![Maindy Pool & Cycle Track](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Maindy_Pool_%26_Cycle_Track.jpg)
Maindy Centre ( cy, Canolfan Maendy, formerly known as Maindy Stadium, now also known as Maindy Pool and Cycle Track) is a
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...
and indoor swimming pool facility in the
Maindy
Maindy ( cy, Maendy, meaning ''Stone House'') is a district of the city of Cardiff, Wales. Its boundaries are not formally recognised by Cardiff Council, and the district falls within the Cathays ward and Gabalfa.
A notable facility in the area ...
area of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The velodrome was used in the
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958.
Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...
and the swimming pool was opened in 1993.
Maindy Stadium opened in 1951. The stadium has previously had an athletics running track, which was transferred from
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
after the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It became Cardiff's main athletics stadium until the
Cardiff Athletics Stadium
The Cardiff Athletics Stadium (also known as Leckwith Athletics Stadium) was an athletics and football stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It opened in 1989 and was demolished in 2007, replaced by the Cardiff International Sports Stadium.
The Card ...
was opened in 1989.
The stadium has also been used for
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
and
Welsh baseball.
History
The site on which the Maindy Centre stands was gifted by
Lord Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...
to the people of Cardiff.
In the 1920s, it was a
clay pit
A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement. Quarries where clay is mined to make bricks are sometimes called brick pits.
A brickyard or brickworks is of ...
that had been filled with water and household refuse and used for swimming, with a number of adults and children drowned in it.
The site was filled in and by May 1951 the new Maindy Stadium was opened.
The stadium was designed so that events could be used for the requirements of the
Amateur Athletics Association
The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...
and the
National Cyclists' Union.
Boxing matches also took place at Maindy Stadium between May 1935 and July 1963.
Facilities
The outdoor floodlit cycling velodrome was well known for its slight unevenness, caused by subsidence, as the stadium was built on the clay pit. There was a six-lane cinder running track inside the cycle track at one point, but this has since been removed and replaced by a mini football pitches and a road section for traffic safety courses (in the middle of the velodrome.
There was also extensive seating and covered area with a judges box in the 1960s, on an area which is now a grass bank behind the back straight of the cycle track. At that time, the finish line on the cycle track was located at the opposite side of the cycle track to its current location.
![Maindy Swimming Pool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Maindy_Swimming_Pool.jpg)
Maindy remains to be used extensively for training and racing and hosts many events such as the Cardiff International Grand Prix. It is used in particular for teaching youngsters to ride. At 460 metres in length and 18 degree bankings,
the track is not as steep as the majority of velodromes, and therefore perfect for those new to the sport. The concrete surface is also used for floodlit training sessions during the winter, where
road bicycles
The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a ...
are used as opposed to
track bicycle
A track bicycle or track bike is a bicycle optimized for racing at a velodrome or outdoor track. Unlike road bicycles, the track bike is a fixed-gear bicycle; thus, it has only a single gear ratio and has neither a freewheel nor brakes. Tires are ...
s.
The cycle track has recently been resurfaced, seeing an end to the characteristic red asphalt surface which covered it for several years,
funded by the
Eddie Smart
Edward Charles Smart (23 August 1946 – 6 February 2000) was a Welsh cyclist and coach from Cardiff, Wales. He represented Wales at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica (formally the Empire Games), in the scratch race, kilo, sprint, ...
memorial fund.
The Maindy Flyers Youth Cycling Club is also based at the stadium, and boasts past members such as
Geraint Thomas
Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...
. Riders from the club have gone on to win four of the eight Olympic gold medals won by Welsh sportspeople between 1976 and 2016. The
British National Derny Championships were held at the stadium in 2007, local riders and past members of Maindy Flyers,
Alex Greenfield
Alexandra Greenfield (born 1990) is a Welsh former road and track cyclist from Barry. She began competing at a young age with the Maindy Flyers children's cycle club before joining Cardiff Ajax CC. Greenfield holds the record for the 5 km ...
and
Katie Curtis
Catherine Rachel "Katie" Prankerd (née Curtis; born 1 November 1988) is a Welsh former professional road and track cyclist.
Career
Born in Cardiff, Prankerd began competing at a young age with the Maindy Flyers children's cycle club before jo ...
came second and third respecitvley. Another past members of Maindy Flyers,
Matthew Rowe, finished third in the men's championships. Other notable ex-members include
Elinor Barker
Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track racing cyclist, who last rode professionally on the road for UCI Women's Team . Representing Great Britain in international competitions, Barker is an Olympic champion, a two- ...
,
Luke Rowe
Luke Rowe (born 10 March 1990) is a Welsh racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Biography
Born in Cardiff, Rowe began racing at a young age, initially riding with his parents on a tandem. He began to enjoy cycling and became a member of ...
and
Owain Doull
Owain Daniel Doull (born 2 May 1993) is a Welsh road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Doull specialises in the team pursuit on the track, and won a gold medal in the discipline at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro; ...
.
The facility also has a 6-lane length swimming pool, which was opened in 1993, and a 5-a-side pitch,
See also
*
List of Commonwealth Games venues
The following are lists of all Commonwealth Games venues, starting with the first Commonwealth Games in 1930, alphabetically, by sport and by year.
As a multi-sport event, competitions held during a given the Commonwealth Games usually take p ...
References
External links
*
Maindy Centre on Citypedia
{{coord, 51, 29, 48.50, N, 3, 11, 24.00, W, display=title
Cathays
Sports venues in Cardiff
Velodromes in Wales
Swimming venues in Wales
Cycle racing in Wales