SPORTS clubs across Canterbury are celebrating after six of the city’s venues were named as potential training camps for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

The district has the highest number of pre-games camps in Kent, and all will be included in a special guide distributed by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to athletes during the Beijing Games this summer.

The St Lawrence Cricket Ground was highlighted as a possible base for archery contenders, and Kent County Cricket Club chief executive Paul Millman said the announcement was timed perfectly.

He said: "By the time the games come around, there should be a whole host of other facilities in place as part of our redevelopment, which will make it ideal for pre-Olympics training.

“We’re proposing to build accommodation, conferencing facilities and training rooms, and that was the main part of our pitch to host a team and play our full part towards the excitement of the Olympics."

Elsewhere Canterbury High School, a specialist sports college, could be a potential site for athletics, basketball, fencing and beach volleyball training, much to the delight of deputy head David Platt.

"This is great for the city as a whole and the school," he said. "It has taken quite a bit of work and is all part of a bigger plan here at the school."

"We are going the right way as far as sports development is concerned."

Plans are in the pipeline to build four beach volleyball courts on the site of school’s former grass tennis courts.

Also in the city, Canterbury Hockey Club could see their Polo Farm complex used as a base for medal favourites, while St Anslem’s Catholic School is also a potential camp for rhythmic gymnastics.

The city’s two universities are also on the list, with facilities at Kent University available for nine different sports including indoor volleyball, table tennis, badminton and modern pentathlon. Christ Church University’s Canterbury campus will be a hub for badminton, basketball and fencing.