the sports minister visits UKAD

Sports Minister visits UKAD new office at SportPark, Loughborough University (L to R): Jo Simpson, Commercial and Sports Facilities Director, Loughborough University, Nicole Sapstead, UKAD Chief Executive, Philip Bunt, UKAD Chief Operating Officer, Nigel Huddleston, MP.

Sports Minister visits UKAD’s new HQ at Loughborough University: a Midlands powerhouse for sport

With a week to go before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston MP, visited the new HQ for UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) at Loughborough University.

The Minister met Nicole Sapstead, UKAD’s Chief Executive, along with UKAD and University staff from its sport leadership team.

Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston said:  

“I was delighted to visit UKAD’s new home in the East Midlands, co-located alongside so many other sporting and innovation initiatives on Loughborough’s campus.

“The Prime Minister has this week set out his levelling up agenda for the country. With the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games just a year away, the new UKAD HQ further cements the Midlands as a hub for sporting excellence and endeavour."

Announced as part of UKAD’s new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, it relocated its central office from London to SportPark, based at the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP), in May.

Nicole Sapstead, Chief Executive, UKAD, added:

“On the eve of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, it is a pleasure to host the Sports Minister in our brand new home. As part of our new four-year strategy we have created a new insight and innovation function, keen to build on our scientific knowledge through working with partners, and it’s great to be able to pull on the expertise of Loughborough University to keep sports clean and fair.”

On behalf of Loughborough University, John Steele, Executive Director of Sport, said:

“There are huge benefits of collaborative access to other sporting national bodies based here: Sport England, Youth Sport, Swim England and Volleyball among them.

“In addition, Loughborough University was one of the first to become fully accredited within the UKAD university accreditation scheme. This scheme is designed to demonstrate how the UK’s leading university hubs for sport and innovation are utterly committed to clean sport. We want to cultivate a culture of anti-doping and ensure all athletes compete fairly and responsibly.”

During his time on campus, Nigel Huddleston also visited British Swimming and the Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel

Loughborough University has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with UKAD and directly contracts no-notice testing across its varied performance programmes as an underpinning values commitment beyond education.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 21/129

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2021 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in the Guardian University League Table 2021, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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