Leisure, Healthcare & Communal Buildings

IVC Media has supplied and installed camera equipment for training swimmers at the new £31 million Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex, which was opened last month by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

The complex features the first 50m Olympic-sized swimming pool to be built in London for more than 45 years.

“We have installed five Sony BRC 300 cameras with wide-angle lenses to film swimmers in order to analyse and improve their technique during training,” explained Kevin Dold, project manager at IVC Media.

“Four of the cameras needed to be housed in a fan cooled dome to protect them from the pool environment. Similarly, we needed to develop custom surface brackets, as drilling into the steel fabric of the building would have resulted in corrosion in the pool area due to the humidity of the atmosphere.

“The fifth camera is installed behind glass below the surface level of the water, to capture the swimmers turning at the end of the lanes.

“Content can be downloaded onto a removable hard drive for analysis on a laptop, or played out live on the Swiss Timing scoreboard in the pool area,” he continued.

Boris Johnson said: “I'm thrilled to welcome the first Olympic sized swimming pool in London for nearly half a century. This outstanding accessible sports complex is a real boost for everyone in the area whether you're striving to be the next Mark Spitz or just trying to shift a few pounds and get healthier before the sun arrives.

“With such amazing facilities it's sure to play a crucial role in the future success of the British swimming team and the fact that it's open to everyone – young, old, abled and disabled – is something to rightly be proud of."

Hillingdon Council invested £26 million to build the complex, which includes an indoor sports centre, restored 1930s outdoor pool and athletics stadium. The council's investment was enhanced by funding of £2.025 million from the London Development Agency, £1.5 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England and £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

For further information see: www.ivcmedia.co.uk