Zena Wooldridge, Director of Sport at the University of Birmingham said, “It’s fantastic news! Everyone at the University is really excited.” She credited the University of Birmingham campus’ unique facilities and setting with drawing the Jamaicans athletes, “The key facility is the athletics track … within the campus’ fabulous setting, the ability to control access is very attractive. It’s beautifully green creating a relaxing atmosphere around the elite athletics facilities” .

Whilst the United States athletics team is expected to also base themselves in Birmingham, they are expected to train at the city’s Alexander Stadium. However the Jamaican athletics team has opted for the pleasant and contained environment of the University, where they will be able to control access and importantly minimise distractions for athletes before the Games. Wooldridge said, “[on campus] security can be put around them; protecting their privacy will be very important”.

The University has been working in partnership with Birmingham City Council for several years as part of a 2012 Games task group aiming to attract national delegations. With this task group, the University of Birmingham continues to target further nations for pre-Games training camps, hoping to make use of the wide range of elite sports facilities available there. Alongside the obvious prestige of hosting a national delegation’s pre-Games training camp, the University has a strategic view that such camps can help their own community relations - this week’s announcement will undoubtedly delight the West Midlands’ large Jamaican population. In July the University also hosted the Indian national hockey team for several weeks and staged 3 test matches against England, raising hopes that Indian hockey may follow Jamaican athletes in training there before 2012.

Howard Aris, president of the Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association said, “Birmingham representatives came to Jamaica earlier this year and we’ve been very impressed with what the city has to offer. So I’m delighted to announce that the Jamaica Track and Field team will be using Birmingham as their training location in 2012.”

Birmingham City Councillor Mike Whitby, who travelled to Berlin to meet with Jamaican officials and World Champion and record holder Usain Bolt this week said, “Usain is fastest out of the blocks on the track, and Birmingham has proved fastest out of the blocks in securing the Jamaican track and field training camp … We have a large Caribbean and Jamaican community in Birmingham and this deal will build on those close links. We have agreed on a series of events leading up to 2012 to enrich and strengthen that relationship."

Details have yet to be fully discussed, but given the strong relationships established between the City of Birmingham, the University and other facilities locally, it is hoped that a strong and wide ranging partnership could be formed with the Jamaican athletics team.