London 2012 Announces Sports Testing Programme

The London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG) today announced a comprehensive testing programme which will form a key part of its preparations for the Games next year.

LOCOG’s testing programme will focus primarily on testing the field of play, results, scoring and timing systems, as well as key operational procedures and functions.

There are six Paralympic events on the testing programme, which include

• the London International Invitational Women’s Goalball Tournament on 3 and 4 December 2011 at the Handball Arena in the Olympic Park,

• the International Tennis Federation (ITF) 3 Event for Wheelchair Tennis at Eton Manor from 2-6 May 2012

• the International Invitational Para-Archery event at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich from 4-6 May 2012

• the International Invitational Boccia event at the Basketball Arena in Olympic Park from 5-7 May 2012

• the London Disability Grand Prix for Athletics at the Olympic Stadium on 8 May 2012

A test event for Wheelchair Rugby still has to be confirmed.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘Our approach to operational delivery is similar to that of an athlete. You do not want to face any conditions at competition time that you have not prepared for. When the world’s greatest Olympic and Paralympic athletes come to London in the summer of 2012, every aspect of our delivery needs to be the best it can be. The invaluable experience we gain through our testing programme means we can “road-test” all our operational plans and make sure we have all the knowledge we need to deliver a truly memorable Games in 2012.’

Many of the events will be available to spectators with others restricted to technology and field of play testing. Some tickets will be sold by LOCOG and some will be sold by other event organisers.

LOCOG has worked closely with UK Sport and some of the events will form part of UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme, which invests National Lottery funding to help stage major international sporting events in the UK.

Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said: ‘UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme has been preparing Britain’s sports and elite athletes for their home Games in London for the past five years, so it is fantastic to be supporting LOCOG’s testing programme at this crucial time through the major international events we are bringing to Olympic and Paralympic venues in 2011 and 2012. Working in partnership with nearly every British Olympic and Paralympic sport to host events on home soil in readiness for London has transformed our events staging capacity within the UK, and is allowing us to target an ambitious programme of world class events for the UK beyond 2012.’