world class competition and elite training.