The Sport Wales National Centre ( cy, Canolfan Genedlaethol Chwaraeon Cymru) is a sports facility in

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 ...

, set up to assist the development of elite athletes in Wales. The Centre, owned and operated by

Sport Wales Sport Wales ( Welsh: ''Chwaraeon Cymru'') is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim t ...

, was established by the then Sports Council for Wales in 1971 as the National Sports Centre for Wales. Renamed the Welsh Institute of Sport in 1994, it has been known as the Sport Wales National Centre since April 2010. The Centre is located in

Sophia Gardens Sophia Gardens ( cy, Gerddi Sophia) is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket matches and county cricket matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of Gl ...

, Cardiff and opened on 30 October 1971, with the official opening by Her Royal Highness the

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

on 12 June 1972. The main building housing the indoor sports halls is by F. D. Williamson & Associates and is described in ''

The Buildings of Wales The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

'' as "An impressive piece of minimalism". Several

governing bodies of sports in Wales The governing bodies of sports in Wales perform an organisational, regulatory or sanctioning function at a national level in Wales, some tracing their history to the 19th Century. Many cooperate with similar bodies from other countries to agree ru ...

are based at the Centre. It hosts the

Welsh International The Welsh International is an international badminton championship held in Wales since 1928 and is thereby one of the oldest badminton tournaments in the world. The tournament was halted during World War II and until 1956, between 1960 and 1966, a ...

Badminton Championship every year in December. Welsh national teams that train at the Centre include badminton,

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

, gymnastics, field hockey,

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

and judo.

Main Arena

*Gymnastics *Table Tennis *Trampoline *Presentation *Martial Arts *Badminton *Indoor football *Netball *Basketball

Governing bodies at the Centre

Basketball Wales Basketball Wales ( cy, Pêl-fasged Cymru) (founded in 1952 as the Basketball Association of Wales) is the sole controller and the national governing body of all aspects of the game of basketball in Wales. It is responsible for the management of th ...

is the sole controller and the governing body of all aspects of the game of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

in Wales. It is responsible for the management of the Welsh National Basketball League, the national teams and for the organisation of all national and international basketball competitions held in Wales. The

Federation of Disability Sport Wales The Federation of Disability Sport Wales ( cy, Chwaraeon Anabledd Cymru) is the national pan-disability governing body of sports organisations that provides local sporting and physical activity opportunities to disabled people in Wales. The Fede ...

is the national pan-disability governing body of sports organisations that provide local sporting and physical activity opportunities to disabled people in Wales. Hockey Wales is the

national governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

in Wales. Previously known as the Welsh Hockey Union it rebranded as Hockey Wales though the organisation still retains the former name as a business. The Welsh Hockey Union was established in 1996 by the merger of the Welsh Hockey Association (founded 1896) and the Welsh Women's Hockey Association (founded 1897). Hockey Wales is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the game including clubs, competitions, development, internationals, schools, umpiring and universities.

is responsible for developing and promoting sport and active lifestyles in Wales. It was established in 1972 with the objectives of "fostering the knowledge and practice of sport and physical recreation among the public at large in Wales and the provision of facilities thereto". Sport Wales is the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

's main adviser on sporting matters and is responsible for distributing National Lottery awards to national governing bodies of sports in Wales. The

Welsh Judo Association The Welsh Judo Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Judo Cymru) (WJA) is the governing body for the sport of judo in Wales. The WJA has 80 affiliated clubs and over 2,400 members. It is responsible for managing the Welsh Performance Squads the National ...

(WJA) is the governing body for

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

in Wales. The WJA has 80 affiliated clubs and over 2,400 members. It is responsible for managing the Welsh High Class Performance Squads, from which the National Coach—double judo Olympic silver medallist Neil Adams—selects the Welsh national team to compete at international events. A purpose built

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

is under construction at the Institute to house the WJA, allowing full-time tutorage of promising athletes. The

Welsh Sports Association The Welsh Sports Association ( cy, Gwasanaeth Chwaraeon Cymru) (WSA) (established 1972) is an independent, umbrella body, supporting and representing the national and international interests of all the national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport an ...

(WSA) (established 1972) is an independent, umbrella body, supporting and representing the national and international interests of all the national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport and physical recreation in Wales. It has a membership of over 60 NGBs. The WSA acts as an independent consultative body to the

, Sport Wales and to

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It was created ...

. The Welsh Sports Association is based at the Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The

Welsh Target Shooting Federation The Welsh Target Shooting Federation ( cy, Ffederasiwn Saethu Targedau Cymru) (WTSF) is the governing body for shooting sports in Wales. The Federation is based within the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The WTSF represe ...

represents the interests of airgun, rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting in Wales from offices in the National Centre. It also operates a 50metre outdoor and 10metre indoor range at the Centre for its high performance rifle and airgun teams. These ranges have also been used as training bases by GB Academy and Talent Squads.

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport Wales National Centre Sports medicine in the United Kingdom Sports venues in Cardiff Sports venues in Wales Sports venues completed in 1971 1971 establishments in Wales

Sport in Wales Sports academies Netball venues Celtic Dragons

Main Arena

Governing bodies at the Centre

See also

Notes

External links