COLCHESTER is aiming to capture the Olympic spirit by bidding to act as a host location for a competing country in the 2012 Games.Colchester Borough Council, Essex University and Colchester Garrison have joined forces to bid to become a holding centre or training camp for the 2012 event.

By Sharon Asplin

COLCHESTER is aiming to capture the Olympic spirit by bidding to act as a host location for a competing country in the 2012 Games.

Colchester Borough Council, Essex University and Colchester Garrison have joined forces to bid to become a holding centre or training camp for the 2012 event.

If successful, Colchester will be included in The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games - LOCOG - guide for competing nations seeking training or accommodation which will be issued early next year.

The guide will be sent out to every country competing in the games to help them choose where to base their teams.

Kevin Bentley, council portfolio holder for culture and public relations, said: “By working together we have been able to put forward a very strong bid because we can offer such a wide range of sporting facilities and supporting services.

“The icing on the cake is that Colchester can also offer a wide range of things to see and do to help athletes relax and unwind from their training schedules.

“We are confident that we are a real contender, and are keen to make the most of any benefits the 2012 games can bring for our borough.”

Colchester and its surrounding area offers excellent facilities for sports such as basketball, athletics, equestrian, shooting, hockey, football, sailing, gymnastics, and swimming.

As an incentive, the Government recently announced there will be grants available to encourage countries to train in the UK and this could mean further improvement to local facilities.

Although many of the European countries are unlikely to need training camps, nations from further afield, such as Australia, the United States and China, are all expected to bring teams to Britain ahead of the games.

Alternatively, Colchester could be selected as a specialist centre for one or two particular sports.

Registrar of the University of Essex, Dr Tony Rich, said: “Attracting Olympians to train in Colchester would help to inspire the borough's young people to participate in sport at the grass roots and elite level, while helping us to maintain and improve the sporting facilities available to the community.”

Col Tony Phillips, representing the garrison, added: “Colchester Garrison, as a significant element within the community, have always welcomed the strong links that exist with Colchester town and taken positive steps to foster them.

“We already afford local organisations access to our facilities and, in this vein, we embraced the opportunity to support Champion Colchester in this Olympic bid as partners in order to help promote Colchester town as a prestigious regional centre.”