The National Sports Centre (also known as NSC) in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

is a large multi-sports centre and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

stadium. The NSC is owned by the

Department of Education, Sport and Culture The Department of Education, Sport and Culture (''Rheynn Ynsee Spoyrt as Cultoor'') is a department of the Isle of Man Government. The department was formerly the Department of Education and Children and was renamed as the Department of Educat ...

of the

Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man Government ( gv, Reiltys Ellan Vannin) is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of Charles III. The executive head is the Chief M ...

and operated by the Manx Sport & Recreation.

History

The NSC is built on the site of the former Belle Vue and King George V Park with phase one being opened in 1991. The centre is Quest Accredited (the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure) and has maintained its highly commended status since it was first awarded in December 2001. The 2001

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...

was held on the Isle of Man with the NSC being used for some of the sports and the closing ceremony. In August 2007 the NSC won the runner-up award in the European City of Sport competition after a visit of assessors from the European Capitals of Sport Association. The centre hosts the annual Manx Youth Games. The opening ceremony is held in the athletics stadium and there are twelve different sports staged throughout the venues in the centre with teams from all over the island. The centre also hosts the annual Manx Gateway Games, with the ninth games being held in July 2008. In March 2008 the NSC was announced as one of 73 venues earmarked as possible training venues in North West England for the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the NSC listed for

Road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

, Mountain biking, Handball and

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...

. In 2009 the Isle of Man Institute of Sport moved into a new purpose-built facility at the athletics stadium in the NSC.

2011 Commonwealth Youth Games

The NSC was one of the venues for the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games which was staged on the Isle of Man. The athletics stadium staged the opening ceremony on 8 September 2011 as well as all the athletics events. The swimming pool staged the

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

events and the main sports hall staged

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

with seating for 1,000 spectators.

2018 refurbishment

The site suffered damage during a 2015 flood, as well as a fire in March 2018. That August, the swimming pools were closed to enable a nine-month refurbishment to take place. The 4.2 million pound works include replacement of the moveable floor in the competition pool, as well as replacement of the two flumes.

Facilities

Outdoor facilities

The three outdoor facilities have six group/team changing rooms and two en-suite changing rooms for match officials. For individual competitors there are separate male and female changing areas equipped with lockers, toilets and showers. The outdoor facilities are -

Athletics stadium

The athletics stadium has a 400-metre, six lane (eight lane straight) fully floodlit synthetic running track with a 500-seat grandstand. The track has a current United Kingdom (UK) Athletics Certificate and there is an 11-metre hammer/ discus cage.

Synthetic pitch

Alongside the athletics stadium is a full size (7,000 sq. metres) floodlit all-weather synthetic pitch. The pitch was renewed by AstroTurf in 2002 with a water based playing surface. The pitch is used for various sports including Sunday league football and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Raceway

The other outdoor facility is an 800 metres fully lit tarmac raceway, which forms the perimeter of the outdoor provision and has a competition and training facility for

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

Criterium racing,

Racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

and

Road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

Swimming pool and leisure pool

The competition pool is a 25-metre state-of-the-art

Short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

pool with two floating floors and a retractable boom to divide the pool lengthways. The leisure pool has flume rides and a flow pool with a separate shallow pool a children's beach area and a

spa pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...

Sports halls

The NSC has a full-size sports hall with an electronic

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...

and a

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

and a four-court secondary sports hall. The main hall can be divided into ten

courts. The secondary sports hall can be divided into four badminton courts with facilities for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

practice.

Fitness Zone gym and spa suite

The Fitness Zone

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

and spa suite has a range of

cardiovascular The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

fitness and resistance equipment. The health suite has

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

cabins,

steam room A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times. History The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...

and a whirlpool spa.

Bowls Hall

The

Bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Hall has five rinks and a master scoreboard, electronic digital lane scoreboards and a spectator/refreshment area. Portable tiered seating units can be installed to house 100 spectators for special events. The centre is home to the Isle of Man National Sports Centre Indoor Bowls Association.

Squash Centre

The

Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

Centre has six squash courts. Four of the courts have glass backs, three of which are portable and can be moved to create two show courts. These can then accommodate fifty spectators for each court in portable tiered seating units.

Bar and cafe

The NSC has a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...

in the main

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

between the pools and dry sports facilities with views of the athletic stadium.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official site
Sports venues in the Isle of Man Athletics (track and field) venues in the Isle of Man Football venues in the Isle of Man