Some of the country’s top sports stars are backing Margate’s bid to become a pre-Olympic training camp ahead of the 2012 Games in London.

The seaside resort is hoping to woo the world’s best beach volleyball players and is included in a list of 600 potential training venues across the UK.

The guide will be distributed to national teams at this summer’s Olympics in Bejing and although Thanet council admits it is unlikely to attract any of the larger nations, it is confident the venue will appeal to some of the smaller countries.

Thanet has already proved its ability to host world class sporting events, having staged the European Water Ski Racing Championships in Ramsgate and a leg of this year’s Volleyball England Beach Tour in Margate, where players were united in their praise for the venue.

Tom Payne, ranked as the second best player on this year’s tour, said: “The beach here is great; the surface is flat and the sand is heavy, so the players can move around the court easily.

“The Main Sands is an excellent venue and we wish we could play here more often. We’d definitely support Margate’s bid to become an Olympic training camp.”

Kimberleigh Smith, who will represent Great Britain at this year’s World Junior Championships in September, added: “Margate just keeps getting better and better and Thanet council went all out with the players’ pavilion and the grandstand this year.

“If anything, the wind here would definitely be great practice for the players.

“The council has done so much for us that it would be great for them to play a part in the 2012 Olympics.”

Thanet council says it will now await interest from countries competing in next month’s tournament in China. Sport development officers will then work closely with national Olympic associations to determine whether the venue would suit their competitors.

Mark Kontopoulos , beach volleyball co-ordinator for Volleyball England, believes Margate would have little difficulty in accommodating a national team.

He said: “We support Thanet council’s bid 100 per cent. The sand here is fantastic, the venue is great, it’s close to London and it’s easily accessible. It really does have everything it takes to be a pre-Olympic training venue.”