High Commissioner Visits Bury St Edmunds Ahead of Rwanda Athletes Pre-Olympics Training Camp
The High Commissioner for Rwanda visited Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre on Sunday (11 July) to open the 2010 Redrow Suffolk Youth Games.
Mr Ernest Rwamucyo was invited by St Edmundsbury Borough Council to watch hundreds of youngsters from Suffolk compete in athletics at the West Suffolk Athletics Arena at Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre. The arena will be home to a number of athletes from the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams in 2012 as they prepare for the London 2012 Olympics.
The High Commissioner watched the Games in the morning and had lunch with organisers of the event before touring West Suffolk College, King Edward VI Sports College, the town centre, followed by tea at The Athenaeum.
At the Athenaeum he heard from the Bury St Edmunds Olympic Steering Group, which is organising the visit of the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams in 2012, about some of the events the town has planned over the next 18 months to celebrate their arrival, which will be two weeks before the Games. The High Commissioner’s visit will mark 746 days until the London 2012 Olympics.
Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said: “We were delighted that the Rwandan High Commissioner accepted our invitation to come to Bury St Edmunds and we enjoyed showing him around our beautiful town.”
Warren Smyth, Chief Executive of Abbeycroft Leisure and member of the Bury St Edmunds Olympic Steering Group, said: “This was a wonderful opportunity to show the High Commissioner the facilities that the Rwandan Olympic Teams will be using to prepare for London 2012 and we will be telling him about the many activities we have planned leading up to when the athletes arrive.”
John Clough, Director of Suffolk Sport, which has organised the 2010 Redrow Suffolk Youth Games, said: "With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London just around the corner, the 2010 Redrow Suffolk Youth Games offers young people a small taste of what it is like to take part in a large-scale, multi-sport event.
“In their own way, whether on the world stage or across Suffolk, both events have the power to inspire young people to grow as individuals and achieve their potential through sporting endeavour. We were delighted that the Rwandan High Commissioner officiated at the Opening Ceremony and I'm sure he enjoyed a memorable day of sport."