IN BRIEF SPORT


Skills area for mountain bike centre A new skills area has been


added to the Coed Llandegla mountain bike centre in Wales. The new Skills Trail, one of the first of its type in the UK, offers a safe place for mountain bikers of all ages and abilities to learn new techniques and build confidence before setting out on the trails at Coed Llandegla. The area, which covers 600 metres of trail and includes several jumps, will also be used for mountain bike training courses. The Coed Llandegla centre is operated by Oneplanet Adventure.


New trust to run Aberdeen facilities Aberdeen City Council has confirmed that it has transferred the operation of its sports facilities to leisure trust Sport Aberdeen for a 10-year period. The Sports Trust Project Board/Working Group has met regularly over the last 18 months in order to oversee the process, which aims to help the local authority meet strategic and financial objectives. Sport Aberdeen is expected to play an integral part in delivering a new physical activity strategy for the city, as well as increasing participation and promoting Aberdeen as a tourist destination.


Green light for Telford sports plans A new sports and learning


community is to be developed in Telford after the local authority agreed a deal to build the facility on land off Salisbury Avenue. Telford and Wrekin Council is behind plans for the Priorslee Sports and Learning Community, which will replace Wrockwardine Wood Arts College and will cater for 1,050 pupils. The proposed facility will adopt Wrockwardine Wood Arts College's status as a centre for performing arts.


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news & jobs at www.leisureopportunities.co.uk 2010 organisers confirm £27m savings


Latest report quarterly savings take total amount of cost reduction to £700m By Tom Walker


Preparations for the 2012 London Games remain on course despite the government's decision to reduce the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) budget as part of wider efforts to reduce public spending. Organisers have confirmed that £27m worth of savings have been made in areas including construction site security and the media venues, as well as smaller alterations to the Basketball Arena and Velodrome. The latest London 2012


Olympic and Paralympic Quarterly Economic Report also revealed that the Games' anticipated final cost has been cut by £6m to £7.261bn, compared with last month.


Small alterations have been made to venues such as the Velodrome According to the ODA, more


than £100m has now been saved during the last quarter and around £700m since the baseline budget was agreed in November 2007, which have helped offset increases in other areas. Hugh Robertson,


minister for sport and the Olympics, said: "This report shows they have delivered £27m of savings as part of the government's measures for reducing the deficit while keeping the whole Olympic programme intact."


ASA 'disappointed' over government's swim axe By Tom Walker


The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has ex- pressed disappointment at the government's decision to withdraw £25m of funding set aside for the upgrade of swimming pools. Sport England was due to


distribute the cash on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education towards a total of 44 council


The cuts will affect leisure pools


and school pool projects. The government has, however, now decided to axe the


funding as part of a bid to reduce public expenditure and tackle the national deficit; a move the ASA admitted it had been expecting. ASA chief executive David


Sparkes said: "The way forward now is to see how the moderni- sation of pools can be contin- ued with no commitment to government funding. This will be a challenge but we will continue to work with pool operators and local authorities on the best way to do this."


New strategy for installations of artificial pitches


Sport England, the Football Foundation and four national governing bodies have reached agreement over a new strategic approach for the selection of artificial sports pitches. New guidance drawn up by the governing bodies of football, hockey, rugby union and rugby


league will help ensure that correct surfaces are installed in the right places and provide maximum value for investment. Each of the four organisations have committed to using the new approach, which has been drawn up after it was revealed that not all artificial surfaces are able to meet the needs of local communities.


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