First Minister officially opens National Sports Training Centre
The Inverclyde centre at Largs is being described as 'world class'
Last updated 30th Aug 2017
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon joined Paralympians and Commonwealth Games athletes to celebrate the official opening of a residential sports training centre after a £12 million redevelopment.
Funded by sportscotland and the Scottish Government, the National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde in Largs is described as a "world-class'' centre designed with inclusivity at its heart.
It will cater for a wide range of indoor and outdoor sports and activities ranging from gymnastics to tennis and hockey to pilates.
Schools and sports governing bodies were consulted during its conception and residential sports centres across the UK and Europe were studied.
Stewart Harris, chief executive at sportscotland, said: "Sports facilities are the best they have ever been in Scotland with a network of quality facilities the length and breadth of the country, including the recently opened National Curling Academy in Stirling, Aberdeen Sports Village, the national performance centre (Oriam) in Edinburgh, the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, and the Olympia swimming centre in Dundee.
"Inverclyde is an important addition to that sporting estate, making sport more accessible and giving everyone from the local community to our aspiring Paralympic athletes a bespoke training facility to enable them to reach their goals, at every level.''
Many of the world's top football managers, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, earned their coaching credentials during training courses at the centre.
Paralympian and World pairs silver medalist Scott McCowan (Boccia) said: "It's fantastic to have a facility like Inverclyde on our doorstep and it will make a huge difference to our preparations.
"The attention to detail means we can focus fully on our training and not worry about the practicalities.''
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "It's fantastic that Scotland has the first sports training centre of this kind in the UK and I'm proud that this government has invested in the new centre - another major addition to our world-class sports facilities.
"We want to do all we can to encourage more people to lead active lives and the new National Sports Training Centre is designed with inclusivity in mind, providing modern facilities for both performance and community users under one roof.
"It will ensure Scotland is even better placed to support our disabled athletes in their preparations and help to ensure sport and activity is accessible to everyone.''
Janice Eaglesham, chairwoman of Scottish Disability Sport, added: "It is terrific to have an inclusive facility like this in Scotland and it was invaluable to us that we were involved in the project right from the start."