Princess Royal Sports Complex Blog

Mixed fortunes for Swords

2009-08-24T14:05:00.001+01:00

Six members of Wellington Swords made the trip to the English institute of Sport in Sheffield for the British National Championships.

In the Individual Women's Epee both Sarah and Sophie Townsend made it through to the last 64 however Bryony Wedge-Thomas had a tough pool and was unable to secure sufficient victories to make the cut into the direct elimination.

In the Individual Men's Epee Ben Hodgson met Bath University fencer, Matt Edgar, in the first round of the direct elimination. It was a close fight which was eventually won by Matt.

Meanwhile Chris Hay fought well in the pools and secured a seeding which gave him a bye into the second round of the direct elimination.

He continued with wins against Daniel Wood of Tameside and James Hogarth of Haverstock before losing out 14/15 to Philip Marsh of Bath Swords to settle for 12th place. This result has moved Chris to 30th on the Senior National Rankings.

Ben and Chris were joined on the following day by Luke Edbrook and together they competed in the British Men's Epee Team Championships finishing a creditable 13th.

Photo: Wellington Swords Men's Epee Team. L to R. Luke Edbrook, Chris Hay, Ben Hodgson.

Staff changes at the PRSC

2009-08-12T16:13:00.006+01:00

The new academic year will also herald some changes at the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

After seven and a half years as manager of the Sports Complex, JJ Rowland, is moving on to a fresh challenge overseas.

From the beginning of September JJ is to join the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation based in Vienna, Austria.

Mark Vaughan, current assistant manager, will step up to be acting manager, while Wellington School consider recruitment options.

For further information, contact Mark Vaughan at vaughan@wellington-sport.org.uk.

Gundry wins English youth championship

2009-08-06T11:08:00.004+01:00

Four of the younger members of Wellington Swords travelled to Hatfield last weekend for the English Youth Fencing Championships.

The team were young and inexperienced, the venue was huge and there were 600 competitors. They returned with fantastic results: 1 champion and 3 in the last 16.

Jessica Gundry won the 2009 English Youth Girls under 13 Epee. Her performance in the poules gave her a head start into the direct elimination phase.

She maintained this through the next four fights, beating her previous nemesis, Francesca Summers of Redhill and Reigate, to take the epee title.

In the Foil competitions the youngest team member, Robson Alexander, overcame his initial nerves to finish a very creditable 11th in U11 Boys Foil.

Jade Clarke achieved 10th, with Jess Gundry 16th in the girls U13 foil. Daniel Willson's 21st place in the U15's Boys foil was a disappointment for him but not unexpected after a year of ill health.

School sports conference held in Wellington

2009-07-28T12:22:00.003+01:00

The Tone Schools Sports Partnership held their sports conference at the Princess Royal Sports Complex on Thursday 9 July.

The Top Link conference saw over 100 local children and coaches take apart in a variety of activities throughout the day, all designed to develop them as young sports leaders.

New Zealand Paralympian, Tim Prendergast, was the guest speaker at the conference and talked about his experiences as an elite Paralympian and captain of the New Zealand Paralympic team in Beijing in 2008.

The next Tone Schools Sports Partnership conference will be held at the Princess Royal Sports Complex in March 2010.

Bronze to battling Bryony

2009-07-28T12:17:00.002+01:00

Wellington Swords fencer Bryony Wedge-Thomas competed in the Manchester Open on 11 July and came a proud third.

She lost to Louise Highton, who is twelfth in the senior national rankings.

It was a close and long semi-final, and was eight all when Highton just managed to slip ahead, making the final score a near 15-12.

Wellington fencers wins Oxfam Open

2009-07-06T09:20:00.004+01:00

Ben Hodgson from Wellington Swords won the Oxfam Open 30/31 May 2009.

This was a senior national ranking competition held in Cardiff to raise money for Oxfam.

Ben fought well in the poules and made good progress through the early rounds of the direct elimination until he met James Taylor in the semi finals. Here Ben scored a significant victory over James who is ranked GB no.4.

He then went on to beat Howard West, from London Thames Fencing Club, in the final.

Other Swords results; 10th Chris Hay, 29th Nick Clapham and 37th Raoul Wedge-Thomas.

SW success for Wellington Fencers

2009-06-15T16:14:00.005+01:00

On 6 and 7 June Wellington Swords hosted the South West's Senior Fencing Championships at the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

The men's and women's Epee took place on Saturday and the Foil and Sabre on Sunday.

It proved to be a successful weekend for Swords members who won two of the Championship classes and were second in two others.

On Saturday Chris Hay won the Men's Epee title.

He fought a close and exciting semi final winning 15/14 against last years winner and fellow club member Ben Hodgson.

He then went on to fence Bill Osbaldeston from Truro in the final. Bill is a former National Champion and member of this years Veterans (40+) World Championship team.

This was a match of youth against experience and 17 yr old Chris fenced well to clinch victory in the final 15/9.

In the women's Epee club members, Sarah Townsend and Jenny McGeever, met in the sem-finals.

This was a close match with Jenny winning through 15/14 and going on to meet Toni Denham from Plymouth in the final. On this occasion Toni was the victor winning the trophy for a second year.

On Sunday Maggie Myers gave the club a second championship win when she cruised to victory in the Women's Foil final against Angela Findlay of Sidmouth Fencing Club.

Matt Mackenzie hoped to repeat last years success in the Men's Foil but was unlucky to lose to Tim Miles from Bath Swords in a stirring final.

Wellington Swords results; Women's Foil 1st Maggie Myers. Women's Epee 2nd Jenny McGeever. 3rd Sarah Townsend. 7th Bryony Wedge-Thomas. 9th Tyla Elworthy. Men's Foil. 2nd Matt MacKenzie 3rd Alan Large. Men's Epee. 1st Chris Hay. 3rd Ben Hodgson. 8th Raoul Wedge-Thomas. 10th Jim Pilkington. 11th Luke Edbrook. 12th Joseph Bonner. 14th Nick Clapham. 15th Jack Edmunds. 21st Nick Dugmore. 22nd Peter Smith 23rd Carlson Tsui. 25th Julian Cheung

Photo L to R Maggie Myers and Chris Hay with their trophies.

Ballet Bugs launch new website

2009-06-04T10:17:00.002+01:00

Wellington-based dance company, Ballet Bugs, who run classes at the PRSC on Saturday afternoons have launched a new website.

The new website offers lots of information about the classes Ballet Bugs run, what children and parents can expect from the class and term dates for classes throughout Devon and Cornwall.

Ballet Bugs Ltd was created in September 2007 by founder Joanna Elliott, a trained and experienced teacher qualified with the Royal Academy of Dance and Imperial Society for the teachers of Dance.

Parents interested in signing up for Ballet Bugs at the PRSC should contact the Ballet Bugs office on tel: 01823 242 414 or send an email.

Crafters descend on Wellignton

2009-06-01T09:37:00.011+01:00

The Sports Complex was a busy place this weekend as craft enthusiast from across the region travelled to Wellington for the Sincerely Yours Papercraft Extravaganza.

The Show saw exhibitors travel from as far a field as Yorkshire, Kent and Shropshire to sell their wares to over 800 people.

The event's organisers are planning a return visit to Wellington on Sunday 1 November for the next show.

A little thank you to our Friends

2009-05-14T12:11:00.004+01:00

Regular users of the Sports Complex will notice a small change in our main corridor on their next visit.

We've added another water fountain to ensure that all our many users, staff, pupils and members of the public, always have access to fresh water whilst they are exercising.

The water fountain and others like it around Wellington School have been purchased thanks to the fund raising efforts of the Friends of Wellington School.

The Friends organise the annual Wellington School Christmas Fair, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 28 November at the Sports Complex.

South West England, The Perfect Pre-Games Training Venue

2009-04-29T12:53:00.006+01:00

The South West region has begun its campaign to attract Olympic teams for Pre-Games Training Camps ahead of the London 2012 Games.

Sport England and the Regional Development Authority, under the banner of Team South West, have published a new brochure to promote the 60 world-class sports venues in the South West selected as possible venues.

As one of these Pre-Games Training Camp venues we are hoping that their campaign pays dividends and we can invite Olympic athletes to Somerset ahead of 2012.

The Princess Royal Sports Complex has been selected as a training venue for handball, wrestling, table tennis, archery, Tae Kwon Do and judo.

Anyone for ping pong?

2009-04-29T12:49:00.003+01:00

We’ve recently taken delivery of four brand new Butterfly competition table tennis tables for a new Wellington School table tennis club.

This takes the number of tables we have available at the Sports Complex to six.

Now we’re keen to hear from anybody in the Wellington area, who might be keen to set-up a community club at the Sports Complex, or perhaps even use our facilities for competitions (we are after all a Pre-Games Training Camp for table tennis!).

Contact the Sports Complex Manager, JJ Rowland or call (01823) 668 718 for more information.

New treadmill arrives

2009-04-29T12:06:00.004+01:00

Our on-going programme of investment in fitness equipment continues.

Pupils, staff and customers will be pleased to hear that we've now taken delivery of a Technogym Excite (pictured) tradmill to replace the Kip Machine, which developed a serious fault a few weeks ago.

Wellington hosts national fencing event

2009-04-24T08:40:00.009+01:00

Last weekend (Sunday 19 April) it was the turn of Wellington Swords Fencing Club to run a qualifying competition as part of the Leon Paul Junior Series (LPJS) at the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

It was well attended with fencers travelling from as far as Lancashire, Kent and Cornwall.

This series encourages youngsters from ages nine to seventeen to develop in the sport through a friendly yet challenging introduction to national competition.

Many of the GB fencers in Wellington Swords started in LPJS before attaining international honours.

60 aspiring champions started. They fenced two rounds of pools to gain position in the 'sudden death' Direct Elimination or DE phase. In this fencers fight, first to score 15 hits, and there is no second chance!

Wellington Swords member Bryony Wedge-Thomas, who attends Castle School won the U17 Girls final 15/9 against Tara Crank from Tiger Swords, Kent.

This was a special day for Bryony who is just returning to fencing after a long break due to an ankle injury.

Alicia Parr, a Richard Huish pupil and fellow Wellington Sword, finished 3rd in this her first Leon Paul'.

In the a strong U13 Girls class, Jessica Gundry from Wellington School fenced very well to win the silver medal losing 10/9 in a closely fought, thrilling final against Francesca Summers of Redhill & Reigate, Kent.

Photo: Left to right; Alicia Parr, Bryony Wedge-Thomas, Jessica Gundry.

Whirlwinds website goes live

2009-04-09T12:33:00.003+01:00

Wellington Whirlwinds Trampolining Club have launched their own website.

The new site can be found at www.wellingtonwhirlwinds.co.uk.

Although the website is still in its infancy this is a great development for the PRSC-based club and their many members.

The Whirlwinds were one of the first clubs to start using the PRSC facilities after we opened in the Autumn of 2002.

They started out with just one trampoline and 12 children and have now grown into one of the most successful clubs in the region, with seven trampolines, a double mini tramp and over 80 members.

The Whirlwinds train three times a week at the PRSC, Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

The club offers trampolining for both children and adults. Visit their website to find out more and contact club officials.

PRSC joins Facebook

2009-03-31T16:28:00.009+01:00

There's another new development at the PRSC this week with the creation of our very own Facebook page.

We know that Facebook is hugely popular with many of our users (and all the Sports Complex staff of course!) and we thought it was about time we had our own page.

Take a look at the page and click to become a fan of the PRSC.

If you're not yet a Facebook user, you'll need to sign up to become a fan.

We've already added several photo galleries to the page, including a bit of nostalgia with photos of the construction of the building and our opening by HRH The Princess Royal back in 2002.

The PRSC Facebook page offers us another chance (in addition to our blog and website) to keep all our users informed of what is going on at the Sports Complex as well as helping us to promote all the sports clubs and societies that use our facilities each and every week.

Performing Arts School launches 8 May

2009-03-18T11:47:00.005Z

Regular users of the PRSC could well be forgiven for wondering if we were planning on changing our name to the Princess Royal Arts Centre.

Last week it was Carmina Burana in the sports hall and from May our fencing salle will the home of a brand new Performing Arts Theatre School.

The new School is the brainchild of Andrew Brodie, himself an actor in his younger days, who already runs maths and English classes out of the Sports Complex.

Joining Andrew for the classes will be former Wellington School pupils, dancer teacher, Emma Smith and musician, Chris Sampson.

The class is aimed at 11 to 18 year olds and will offer children the chance to dance, sing and perform and have fun of course. It will run on Friday evenings from 5.00 - 8.00 pm.

More details on the new School are available from Andrew at AB Education on (01823) 667 726.

Successful first concert at PRSC

2009-03-16T09:48:00.011Z

There was a first for the Sports Complex this weekend as we hosted our very first music concert.

Wellington School's Choral Scoiety performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with a professional orchestra and a choir made up of hundreds of teachers, pupils, former pupils, parents and friends.

Well over 400 people came to watch the event, which saw the Sports Complex and our next door neighbour - the Alan Rogers Centre - transformed into a concert venue for the evening.

The success of the event will almost certainly lead to an annual return for the School's Choral Society and more events in the future at the PRSC.

Carmina Burana comes to the PRSC

2009-02-12T15:21:00.010Z

March sees a first for the Princess Royal Sports Complex as Wellington School's Choral Society performs Carmina Burana.

With a large professional orchestra and a choir of hundreds, the concert promises to be one of the largest Wellington School events of the year.

The concert takes place on Sunday 15 March at 7.30 pm.

Tickets are limited and available now from the Wellington School Music Department on (01823) 668856.

British title for Hay

2009-02-12T14:31:00.006Z

Wellington Swords's fencer, Chris Hay, has won a British title at the recent British Youth Epee Championship in Stoke on Trent.

Chris had an excellent competition, starting in devastating form, crushing his opponent from the East Midlands 15/1.

He continued through the rounds to the final winning 15/9, 15/10, 15/6 against opposition from Southern, West Midlands and Wales respectively.

There he met David Burnside of Northern Ireland. Chris maintained his focus to dominant the final 15/9 and become the 2009 British Youth Champion.

Wellington fencers Jenny McGeever, Sophie Townsend and Luke Edbrook also competed in the event for the South West, finishing in third, sixth and ninth respectively.

Silver for Swords fencer

2009-02-12T14:26:00.003Z

Wellington Swords are celebrating success following a sliver medal for young fencer, Jade Clarke, at the recent British Youth Foil Championships.

The event, held at RAF Cosford, attracted over 400 fencers.

Jade won her way through nine fights in the u-12's category to meet the top seed Lydia Stanier (Southern) in the final. Stanier, another left hander, was simply more experienced and powerful.

What makes Jade's silver medal so amazing is that this is only her third competition. She is definitely one to watch in the future!

Other Wellington fencers to represent the South West were Rohan Knowles with a good result in the Boy's U12 (14/66), Simon Ames(42/64) and Tom Brain(51/64)in the Boy's U14 and Jessica Gundry in the Girl's Under 14 (36/51).

Prostar Football League in Wellington

2009-01-21T11:53:00.003Z

The Princess Royal Sports Complex's Monday evening football league has been relaunched thanks to a new sponsorship deal.

The new name for the 6 a-side football league is Prostar Leagues.

The deal not only means a change of name for the league run by Soccersixes Ltd, it also brings with it benefits for local sides, including matches played with top of the range Prostar footballs, branded bibs and kits.

League winners will now receive top quality Prostar strips, runner's up trophies as well as the top goal scorers.

Any new teams looking to get involved in the Wellington 6 a-side league, played on the facility's all-weather pitch, should contact the organisers on 0870 330 0888 or visit www.prostarleagues.com to sign up.

PRSC hosts National League

2009-01-02T13:18:00.004Z

English handball's National Development League (South) was played at the PRSC at the beginning of December.

Hosts for the event were Bristol Handball Club (pictured) and teams from London, Bath and Warwick made the trip to the South West to compete.

The PRSC is one of very few sports facilities in the UK to boast a full-sized handball court.

Results from the tournament:

Bristol 18-12 Warwick University HC
Olympia London II 25-10 Squirrels London
Bath University 16-9 Warwick University HC
Bristol 11-23 Olympia London
Squirrels London 10-21 Bristol

The next handball event at the PRSC will take place on Saturday 4 April.

Awarding winning fitness equipment

2009-01-02T12:13:00.005Z

Out go the old steppers and cross trainers, to be replaced by three awarding winning Cybex Arc Trainers and a brand new stepper.

The Arc Trainer is a total unique kind of cross trainer, combining elements of a climber, cross-trainer and cross-country skier.

The science behind the Arc’s big calorie burn is the Arc motion it is definitely not a traditional elliptical cross trainer.

It engages the right muscles – quads and glutes – that demand lots of energy from the body when they are called upon to work.

That means calorie burn and, because the Arc is demanding of the muscles – not the joints, it can be used longer without putting a strain on the knees, hip or back.

At lower incline levels, the "glide" is a cross country skier.

In the mid-range levels, the motion is a "stride" (like an elliptical except with proper positioning).

At the high levels, the "climb" of a stepper or climber. One machine trains for strength, power, endurance, cardio, and weight loss.

Fitness Room updated

2009-01-02T11:08:00.003Z

Fitness members, staff and pupils are in for a treat when they return in January, thanks to the arrival of four brand new CV machines for the PRSC fitness room.

The old Life Fitness steppers and cross trainers have gone and have been replaced with brand new equipment, all part of Wellington School's continued investment in equipment and the facilities at the PRSC.

The PRSC has continued its partnership with leading US fitness equipment supplier, Cybex International, which saw the arrival of new fitness bikes, treadmill and leg press machine in the last few years.

Tumie Ngakane will be running sessions throughout January to ensure that everybody knows exactly how the new equipment works and how to get the most out of them.

New classroom block completed

2008-11-28T09:59:00.007Z

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

2008-11-19T13:17:00.007Z

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

2008-11-19T10:22:00.013Z

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

2008-11-12T17:27:00.005Z

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

2008-11-06T12:12:00.003Z

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

2008-11-06T11:53:00.003Z

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

2008-10-21T12:05:00.003+01:00

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

2008-10-07T20:41:00.003+01:00

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

2008-10-01T14:28:00.004+01:00

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

2008-09-30T11:03:00.007+01:00

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

2008-09-29T14:03:00.007+01:00

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

2008-09-01T12:05:00.008+01:00

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

2008-09-01T09:50:00.005+01:00

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

2008-08-30T15:57:00.007+01:00

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

2008-08-16T14:09:00.021+01:00

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-G ames 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

2008-08-12T15:42:00.006+01:00

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

2008-08-12T09:29:00.005+01:00

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

2008-08-11T12:14:00.004+01:00

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

2008-08-06T19:02:00.010+01:00

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

2008-08-05T17:13:00.000+01:00

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

2008-08-05T16:21:00.003+01:00

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

2008-08-01T13:15:00.000+01:00

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.