Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic
Games Ltd. (LOCOG)
LONDON 2012 AND
SHOOTING
We appreciate the opportunity to reiterate the
key facts regarding the approval of the Royal Artillery Barracks,
Woolwich as the shooting venue for the 2012 Games, and our continuing
commitment to working with sporting bodies and the local community
to deliver an inspiring, high-quality and safe field of play on
that site.
CHRONOLOGY OF
SUBMISSION OF
WOOLWICH AS
A VENUE
Under the rules of the International Olympic
Committee, the relevant international federation (IF) is responsible
for approval of the Games venue for its sport. It is not necessary
for an Organising Committee to obtain the approval from the national
governing body (NGB), nevertheless, as a matter of policy the
London 2012 bid company sought to involve NGBs from an early stage
in site evaluation and submission of venues to the relevant international
federations of sport.
As you will recall, we had initially submitted
Bisley International Shooting Centre as the venue for shooting,
but following feedback from the IOC's review of the Bid Committee's
Applicant File we were required to consider other potential venues
in an effort to fully integrate shooting into the main hub of
London 2012's bid.
Consistent with this and with particular reference
to Woolwich, before seeking the approval of the IOC to move from
our original choice of Bisley, we sought to obtain the informal
sign off by the relevant NGB before seeking the formal approval
of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
This process began by soliciting the views of
the Great Britain Target Shooting Federation (the former name
of British Shooting), which was then chaired by John Hoare. We
sent John Hoare venue overlay plans for shooting at the Royal
Artillery Barracks in July 2004. We then conducted site visits
to the Royal Artillery Barracks accompanied by David Parish, Chairman
of the ISSF Technical Committee and member of the National Smallbore
Rifle Association (NRSA); John Hoare, Head of the National Smallbore
Rifle Association (NRSA) and Chairman, Great Britain Target Shooting
Federation (GBTSF) and Keith Murray, Member of the ISSF Shotgun
Committee.
Following such consultation and receiving no
negative feedback we were pleased to submit the plans to host
shooting at Woolwich to the International Federation on 6 August
2004. These plans state that the venue meets all the technical
requirements and our alignment with the National Governing Body.
The ISSF confirmed their support for the move to Woolwich in September
2004.
Following this the IOC Evaluation Commission
undertook an official review of the candidate file submitted by
London 2012 which included Woolwich as the venue for shooting.
As part of this official IOC review the IOC Evaluation Commission
held a meeting at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich in February
2005 at which all relevant parties, including the venue owner
and NGB were invited to present their support and the rationale
for this choice of venue and demonstrate its suitability.
At this meeting, Mr Hoare, as Chairman of GBTSF
presented to the Evaluation Commission and clearly stated:
— the support of the shooting NGBs
for the venue;
— that the ISSF was fully aware of
the plans; and
— the intention of GBTSF to work with
London 2012 to bring a traditionally distant sport close to the
centre of the Games in a fantastic setting.
As you know the Evaluation Commission accepted
our candidate file and London 2012 won the rights to stage the
Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in July 2005 based on this
candidate file.
I hope that this clarifies the chronology and
involvement of GBTSF in the decision to submit Woolwich as the
venue for shooting in London 2012. The ISSF supports in full this
venue and we continue to work with them on our current technical
planning.
DIALOGUE WITH
BRITISH SHOOTING
Mr Boakes, who replaced John Hoare as Chairman
in 2005, first asked us for a change of venue in June 2006, when
he and representatives of the Dartford Clay Shooting Club met
with us to ask that Dartford be used instead. Our position then,
and consistently to date, is that we remain committed to Woolwich.
As outlined above, one of our key objectives
is to bring shooting to the heart of the 2012 Games, to provide
easy access for athletes and spectators so that they can experience
not just this sport itself but also have easy access to other
sports being held as part of the Games. Another objective is to
assist the sport in raising its profile with new spectators and
potential athletes, something that an iconic central location
can do.
Nevertheless, we listened to the points raised
by Mr Boakes, particularly on safety and legacy, and arranged
for a follow up visit to Woolwich by the ISSF to confirm that
our plans would comply with ISSF safety requirements. Following
this visit, which concluded that we did meet ISSF safety requirements,
we decided that it would be appropriate for us to go above and
beyond the ISSF safety requirements. Therefore, to ensure the
safest possible venue we now comply with the more rigorous safety
exclusion zone requirements set by the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association
(CPSA) of the UK. This will also ensure that we will be able to
obtain the local safety certifications required by our insurance
providers, which as a practical matter depend upon a satisfactory
assessment by CPSA experts.
In terms of ongoing contact with Mr Boakes and
British Shooting, we have met with Mr Boakes or his designated
representative to discuss the venue on the following dates—15
December 2006 (site visit with the ISSF), 6 November 2007 and
27 November 2007.
Representatives of British Shooting have attended
NGB seminars hosted by LOCOG on the following dates—30 September
2005, 24 July 2006, 2 February 2007 and 12 September 2007.
Maintaining regular contact with British Governing
Bodies is important to us and we have sent a periodic newsletter
to all NGBs, including directly to Mr Boakes at British Shooting,
three times a year—April/May 2006, Summer 2006, Winter 2006,
Spring 2007, Summer 2007 and Winter 2007.
We have corresponded with Mr Boakes directly
on an ongoing basis. In 2007, this included letters from him (to
all of which we responded) dated—17 January, 27 February,
13 April and 11 May.
We have maintained ongoing contact with British
Shooting on this subject.
LEGACY FOR
SHOOTING
One of our key commitments, now and during the
bid, is that we will leave no white elephants. Our definition
of "legacy" is much more than bricks and mortar, and
includes improving accessibility to sports during the Games and
enhancing the understanding of sport so that we can inspire people
to take part in, and support sport in the future. This includes
looking at how we can present sport to enhance understanding both
at the venues themselves and also on television.
The size and scale of facilities required for
all sports, not just shooting, at the Games do not automatically
translate to long term sustainable and financially viable facilities.
Therefore a significant part of our planning to date has been
working closely with the Olympic Delivery Authority and other
stakeholders to determine, where possible, the best sustainable
physical facilities.
In the case of shooting at Woolwich we are looking
at relocating components of the facility as well as what might
be sustainable on the site. We are working with the London Borough
of Greenwich and Royal Artillery Barracks, and all of us are fully
committed to this. We will make further announcements on our plans
for Woolwich once we have completed our detailed studies. In the
meantime you may wish to be aware that Dartford Council has contacted
us to inform us of the unsuitability of developing Games time
and legacy facilities for shooting at the alternative site proposed
to us by Mr Boakes.
We will continue to ensure that Woolwich will
be a spectacular and safe venue which provides a unique promotional
opportunity for British Shooting. We would very much welcome constructive
and consistent engagement with British Shooting to help us achieve
this. Their involvement would enable us to accomplish our goals
even more efficiently and with much greater positive impact for
the sport.
January 2008
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