Green light for new Weymouth Academy

Excellent news for sailing in the UK

After some doubt over it's future following a decline in the sale of Lottery Ticket sales, Britain's most successful medal winning sport at the 2000 Sydney Games received a huge boost today with the news that its National Sailing Centre, the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, was guaranteed the £7.85 million funding needed to secure the development of the site.

This unique project, which brings together a partnership between Sports Lottery Funding and Regional Development Agency investment, will see the construction of an Academy that will not only provide a training base for our Olympic sailors but also offer fantastic community benefits to the area, in terms of investment for the local economy and participation opportunities for a huge number of different groups within the general public to get on the water.

The South West Regional Development Agency have invested over £4.3 million into this project, alongside the £3 million that has been confirmed by Sport England from Lottery Funding, to enable the project to go ahead. A further £400,000 has been raised in partnership funding from a number of sources, including significant contributions from Dorset County Council, the RYA's Olympic Yachting Fund, West Dorset District Council and the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

Building will commence in September with the marine works, and the new Academy building is scheduled to be complete in approximately 12 months time.

RYA Racing Manager John Derbyshire commented: "This is fantastic news for our sport. The development of a top-level competition and training base will provide long-term investment into the local community. As the sailing venue for a 2012 bid this is exactly the kind of legacy that an Olympic Games should provide for long-term usage."

Roger Draper, Chief Executive of Sport England, said, "we are delighted to have given this award which will provide our elite sailors with a training base, as well as opening up sailing opportunities for the local community. As well as this, the Academy will bring a boost to the local economy and attract tourists to the southwest."