Life S a Beach for Crystal Palace

PRESS RELEASE: 16 September 2011

Life’s a Beach for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre is delighted to announce the opening of its brand new outdoor beach sports activity area.

The Open Weekend will take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September and will give Londoners of all ages the opportunity to experience one of the Olympics most talked about and modern sport, Beach Volleyball!.

There will be a host of Coaches and players on site to provide training and advice including Luke and Jake Sheaf, British Champions in 2009.

Have a go and coached Beach Volleyball sessions will run from 10am - 3pm with Beach Soccer taking place from 4pm - 6pm.

Following on from the launch the area will be available for birthday parties and corporate barbeques and will host a number of drop-in sessions and sand-based sports courses.

Crystal Palace Beach Sports has been funded through a partnership between GLL and Volleyball England. The sand has been donated by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) which has transformed a disused area of the facility at the very front of the building.

The facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre together with The Score Sports Centre in Waltham Forest and Westminster Academy Sports Centre were recently announced as part of Volleyball England’s Beach Volleyball Capital Investment Initiative, which aims to increase the number of beach courts available in England, ready for an influx of new players inspired by the test event and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Speaking earlier this month, as the 2274 tonnes of sand (which filled courts at the London 2012 Beach Volleyball test event) were sent to the sports venues across London, Chief Executive of Volleyball England, Lisa Wainwright, said: “Through an innovative partnership between LOCOG, Sport England, and Volleyball England we are delighted to announce these new facilities. This will be the first set of legacy facilities operational in London before games time, all based within 10 miles of Horse Guards Parade. This is a fabulous opportunity for Londoners to come along to a local facility and give beach volleyball a go, meet new friends, get healthier and maybe even start a new sport for life.” ~ ends ~

Words: 360

Press enquiries: Heather Richardson PROMOTE PR 01628 507 665 [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Volleyball England is the branded image for the English Volleyball Association (EVA). Volleyball England is the recognised National Governing Body for Volleyball in all its forms, including Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball in England. Volleyball England has a service level agreement with the British Volleyball Federation (BVF) to manage the GB Sitting Volleyball Performance Programme.