#olympic sailing – The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is primarily renowned for its status as an Olympic sailing venue and was described by Seb Coe as 'the ultimate water sports venue'. Now following up on the great success of the British Business Pavilion held at the Qinetic site at Bincleaves during the Olympic sailing events, the Academy is also providing an iconic setting for a wide range of business events.
Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce know the value of hosting events at the venue and have described the Academy as "an outstanding place to create business and showcase Dorset as a fantastic place to visit."
The Academy is able to cater for seminars or meetings of up to 200 people in the 'Spinnakers Room' and has a series of smaller rooms suitable for between 10 and 70 people. With locally sourced catering and very extensive free car parking, the Academy provides a unique local opportunity to have that special business meeting and networking in an Olympic venue with all the associated values of excellence, respect and friendship. The main rooms have a stunning view of the Jurassic Coast with an extensive balcony overlooking the race areas and Dinghy Park. A range of water sports can also be arranged to form part of the programme if required, so that a real team building event can be delivered.
Furthermore, having won a series of very prestigious awards, the venue is rightfully proud of its environmental credentials. It is one of the few venues to have achieved accreditation under International Standard ISO 20121 for its sustainable management system for events – a standard developed for the 2012 Games and now being implemented internationally.
Mike Rundle from UKTI South West believes that WPNSA can add the wow factor to any business meeting or event: "The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in Portland stands unique in UK sport being one of the few Olympic venues that will continue to be used as a National Sports Centre post the 2012 Games. The view of other national teams who used the facilities in both the run up to 2012 and during the competition was overwhelming in the opinion that Weymouth and Portland represents the best designed facilities for competition sailing in the world and is a model for any Sailing Federation seeking to develop their own National Academy.
As a venue it is unrivalled in its setting. Majestic on days with bright blue skies, broody and daunting in stormy weather, the Academy delivers on so many different levels, contributing drama and character to any event being held in its flexible and impressive reception rooms. Little more than a decade since it opened its doors in 2000, the Academy has already absorbed the tradition of British sailing history and possesses that indefinable sense of presence which adds to the atmosphere.
WPNSA rightly holds a unique and special place in Dorset making it the pre-eminent venue for any business conference to be held in the region and UKTI views the Academy as the only place we wish to hold our events in the area due to the international pedigree and facilities the Academy offers us."
