For two former Oundle School pupils, Sebastian Wilson Dyer Gough (who left Oundle School in 2008) and Sebastian Goodall (who left Oundle School in 2010), the year ahead is set to be a very memorable one. Not only will it bring the London Olympic Games to the UK for the first time since the late 1940s, it will also bring the chance for the two, who both still live in Oundle, to compete in the Olympic Stadium itself for their university, the University of Leeds; realising what many athletes would consider a dream come true.
The 4 May 2012 will see the start of a four day event to test out the premier venue, the centre hub of the London Olympic Games. Every year, all UK university athletics teams battle it out to determine the best athletics university. This event is held by British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), and has in the past been held at the Bedford International athletics stadium, which sees around 2,000 athletes compete annually. However, in light of the approaching Olympic Games, the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games have decided to team up with BUCS and use the athletics event as the test event for the London Olympics. United Kingdom Athletics will also select athletes to compete in the test event to provide a standard of professionalism.
Seb Wilson Dyer Gough commented, “This year has been a long time coming since finding out that I would be competing in the Olympic stadium, and coupled with being an Olympic Torchbearer, I couldn't be happier. Knowing that I will have jumped in the Olympic stadium before any of the world’s greatest will be something I never forget"
The test event will begin on the evening of Friday 4 May and stretch over the May Bank Holiday to the afternoon of Monday 7 May. The aim of the event is to bring both an element of professionalism never seen before at the outdoor athletics BUCS event, and also to give the opportunity for many young athletes to experience the occasion of a lifetime. The event will test the facilities, procedures, and resources of the estimated £547million stadium, which can accommodate 80,000 spectators. Roughly 44,000 of these seats will go on sale for the test event in late February, providing a real life taster of what the Games will be like in late July.
Each ticket (costing £5-£10) will be valid for one day of the four day event.
For further information, please visit www.bucs.org.uk/athletics and click on the Outdoor Championships tab on the left-hand side of the page.