June 26 - Kent has reached an agreement with the Slovenian Gymnastics Federation (SGF) to base themselves there in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics.


A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today for the Slovenians to establish a training camp at the Pegasus Gymnastics Club in Maidstone.
  
Klemen Bedenik,  the President of the SGF, attended the special signing agreement with Kent County Council (KCC) chairman Bill Hayton at the competition.

Kent has more approved pre-Games training camps for London 2012 than any other region in Britain and has already signed deals with for the Ukrainian and Belarussian judo teams to train there.

They have also reached an agreement with the Barbados Paralympic squad to base themselves in Medway.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: "This is great news for Kent.

"The excellent sporting facilities in Maidstone and Kent will help the Slovenian team train and prepare well for the London Games.

"It will also lead to a strong relationship between Kent and Slovenia and the development of sporting and cultural ties.

"This also gives Kent a chance to get involved in the Games more closely and I congratulate all involved."

Slovenia sent two gymnasts to the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, Mitja Petkovšek (pictured), the two-time world champion, who finished fifth in the parallel bars, and Adela Šajn, who did not reach the finals of the three events she competed in.

At the recent 43rd Salamunov Memorial, a category-B World Cup in Maribor, Slovenian gymnasts claimed three gold medals, including 16-year-old Teja Belak, who won the vault.
 
KCC Cabinet Member for Communities Mike Hill said: "It is a real honour to have this team coming to Kent.

"This will give local people the chance to see elite athletes training and staying in their local area, something which is very exciting ahead of 2012. 

"We are very keen to build tourism, cultural, educational and sporting links with Slovenia as a result."


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August 2009: British actress offers to put up Nepalese team in 2012
May 2009: Kent gymnastics club hoping Ukraine will set up camp there in 2012
April 2009: Barbados Paralympic team to train in Medway