Trackspeed1 coach John Powell has slammed the capital's sports facilities as 'seriously sub-standard' and, in the case of his home venue, Crystal Palace, 'shambolic'.
His words came as the big freeze added insult to injury, consigning his squad of talented internationals to a single 60 metre straight in a squalid indoor facility in south east London.
What was formerly the shining star and spiritual home of track and field in the UK, Crystal Palace 'National Sports Centre' is left to languish under inches of snow.
"What is even worse," said Powell, "is that the indoor track has doors with hinges hanging off hence allowing pigeons to seek refuge from the cold. The soiling all over the track has to be seen to be believed. But I've been using the facility since 1975 and I can't recall the indoors ever being cleaned.
"The corrugated plastic windows have pulled away from the walls, so we freeze in there anyway, and if it rains, the roof leaks so badly the bottom half of the track floods. There are disgusting fluid stains all over the place, it's revolting."
As London prepares for the 2012 Olympics it might not be entirely unreasonable to expect some investment in legendary iconic venues such as the Palace, but Greenwich Leisure, the current tenants, don't see it that way, and actually shut the place down out of hours for two weeks over Christmas and the New Year.
"I couldn't believe it,"said Powell. "We all have to work during the day, so can't train 9-5. They actually closed for 2 weeks in the evening, although credit where it's due that they gave in to our complaints and extended the track hours on 3 nights, but I've already been told it'll be shut at the end of 2010 because of lack of use. Just when athletes are trying to prepare for the indoor season. The attitude to our sportsmen and women in this country really defies belief - and then we wonder why we can't compete on the world stage!
"I've seen how the other half live in the States, and it puts us to shame. The only decent facility we have n London is at Lee Valley and that's way too far to go for my group. Sutton's got a decent indoor straight, but it has almost no local public transport and is a nightmare to drive to unless you are local."
Powell, who has the experience of having coached US athletes in California, Massachusetts, Florida, and New York, met with Crystal Palace management recently but they were unrepentant, citing business priorities that come before cleaning the indoor track or, much less, sweeping snow off the stadium area.
"There needs to be some political will to reinvest in the Palace. If I were Mayor Boris Johnson, I would be intensely embarrassed," said Powell. "A little investment in the place, and a bit of a clean up, and I'm sure you would get alot more use and, with 2012 not so far away now, it would provide an outstanding training base for some visiting teams."
Meanwhile, Trackspeed1 got its indoor season off to a modest start at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Sunday (10th). Samuel Adeyemi shattered his previous indoor best over 400m with a semi-final 51.19s effort that only just evaded qualification for the final. He had timed 51.45s in the heat, slicing a healthy second off his then best performance on the boards.
Ellie Doel was also in action, but disappointed with a 61.12s run in her heats, and which was insufficient to progress to the final.
"Ellie would rightly be disappointed with that," said Powell, "because she has been training way faster and is worth two or three seconds better. She'll improve next time though. Sam did well - a very smooth runner who, when he gets stronger, could switch up a gear and turn a few heads in the next 12-18 months."
No comments:
Post a Comment