National Sports Centre Papendal
Encyclopedia
The National Sports Centre Papendal is the national sports development centre of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, located in the Veluwe
Veluwe
The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....

 woods 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...

.

National Sports Centre

The first event held at Papendal was the 1980 Summer Paralympics
1980 Summer Paralympics
The 1980 Summer Paralympics were the sixth Paralympic Games. They were held in Papendal, close to the host city of Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.- Sports :...

, from June 21 to July 5. However the site was formally adopted and developed from 1993, after the merger of the Dutch National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Nederlandse Sport Federatie (NSF). NOC*NSF have 90 affiliated national sports organizations, representing about 2700 individual sports clubs.

A center for Education and Elite Sport, the chairman is Andre Bolhuis. There are facilities for various sports, including athletics, cycling and horse riding. Papendal is also the training location of football club SBV Vitesse, and the clubs youth development system. Supporting facilities include a conference centre and hotel.

In preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...

, in 2011 the facility built a replica of the proposed BMX racing
BMX racing
BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually small a starting gate for up to eight racers, a groomed, serpentine, dirt race course made of...

 track at the London Velopark
London Velopark
The London Velopark is a cycling centre which was built in Leyton in east London, United Kingdom. It will serve as one of the 'Big Five' permanent Olympic and Paralympic venues for the 2012 Games. The Velopark is situated at the northern end of London's Olympic Park...

 venue. The track will host the second event on the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships
UCI BMX World Championships
UCI BMX World Championships are the world championships for BMX racing held under the regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale , the sport's international governing body....

, on the 27/28 May 2011.

Papendal Games

The Papendal Games were an annually held athletics tournament. Together with the Fanny Blankers-Koen
Fanny Blankers-Koen
Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen was a Dutch athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She accomplished this as a 30 year old mother of two, during a time when many disregarded women's athletics...

Games and NK Athletics Papendal, the combined event was the biggest annual athletics event held in the Netherlands. Held early in the summer season, the competition was traditionally one of the last opportunities for Dutch athletes to qualify for major international tournaments. The Papendal Games were last held in 2008, suspended due to the inability to find a sponsor.

External links

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