London 2012 committed to Woolwich despite problems
LONDON 2012 remains committed to staging shooting events at the Woolwich Barracks - despite ongoing wrangles with its British Army landlords.
ICONIC: London 2012 will want to stage shooting events against the backdrop of the Woolwich Barracks but critics are as fierce as ever
The choice of shooting venue has already caused much consternation - with officials from the sport's national governing body critical of the £18 million temporary facility, claiming it leaves them with no legacy value after the Games.
They have called for events to be held at the National Shooting Centre in Bisley or a proposed new facility in Barking.
London 2012 have already ruled out Bisley - which is over 40 miles from the Olympic Village - but have installed Barking as a back-up option.
Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, admits a decision is not expected imminently.
Although he remains confident of a resolution before the end of the year, with the International Olympic Commitee due to stage their next inspection visit in November.
The major problem with Woolwich is the amount of access that London 2012 would need to the venue - which is still a working military barracks - before the Games.
"Given that the Woolwich Barracks are one of the core bases for army personnel based in London, it's really a case of trying to not inconvenience people too much," said Deighton.
"The Army are working with us very constructively to make it all work and so it's a very good and straightforward discussion.
"I know in the past there have been one or two people in the Army who have been unhappy and said things but on the whole they are very constructively engaged in making it all work.
"At the moment we're fleshing out how it works in Woolwich, which is a relatively constrained site.
"Once we've figured that out we'll be in a position to make a final decision.
"The decision that we currently have is that Woolwich is the venue but we have Barking as a back-up, in case the constraints of working with a pretty tight site prove too challenging.
"While it's nice to have it all crystalised, we're still comfortably within our schedule. "
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Would the IOC be bothered if shooting moved ?? I don't think so
In 2002 Bisley hosted the shooting events for the MANCHESTER Commonwealth Games. The much greater distance issues were overcome on that occasion. Why did Manchester choose Bisley over more local alternatives such as Altcar - because Bisley offered the best option for a permanent legacy.
Bisley, not only has the shooting facilities to host an Olympic event, but also has the organisation to run the venue after the games - providing a real permanent legacy.
Would the IOC really dig their heels in over a move to Bisley if that saved money, and/or actually provided a practical legacy for shooting sports? The Woolwich alternative seems to be an expensive option which may yet prove unviable and provides no legacy.
I haven't managed to find out any detail on the proposals for Barking, but if that provided a legacy, then that must be better than Woolwich, but which organisation would run the Barking operation after the games ?? Whilst a legacy would be great, a white elephant with expensive running costs is the last thing that the shooting community needs. Let's see the detail about what legacy Barking would leave and whether this would be viable for the future.
LOCOG seem to be claiming that the IOC wanted shooting to be in a central location. Do they give any weight to what British Shooting wants, or what would help the grass-roots sport the most, or are they just trying to find an attractive backdrop to hold the event against to make better viewing ??
The british shooters choice must be Bisley - or Barking if that could be proved to have long-term viability - but please not Woolwich.
Got to agree - venues should
Got to agree - venues should be sorted. The more this row rumbles on the more it's costing.
The venues business really
The venues business really needs to be sorted out one way or the other. It could blight what otherwise seem to be admirable preparations
Admirable? Not having venues
Admirable? Not having venues sorted three years out is not admirable. Shooting, gymnastics, badmington and boxing are all up in the air about where there events will be held.
The madness of London 2012
The sport is being royally stiffed by Coe and his friends. They bang on about legacy but they dont walk the walk I'm afraid. Bisley needs more than a brush of paint to bring it up to international standards and the best option for the Games and the sport is a new facility in Barking. Shooting has consistantly delivered medals at the Olympics for Great Britain, although the last two Games were disappointing. No-one wants Woolwich - not the competitors, the national association or the people there. All the inconvienance caused by staging the Games is an impertinance to the people who call Woolwich Barracks their home. The only people in favour is the international association and they only care about the two weeks and how easy their journey is and how good the sport might look on TV. They don't care about what happens to the sport when the whole circus moves on to 2016. I really hope the army dig in their heels and make life hell for Coe's lot and then Barking will become a reality
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