19 Oct 2010 16:13:39.117
PA 285/10
England rugby legend Brian Moore will return to familiar turf when he opens a new £1.6 million sports pavilion at The University of Nottingham and launches a coaching fund to support the next generation of athletes.
The new Vaughan Parry Williams Pavilion and the Vaughan Parry Williams Coaching Fund will honour the legacy of the former Director of Physical Recreation and Sport who dedicated almost 33 years to sport at the University before his death last year.
Brian Moore, who graduated from The University of Nottingham with a degree in law in 1984 and was this year awarded an honorary degree, will return to his alma mater on Wednesday October 27 to unveil a plaque dedicated to his close friend Vaughan, who played a crucial role in coaching and supporting him during his time at Nottingham.
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The new pavilion at the University’s Highfields Park playing fields was nine months in the construction and offers excellent new facilities to the University’s sports teams — including six changing rooms, two meeting rooms, first aid room and dual aspect balconies for spectators overlooking the main pitches.
Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham Professor David Greenaway said: “The pavilion is an outstanding new addition to sports facilities at the University. I know that Vaughan spent a lot of time at Highfields taking pride in encouraging the University teams and celebrating their successes. I am confident he would be extremely proud of this new facility.”
The pavilion will be officially opened at 1.30pm on Wednesday October 27. The event will be attended by many of Vaughan’s close friends and family and followed by an entertaining afternoon of sport, including the University’s men’s First XV rugby team taking on Loughborough University’s First XV and the men’s football first team going head-to-head in a cup match with their rivals from Gloucestershire.
The event will also mark the launch of the new Vaughan Parry Williams coaching fund, funded with philanthropic donations.
The University of Nottingham has an established sporting pedigree — its Students’ Union boasts more than 70 sports clubs including canoeing, squash, rugby union, hockey, swimming, rowing and ice hockey. It is currently ranked 7th in the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings.
In addition to Brian Moore, who earned 64 caps for England and was a member of the England side that won three Grand Slams in 1991, 1992 and 1995, the University has produced numerous other champions including four times Olympic gold medal-winning table tennis player Deng Yaping, and Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist Tim Brabants and Commonwealth silver medal-winning swimmer Jess Sylvester, both of whom are hoping to attend the opening event.
The new fund will celebrate Vaughan’s ‘sport for all’ ethos by providing professional coaching support to allow students at the University at all levels to achieve their potential, from participatory right the way through to first team and elite athlete status, as well as for talented disabled students.
Vaughan’s successor as Director of Sport at the University Dan Tilley said: “The fund is essentially looking to deliver a legacy in Vaughan’s honour, delivering something he was passionate about which was his ‘sport for all’ ethos and providing an environment in which athletes can achieve their potential.
“We feel that by providing funding for the provision of coaching, we can enhance the overall student sporting experience, improve their performance, raise aspirations, improve inclusivity and hopefully produce a new raft of talented coaches.”
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Note to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Times as “the nearest Britain has to a truly global university”, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 39,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.