Athlete Development Centre gets a facelift

Around £150,000 has been invested by Sports Office alongside the University’s Annual Fund, to create a high-performance training space that is unique to the region.

The biggest developments will include the addition a new drop-rated flooring system, Hammer Strength weights equipment and array of specialist conditioning and testing apparatus.

The facility’s current equipment, including treadmills, concept 2 rowers, scrum truck, cable machines and squat racks will also be fully refurbished and repositioned to create a whole new feel to the facility.

Opened in September 2013, the ADC was originally conceived as part of the University’s £8.5million redevelopment project at the Sports Park.

The facility has allowed the University to expand its high performance offering, making use of a larger gym space and doubling its staff.

“We’re all very excited,” commented performance coach (conditioning) Alan Pope. “We’ve used the last six months to fully understand and assess how we can optimise the space, and have taken on-board the feedback and views of our existing athletes.

“The entire layout of the centre is going to change, to give us a more functional environment which is conducive to larger groups coming in.

“It’s going to be very different, certainly like nothing else I have ever seen in the South West peninsular, it’s going to fill a real need for aspiring athletes in the region.

 “If you look at all of the major teams and athletes competing in top level sport today, you’ll see they invest a significant amount in their conditioning work; every minor improvement in your physical and mental approach to your sport can have a massive impact on the pitch. The fact is, without a comprehensive programme, an athlete’s ability to perform is greatly limited”.

The Centre already supports over 450 high performance athletes and sports scholars across a range squads, including the University’s 10 on the High Performance Programme. The facility also hosts Paralympic footballers Robin Williams, Keryn Seal and Dan James, athletes supported by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), as well as the likes of the Devon women’s county cricket squad and the Bikeshed-UEx Cycling team.

Refurbishment is set to be completed at the start of August, in time for University pre-season training. Once complete, the ADC will also be available to book as a facility for schools, clubs and individuals or training squads.

Users may also wish to utilise the vast knowledge and experience of the University team to devise and implement training regimes and nutritional plans as well as receiving sports psychology and physiotherapy support.

For further information on the Athlete Development Centre and how it could help you, please contact University of Exeter Sport on sportsperformance@exeter.ac.uk.