Major Sporting Events
Medway is establishing a strong reputation as a venue for
national and international sporting events.
Medway Park - Medway's
£11m centre of sporting excellence - has twice hosted international
modern pentathlon competitions, including one Olympic
qualification event.
In April 2010 Medway Park played host to the Modern Pentathlon
World Cup. This was the first time Medway had ever staged a global
sporting event and saw 200 of the world's leading pentathletes,
including Olympic and world medallists, competing in
Gillingham.
The event was named the Best Promoted Event of the year by the
Union International de Pentathlon
Moderne (UIPM). It was also voted the best event of the year by
the athletes.
Medway Park was subsequently chosen to host the 2011 European Modern Pentathlon Championships,
where the top eight athletes, including British athletes Jamie
Cooke and Freyja Prentice, qualified for the London 2012
Games.
In 2007 Medway hosted a stage of the Tour de France and in
August 2012 was the venue for the British Transplant
Games. The Games brought thousands of participants and
spectators together in Medway for a sporting festival to promote
and celebrate organ donation.
Medway Park is also the new home to a number of teams competing
on the national stage.
Medway Park Crusaders basketball team are in the top flight
of English Basketball and play their home games at Medway
Park. For a full list of fixtures visit the Crusaders website.
The Medway Dragons Wheelchair Rugby League Team play in the
RFL National Championship. For more information and fixtures visit
the Medway Dragons
website.
The facilities at Medway Park
Medway Park boasts one of just a handful
of 12-court sports halls in the region, making it the ideal venue
for large-scale indoor competitions.
The hall has a wood-sprung floor and is suitable for badminton,
basketball, volleyball, netball and many other indoor
sports.
The centre also
has a new IAAF-accreditedathletics track with eight lanes and 10
lanes on the home straight and is fully equipped for all track and
field disciplines.
The centre's swimming pool is 25m long with six lanes and a new
digital timing system. It is used for regional level galas, as well
being suitable for the swimming discipline in the Modern
Pentathlon.
The new-look centre is designed for disability sporting events,
offering a fully accessible sports hall and track and dedicated
wheelchair team changing rooms.
The centre has a 100-station IFI-accredited health and fitness
suite, a short-course gala standard pool and specialist facilities
including a purpose built judo centre and gymnastics centre linked
to the world-leading Jumpers Rebound Centre.
Medway Park also has a purpose-built, state-of-the-art sports
science and therapy centre run by the University of Kent. This was
used to provide massage services for athletes during the Modern
Pentathlon World Cup.
The centre also offers a conference room with an interactive
whiteboard suitable for team meetings and on-screen analysis.
Watch the Medway Park promotional
film presented by javelin star Steve Backley (www.spaghettiweston.com/).
Accommodation for athletes and
visitors
Medway Park is ideally located close to the Universities at
Medway campus, which can offer value-for-money catered and
self-catering accommodation for hundreds of competitors within
close walking distance of the sporting venues.
There are also a number of three and four-star hotels within
close walking or travelling distance of Medway Park, including one
neighbouring the centre.
Medway is
located in north Kent, around 30 minutes from London and the coast
and an hour from Gatwick and Stansted Airports.
There are good road and rail transport links, making it easily
accessible to visitors in the UK and travelling from the
continent.
Maximising the benefits
Major sporting events create fantastic opportunities for
volunteering and sports development, as well as helping put Medway
on the map nationally and internationally.
Medway will endeavour to use local volunteers to support major
events wherever possible. Join our Medway Sports Ambassador programme
Medway Council is also committed to developing longer-term
partnerships with national governing bodies and organising
committees to maximise the opportunities for sports development
created by staging major events.
It also has a team dedicated to supporting event organisers
during the build up and delivery of events.
Contact us
To discuss major sporting event opportunities, please contact
the Medway 2012 team on 01634 338238 or email 2012@medway.gov.uk.