Today (Thursday 27th November), four-time Olympic Alpine Skier Chemmy Alcott opened a new £250,000 strength and conditioning facility at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.
The new Performance Education Centre forms part of St Mary’s existing state-of-the-art training and sport science facilities, which are regularly used by elite sportspeople including Jo Pavey and Andy Vernon, along with students and members of the local community. The University’s facilities will also be used by the South Africa and New Zealand teams during Rugby World Cup 2015 as part of their training base at St Mary’s.
The facility incorporates a combination of both specialist training and laboratory equipment to enhance teaching and service delivery in the areas of strength and conditioning, rehabilitation and health related exercise.
During the launch event, guests were able to engage in a question and answer session with Chemmy who is six time British Land National Ski Champion and has been ranked 8th in the world for the sport. She said, “Physical training is the fabric of every athlete's life. Having a world class facility can really help you up your level in terms of focus, motivation and helping hit personal bests to make sure daily improvements are made. Facilities like this are integral to not only World Class athletes but sports students and also general health.”
St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor Francis Campbell, who introduced Chemmy said, “This Centre comes at an exciting time for St Mary’s and I am delighted to see this important, transformative project come to fruition. We are one of London’s top universities for sport, with a comprehensive programme of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as a sports development programme that focuses on recreational opportunities, performance sport, coaching and events.
“My vision for St Mary’s is that, in the coming decades, we will lead the way for training and rehabilitation in sport and will continue to play a role in Britain’s ongoing tradition of sporting excellence. Our new strength and conditioning facility is one way that this vision will come true and I am delighted to see it officially open its doors.”
More than 100 guests attended the event, including representatives from the English Institute for Sport (EIS), London Irish RFC, British Gymnastics and the RFU. Along with a question and answer session with Chemmy, they also had the opportunity to see the equipment in action with demonstrations of coaching, training, teaching and research activities typical of the space on a daily basis.
St Mary’s Strength and Conditioning Programme Director Jon Goodwin concluded, “This facility is already delivering transformed experiences for students and staff in S&C, rehabilitation and exercise programmes. Creativity and interdisciplinary discourse are more evident than ever before and students are taking opportunities to practice a broader set of vocationally relevant skills. We are excited to see the evolution of potential benefits to students and staff alike.”
During the launch event, guests were able to engage in a question and answer session with Chemmy who is six time British Land National Ski Champion and has been ranked 8th in the world for the sport. She said, “Physical training is the fabric of every athlete's life. Having a world class facility can really help you up your level in terms of focus, motivation and helping hit personal bests to make sure daily improvements are made. Facilities like this are integral to not only World Class athletes but sports students and also general health.”
St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor Francis Campbell, who introduced Chemmy said, “This Centre comes at an exciting time for St Mary’s and I am delighted to see this important, transformative project come to fruition. We are one of London’s top universities for sport, with a comprehensive programme of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as a sports development programme that focuses on recreational opportunities, performance sport, coaching and events.
“My vision for St Mary’s is that, in the coming decades, we will lead the way for training and rehabilitation in sport and will continue to play a role in Britain’s ongoing tradition of sporting excellence. Our new strength and conditioning facility is one way that this vision will come true and I am delighted to see it officially open its doors.”
More than 100 guests attended the event, including representatives from the English Institute for Sport (EIS), London Irish RFC, British Gymnastics and the RFU. Along with a question and answer session with Chemmy, they also had the opportunity to see the equipment in action with demonstrations of coaching, training, teaching and research activities typical of the space on a daily basis.
St Mary’s Strength and Conditioning Programme Director Jon Goodwin concluded, “This facility is already delivering transformed experiences for students and staff in S&C, rehabilitation and exercise programmes. Creativity and interdisciplinary discourse are more evident than ever before and students are taking opportunities to practice a broader set of vocationally relevant skills. We are excited to see the evolution of potential benefits to students and staff alike.”
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