Edinburgh in Scotland will host the holding camp for British swimmers heading to their home Olympic Games in London 2012. The main training venue will be the soon-to-be refurbished Royal Commonwealth Pool overlooked by Arthur's Seat, the main peak of the group of hills in Holyrood Park, a wild stretch of highland landscape in the centre of the city where J. K. Rowling dreamt of Harry Potter and plotted his course in a cafe long before she had money and fame.
Some wizardry will doubtless be on the mind of Denis Pursley, the head coach, and his team as they put the finishing touches to a decade of hard work at all levels throughout British swimming.
British Swimming National Performance Director Michael Scott has been instrumental in talks with Edinburgh City Council over exclusive use of the facility. "We’ve done an exhaustive search to identify the best possible environment for our camp," said Scott. "We looked at options both UK-based and overseas, and have chosen Edinburgh as the city to host one of the most important camps in the history of the sport.
"The City of Edinburgh Council will provide the team with the necessary access to a world-class aquatic facility at the Royal Commonwealth Pool and the historic city lends itself to having a relaxed, low-key training camp at a very high-pressure time. We’ve undertaken a very detailed analysis of the facilities, atmosphere and environment, and believe these will be conducive to finalising our quadrennial preparations."
The RCP is in the midst of a £37.1m refurbishment and is due to open in early 2012. The venue was built for and hosted the 1970 Commonwealth Games.
