Sheffield is continuing to play a key role in the run up to London 2012 after it was announced that the Olympic diving trials will take place in the city.
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre will host the trials as part of the ASA British Gas National Diving Championships 2012 - the last chance the country's top divers to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
The trials, which will take place from 8 - 12 June 2012, will see divers compete for their place in the Great Britain team to go for gold at the Olympics in London.
Diving stars expected to take part in the event include Tom Daley, Pete Waterfield Sarah Barrow, Tonia Crouch, Chris Mears and Jack Laugher, as well as Sheffield-based divers Ben Swain, Nick Robinson-Baker, Megan Sylvester and Monique Gladding.
Ponds Forge, which is operated by Sheffield International Venues (SIV), was recently awarded funding from Sport England to carry out work on the diving boards, with the 10 metre and five metre boards being extended to three metres wide.
This will enable high performance synchronized diving to take place, which will be showcased during the trials, and also will mean that technical measurements can be taken during diving coaching to assist with the development of the divers' skills.
Steve Brailey, chief executive of SIV, said: "Sheffield has a strong reputation for sporting excellence and hosting the Olympic trials for our country's best divers only serves to showcase this.
"Further investment in our facilities also means we are able to provide the very best, not only for our own local athletes who use Ponds Forge as a training base, but for national and international sporting stars who participate in the major events that are hosted at the venue throughout the year."
It was also announced last year that the US Olympic diving team will be using Ponds Forge as their training base in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The team will be holding training camps at the venue in February and July next year in preparation for the Olympics, which is set to be the biggest sporting event ever to come to the UK.
Steve added: "It will be fantastic to welcome the US diving team back to Ponds Forge next year as they prepare for the Games. They have been full of praise for our facilities and the city of Sheffield as a whole, so we hope the team benefit from their training camp at the venue."
Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris Cabinet Member for Business, Jobs and Growth at Sheffield City Council said: "As a Council we work tirelessly to bring major sporting events to the city and with them, economic benefits for businesses and residents alike. Sheffield is famous for its world class sporting facilities and what better place to hold the Olympic diving trials than Pond's Forge. I look forward to the Olympic hopefuls coming to Sheffield."
