Dundee athletes aiming for Olympic or Commonwealth games glory now have a new training aid provided by Leisure & Culture Dundee and Dundee City Council.

Free access is being allowed to a range of facilities across Dundee to help them as they look forward to major events.

The scheme involves city facilities operated by Leisure & Culture Dundee including fitness studios, training pools and games halls. The city council has also approved similar free access to Caird Park Stadium, velodrome and also artificial pitches.

Athletes have been identified as potential members of the Scotland or Great Britain squads for the 2012 London Olympics or the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as other major international events in the next few years.  By working in partnership with Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport, these identified athletes will be offered free use of facilities for general & sport specific training sessions.

Chair of Leisure & Culture Dundee Cllr Bob Duncan and Colin Robertson, the area manager for Tayside and Fife Institute of sport  launched the scheme on Wednesday (Sep 21) with some of the athletes involved.

Cllr Duncan said: "Leisure & Culture Dundee & Dundee City Council are delighted to offer free access to facilities for identified elite athletes from Dundee and others that represent Dundee clubs. This will enable them to access top class facilities to improve their chances of gaining selection for top class sporting events such as the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.  By offering free training facilities to these athletes, we hope Dundee will be well represented in international competition in the next few years."

Swimmers by Neil Gould