£36 million Olympic Sports Facility at Surrey

Guildford City Swimming Club has moved into a new 50m pool at Surrey Sports Park, a new facility at the University of Surrey. The club’s head coach Richard Garfield took over in 1998 and has overhauled what was a “truly third division club” and turned it into a powerhouse of sport and winner of The Independent Charity Auction prize.

The sports centre is also used by Guildford Heat basketball and Harlequin’s rugby team but it is Olympic swimmers that are getting Guildford excited. The swimming is hoping to provide facilities for half a dozen swimmers during the Olympic Games. The move to the state of the art centre will also mean a much-improved university swimming team and attract more students to the area.