Venues revealed for 2012 pre-Olympic training

More than 600 sporting venues have been listed in a pre-Olympic Games training guide by the London Organising Committee.

The guide will be given to all National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees so they can decide where to base themselves or send individual athletes to prepare for the games.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) will also offer up to £25,000 to committees to help encourage teams to train in the UK.

The Pre-Games Training Camp Guide will be published at the Beijing Games and details of the facilities will appear on a dedicated website developed by tourism agency Visit Britain.

Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister, said: “The strength and diversity of our sporting infrastructure is demonstrated by so many high quality facilities having met the strict criteria to be included in this guide. This is a real opportunity for communities across the UK to capitalise on the benefits that hosting 2012 offers.

"There are no guarantees of success just by making it into the guide. There will be fierce competition to host foreign teams and individuals, and now it is for every nation and region, every venue, to sell itself internationally.”

Facilities in the guide include well known major sporting hubs, universities and independent schools, community facilities, and sport specific clubs.

They were assessed against technical criteria, such as the ability to offer high quality facilities, experience of hosting elite teams, comfortable but affordable accommodation, the ability to offer appropriate catering, good transport links, access to a good hospital, and good sports science facilities.