New classroom block completed

Wellington School's new examination and classroom block has now been completed and handed over by building company, RG Spiller Ltd.

The building, which links into the Princess Royal Sports Complex, will be used by Wellington School's English and Special Needs departments from January 2009.

The first set of public examinations will also be carried out in the new building's large first floor examination room in January.


Front of new classroom block


Entrance to new classroom block


Foyer (showing link door to Sports Complex)


New examination and function room

Counting down to Christmas Fair

More than 80 stalls will feature at the annual Wellington Craft and Produce Fair , which takes place at the end of November.

Now in its eighth year the fair has become an established event in the town, attracting 1100 visitors last year.

Tasty goodies will be on sale from local producers, including bacon, sausages, ham, cheeses, turkeys and trout, all from local farms; Somerset chocolate, fudge and cordials as well as artisan breads and French pastries.

Crafts for sale include Christmas wreaths, table decorations and wall hangings, silver and crystal jewellery, silk scarves, stained glass and turned wood products.

There will be a cafe offering freshly cooked pancakes, and school stalls with lots of childrens' activities, as well as Santa's Grotto

This year's fair takes place on Saturday 29 November from 10.00 am - 2.00 pm.

Sports Management Magazine features Wellington School

The latest issue of Sports Management Magazine, one of the UK's leading publication for the sports industry, has featured the sports facilities at Wellington School.

The article 'Back to School for Pre-Games Training Camps' focuses on a number of the country's leading academic institutions and the facilities they are offering elite athletes in the run up to the London 2012 Games.

The magazine is also available to read online.

Making the most of the credit crunch

Whilst it is certainly true that the world of professional sport is beginning to feel the pinch, there are predictions that the credit crunch could well be a boon for grassroots sport.

Playing a game of badminton, joining a local sports team or joining the local gym could prove to be a great deal cheaper and more rewarding, at least for your health, than a trip to the local pub or restaurant these days.

Boon or bane, savvy sports clubs could well reap the rewards or perhaps weather the economic storm a little better if they were to put a little extra work into their marketing and recruitment of new people.

Helps is at hand in the New Year thanks to a sports marketing seminar being organised at the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

Entitled ‘Grow Your Sports Club’, the evening seminar will be run by Danish marketing expert, Svend Elkjaer, from the Sports Marketing Network.

Svend promises to help clubs become vibrant, visible and viable focusing on marketing, sponsorship, developing new revenue streams and the recruitment and retention of members.

The course will run on Wednesday 28 January 2009 from 6.30 - 9.30 pm and costs £20.00 for the first person per club and £10.00 for any subsequent people. Places are limited and early booking is advised.

Wheelchair fencing starts 10 November

Wellington Swords are all set to start Wheelchair Fencing at the Sports Complex this month.

From 10 November club sessions will move from the fencing salle into the sports hall to accommodate both foil and Wheelchair Fencing at the same time.

Coaching will be provided by Paralympic fencing coach, Cefi Felletar.

For further information about the Wellington Swords Fencing Club, contact Jane Browne wellingtonswords@googlemail.com.

No more parking problems

Good news for users of the Sports Complex! The near completion of the new extension to the Sports Complex building means that we now have our car park back.

The building site fencing that has been in place for the past few months has now gone and there is now full access to parking along the full length of the building.

Additional parking has now also been made available following the removal of several portacabins that have been on the site for several years.

The new classroom block is set to be handed over to the School in the next few days ready for use in January 2009.

More success for Swords

Wellington Swords held their annual competition at the Princess Royal Sports Complex on Sunday October 19.

Fencers competed from clubs and schools from Plymouth to Bristol.

There was an excellent performance from Wellington's fencers (pictured) with Rohan Knowles a gold medallist in the boys under 11’s, Simon Ames winning gold in the boys under 13’s and Tom Brain silver. Jessica Gundry won gold in the girls under 13’s and Jade Clark won gold in the girls under 11’s

Medals and trophies were presented by John Moore, a former Olympian and past governor of Wellington School, who is an ardent supporter of fencing in Wellington.

All competitors received a Wellington Fencing t-shirt donated by Mr Moore's company, Idass.

British title for Wellington fencer

Wellington Swords fencer Jason Retter has taken his first major national title, winning the British under 20's Junior Championship.

Jason is just back from eight months in Hungary, one of the world's leading fencing nations.

A former judo player, Jason has been fencing for five years with Wellington Swords and has been a GB fencer for three years.

75 fencers took part in the U20 championship over the weekend (4/5 October) in Sheffield. Chris Hay who also attended at the same competition came third in the U17 contest and finished 12th in the U20.

Remarkable results for Wellington Swords and their Hungarian coach, Cefi Felletar.

National League handball coming to Wellington

South West handball team, Bristol Handball Club, have selected the Princess Royal Sports Complex as their home venue for National League fixtures in the 2008/2009 season.

Bristol will host two tournaments at the PRSC in England Handball’s National League Division 2 (South) on Saturday 6 December 2008 and Saturday 4 April 2009.

The Princess Royal Sports Complex is one of only a handful of sports facilities in the UK able to offer a full-sized international standard handball court.

This fact has already been recognised by London 2012, who have designated the PRSC as a potential training camp venue for handball teams in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Competing against Bristol will be teams from Bournemouth University, Bath University and London.

Paralympic Games handover

Fencers from the PRSC-based Wellington Swords Fencing Club took part in the recent celebrations to mark the handover of the Paralympic Games to London 2012.

Hundreds of events took place throughout the UK and across the South West.

Wellington's fencers travelled the short distance up the M5 to Bridgwater and to Haygrove School to give a demonstration of wheelchair fencing. Also on show were boccia and wheelchair basketball.

Representing Wellington Swords were Natalia Davey, Jenny McGeever and Swords' coach, Cefi Felletar.

New extension nears completion

Wellington School’s brand new classroom block is beginning to take shape and builders R.G. Spiller are now only a month away from completing their work.

The new block has been built on the site of the old mini Astroturf pitch at the end of the Sports Complex building and will be accessible via the ground floor corridor.

Moving into the new block will be Wellington School's English and Special Needs departments, whose departure will free up space elsewhere in the school for the development and improvement of dedicated performing arts facilities.

The block will house six new classrooms and a large examination/function room. The addition of a kitchen area will also enhance the PRSC’s ability to provide catering facilities for large events.

Work on fitting out the new classrooms is expected to be completed by the end of the year ready for school use in January 2009.

Chinese students try Olympic sports

For the past five summers we have been organising a programme of daily sports coaching for Chinese students from Etherton Education staying at Wellington School.

This year was no different, but instead of the usual programme of traditional English sports, this year we decided to concentrate on Olympic sports seeing as the Olympic Games were taking place in Beijing.

Coaching was provided by staff from the PRSC, Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership and the Wellington Whirlwinds, in handball, badminton, trampolining, basketball, hockey and archery.

Fencing Salle floor refurbished

The last week of the summer holidays saw the refurbishment of the Fencing Salle floor by local sports flooring specialists Courtship.

Now six years old the Junkers wooden floor, which is in regular use for PE lessons and by Wellington Swords Fencing Club, has been completely stripped and re-lacquered providing a much better quality surface.

The old tape has now been taken up off the floor and five regulation size pistes have been painted on the floor.


Before

After

Expert coaching for Whirlwinds

Trampolinists from the Wellington Whirlinds enjoyed a day of expert coaching this week at the PRSC from one of the UK’s leading coaches.

John Beer, national team coach and coach to Team GB’s trampolining squad at the last three Olympic Games, was in Wellington to offer advice and tips.

As well as one-to-one coaching, John brought along a Dartfish video analysis system and offered his expert opinion on technique and where improvements could be made.

Training Camps Guide launched

Our mission to attract international teams to Wellington ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games is a (small) step closer this week following the launch of the online Pre-Games Training Camps Guide in Beijing.

We are one of 600 sports venues around the UK vying for the privilege of hosting one or more teams as they prepare for the Games in four years time.

Inclusion in the Guide means that we get to showcase the facilities we have available at Wellington School, both nationally and internationally, and for NOC's there is an added incentive, up to £25,000 from London 2012 to cover the costs of hall hire, accommodation and food expenses.

Wrestling, returning soon to Wellington?

But why would athletes choose to train in Somerset? Well, quite apart from the facilities available to teams here at the Princess Royal Sports Complex, we think that the South West offers teams the perfect location away from the media spotlight in which to prepare and focus on the Games.

In the South West, Bristol has already secured an agreement with Kenya and London 2012's Regional Director, Guy Lavender, and Bath University's Ged Roddy are now in Beijing building relationships with National Olympic Committees to attract other teams to base themselves in the region during the run up to the London 2012 Games.

Somerset's Olympic hopefuls

Ahead of the launch of the Pre-Games Training Camps Guide in Beijing, the August edition of Somerset Life has written a feature on some of the county’s top sports facilities and talented athletes looking forward to the London 2012 Games.

Facilities highlighted in the article alongside Wellington School’s Princess Royal Sports Complex include Huish Park Stadium, the home of Yeovil Town Football Club, Somerset County Cricket Club and Bath University.

Somerset Life’s feature ‘Somerset’s Olympic hopefuls’ is also available to read on their website.

Pre-Games Training Camps Guide launches 14 August

The organisers of the London 2012 Olympic Games are preparing for the launch of the Pre-Games Training Camps Guide to National Olympic Committees (NOC's) on Thursday in Beijing.

The Guide, which includes the sports facilities at the PRSC and Wellington School, has been put together to help NOC’s find suitable training venues for their top athletes in the weeks and months running up to the London 2012 Games.

Wellington School's facilities been selected to (potentially) host Olympic teams in the sports of handball, judo, fencing, Tae Kwon Do, table tennis, wrestling and archery.

A fantastic opportunity for all of us to get involved in the London 2012 Games. But there’s a lot of hard work ahead, the clock is ticking and we’ve now got the tough job of trying to attract one or more of the 205 Olympic nations to Wellington in four years’ time.

National success for trampolinists

The hard work put in by Wellington’s trampolinists is beginning to pay off as the club begins to enjoy national success.

Four bouncers from the Wellington Whirlwinds recently competed in the British Trampoline and Double Mini Tramp (DMT) Championships at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. Competing in the DMT competition they placed as follows; Darian Strawford- 13, Ellie Gibbs- 16 Becky Cottey- 17, Amy Gillard- 24.

Double Mini Trampoline (DMT) is a relatively new discipline and ever gaining popularity, The DMT is a small, long trampette, which the competitors sprint down a track at and hurdle onto, before performing somersaults with the same technical requirements as on a trampoline.

Darian Strawford, Danielle Clarke and Milo Cole have also been selected to compete for the South West in the English Championships in November. All three will compete in the U15 DMT category.

The club has had a record number of competitors at a national level this year, including eight in DMT and six in trampolining.

At these competitions, Whirlwinds competitors have achieved some fantastic placings; 3rd U13 Boys Trampolining- Milo Cole, 4th U19 Girls Trampolining- Julie Weaver, 3rd U15 Girls DMT- Amy Gillard, 1st U15 Girls Team Medal DMT.

Keep an eye on the blog for regular updates from the Whirlwinds and other clubs at the PRSC.

Celebrating the Cultural Olympiad

Having been selected as a potential Pre-Games Training Camp venue for the London 2012 Olympic Games and with the Beijing Games just around the corner, we're obviously keen to follow the progress and development of the Games as we approach 2012.

Whilst the August Bank holiday weekend sees the conclusion of the 2008 Games and the handover of the Olympic flag, September signals the start of the Cultural Olympiad, a four year celebration of British culture.

The project will be launched on the 26 and 27 September, and the South West will be kicking it all off with a Bandstand Marathon, a series of 50 bandstand concerts on the same day throughout the region.

And the reason for our interest? The whole event is being organised by Paul Smith, who works as a relief Duty Supervisor here at the Sports Complex. His Wellington-based company Superact! will be responsible for organising the event in the region.

There's also an event in Wellington, with Wellington Silver Band playing on 27 September from 2.00 - 4.00 pm in Wellington Park.

We wish Paul and his colleagues the best of luck with the event.

Whirlwinds on Facebook

Wellington Whirwinds, the trampolining and double mini tramp club based at the Princess Royal Sports Complex, has launched it very own Facebook Group.


The Group has been set-up to help promote the trampolining club, which runs on Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday mornings at the Sports Complex.

You'll need to set up a profile on Facebook to be able to access the Group.

A summer of hard work and spring cleaning

The summer months are a busy time for the staff of the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

On top of our normal evening and weekend bookings, we also have our programme of children's activities Kids Camps to organise, sports coaching sessions for Etherton Education - a summer school for Chinese students based for the holidays at Wellington School - as well as sports sessions for groups of French students to cater for.

The summer is also a great time to catch up with some spring cleaning and maintenance of facilities ready for the return of staff and pupils in September.

Our cleaning staff have been kept particularly busy this summer, charged with the task of cleaning up our sports hall floor. After six years of constant use day and night, and with an area of over 1000 square metres to cover, this was no easy task.

Thanks to the hard work of our morning cleaners, Sharron and Jan, who have been starting work at 5.30 am to get the job done, now all but one final corner of the hall has been thoroughly stripped and cleaned.

Before and after - just one corner of the sports hall left to finish

Don't worry, we decided to leave the lines on!

Welcome to our new blog

Here at the Princess Royal Sports Complex we're always looking at how we can improve not only how we can promote the great facilities we have on offer here but also the huge range of clubs and activities that use our facilities each week.

Our latest initiative is the introduction of an online blog. A blog, or web log, is basically a regularly updated online journal, and we're going to be using ours to keep you up to date with what is going on at the Sports Complex.

The new blog will complement our official website at www.wellington-sport.org.uk, where you will find information about our facilities, timetables, children's holiday activities and regular news.

Over the next few weeks and months we're also planning on opening up the PRSC blog to the clubs and societies using our facilities so that they can tell you all about what they do and keep you up to date with their achievements.

We hope you like the new blog and will keep coming back for the latest blogs from the PRSC.