2012: Japanese Olympic delegation visits Loughborough
Olympics 2012 - 4/November/2009
More than 40 coaches and support staff from Japan’s Olympic sports teams visited Loughborough University last week to see first hand the range of world class facilities available to their athletes.
Representatives from the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and 17 Olympic sports including athletics, weightlifting, swimming, trampolining, fencing, handball and hockey, made a whistle-stop tour to the University and partner sports facilities in the East Midlands.
The group met with Loughborough University director of sport Chris Earle and his colleagues before undertaking guided tours of the sports facilities, athlete accommodation, dining and recreation areas to get an overview of resources available to them for training camps between now and the Olympic Games.
Business development manager Ben Aherne, who coordinated the visit, was really pleased with its success.
“Enabling coaches and management from the Japanese federations to familiarise themselves with Loughborough is invaluable for us,” he said. “The feedback has been really good and we’re incorporating it into our plans to ensure Japanese athletes have the best possible preparation whilst at the University.
“We have since been approached by a number of sports who are keen to increase the number of camps held here after seeing first-hand what we have to offer.”
Such bookings will see more Japanese athletes visiting Loughborough for training camps in early 2010.
The recent JOC visit means more that three quarters of Japan’s Olympic sport federations have now visited the University.
