General News
Olympic hockey ‘scoop’ for Stonyhurst

Stonyhurst's Aqua-turf

Olympic Stonyhurst sportsmen and women are in line to visit Stonyhurst for training sessions in the run up to the 2012 London Games.

Stonyhurst has been chosen as one of only three North West venues where hockey teams from across the world can have pre-match practise.

The accolade for Stonyhurst and the Ribble Valley was revealed when Andy Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, visited Manchester to launch the official London 2012 pre-Games Training Camp Guide.

Stonyhurst's all-weather floodlit aqua turf pitch is one of 73 North West venues selected to appear in the Guide that covers a wide range of sports.

Most sites are in cities and towns such as Manchester, Salford, Merseyside, Preston, Blackpool and Bolton.

More than 600 training facilities throughout the UK are listed in the Guide, to be published at the Bejing Games later this year.

Stonyhurst's aqua turf pitch was opened in 2001 and is also a community facility, used regularly by Ribble Valley sports clubs. The special pitch is water-based and cushions falls better than sand-based all-weather surfaces.

It recently fielded an under-16s hockey tournament with more than 100 players taking part in teams from across the North West.

Perhaps some of the Stonyhurst girls will return here to train as members of the Great Britain hockey squad by 2012?

Action from the recent Stonyhurst Under 16 Hockey Tournament played on the Aqua-turf

Press and media enquiries, please contact Mr Jonathan Hewat - 01254 827093 or email admissions@stonyhurst.ac.uk