Kingsgate Park Sports Centre KP Brochure | Page 16

K I NG S G AT E PA R K
7 LANE RIFLE RANGE
The original Cecil Rifle Range was opened in
December 1915 in memory of George Edward
Cecil (B, 1909-12), 2nd Lieutenant, No. 4
Company, 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards,
who was killed in action on September 1914.
When the construction of War Cloister began in
1922, the Cecil Range was moved to its current
location near the PE Centre. It will be moving
once again and will now become an integral
part of the new development.
The new Cecil Range comprises seven firing
lanes, an increase from the previous six-lane
range, for use at a distance of 25 metres and is
designed for prone position 0.22 calibre rifles.
It will also include an associated briefing zone
behind the firing positions and a separate secure
armoury. It complies with the latest guidance
on this standard of firing range.
CHANGING FACILITIES
Although we have done our best to improve
the limited changing facilities in recent years,
they remain far from adequate. When we host
other schools, for example, our boys end up
changing in a cellar. Far from ideal!
The new Sports Centre will have more than
twice the number of changing rooms, some
with external as well as internal access for visiting
teams, and cater for accessibility requirements.
VIEWING GALLERIES
Our boys excel at a number of minor sports,
but there is currently very little opportunity
for parents or teammates to share in or celebrate
this success when instead you are restricted
to watching tennis through a fence, martial
arts through a doorway and basketball from the
sidelines, with your knees tucked tightly in.
Improved viewing galleries will make it possible
for family and friends to lend their support in
the Sports Centre, just as they do on Winchester’s
splendid cricket and football pitches.
In addition, the new Sports Centre will provide
a class exercise studio primarily for community
use, together with a sports classroom for teaching
PE and for school and community courses
such as First Aid.
Community use is an important aspect of
the new Sports Centre, not least because it
will help to support staffing and resources,
delivering the best possible experience for
all those who use the facilities.
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RACKETS
If you are concerned that the great Win Coll
institution of rackets has been overlooked,
please don’t be. Like a fine wine, racket courts
improve with age so these will be staying
exactly where they are, untouched.
“The primary objective
remains to make sure that
any Wykehamist who wants
to follow a sport of his choice
can do so to the highest
possible standard.”
SAM HART
Housemaster Toye’s, former Head of Sport