A NEW cutting-edge facility at Hunter Sports Centre is set to raise the bar on athlete performance and push aspiring Olympians to new heights.
The Trevor Height Athlete Testing Facility is decked out with the latest equipment and techniques to test, benchmark and improve strength, speed, power and endurance.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said the testing facility is just the first step in the $52 million Hunter Sports Centre expansion, which will raise the profile of the region among beginner to elite athletes.
"We've got the Paris Olympics around the corner so we want to have those athletes coming from here, around the region, NSW and Australia," she said.
"The challenge has been the money, getting the funding from state and federal governments, there was a real lack so it was really great at the last federal election where we got $10 million and that was a catalyst for the state government to chip in as well.
"When you have sport as one of your major iconic things you do as a city, that means you have healthy kids, you have healthy people and you're building a really resilient community."
The expansion plans, which include the NSW Trampoline Centre of Excellence, a sport and community centre, gym and extra car parking have been in the making for about two decades.
Cr Fraser was joined by Federal Hunter MP Dan Repacholi, State Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery and University of Newcastle (UON) vice-chancellor professor Alex Zelinsky to cut the ribbon on Tuesday.
Hunter Sports Centre has partnered with UON to operate the facility, with testing delivered by a team of university staff working in exercise and sports science.
Professor Zelinsky said it's an example of how the university takes making a difference outside of the classroom.
"This is the kind of partnership we want. It benefits the people of Lake Macquarie and beyond and it also gives our students the chance to work in a hands-on way before they join the workforce and makes them highly employable graduates," he said.
The plan is to recruit local sports clubs, schools and other organisations that want to learn more about athletic performance and how to improve it.
It's not just for top-tier athletes, and will cater to everyone from high school students learning about physical activity to professional sportspeople - where a gold medal could come down to a hundredth of a second.
The facility is named after Dr Trevor Height, whose association with Hunter Sports Centre spans almost 30 years as an athlete, coach, sports administrator and manager.
Dr Height told the Newcastle Herald chuffed was an "understatement", when he found out the facility would be named after him.
"I'm still pinching myself, when I was told I said, 'you've got to be kidding'," he said.
"What it means in terms of what it can offer aspiring athletes and gymnasts is incredible, we don't have those facilities here in the Hunter.
"So to have my name above it is really fantastic, but more important is what it can provide."
The testing facility includes 'VO2 max' equipment which is difficult to access outside university environments.
It's particularly useful for serious recreational athletes involved in cycling, triathlon, running and swimming.
It will also provide an opportunity for high school students studying everything from biomechanics to anatomy and sports physiology and complement existing allied health services like physiotherapy and sports nutrition.
Mr Repacholi, who is hoping to qualify in sport shooting for the 2024 Paris Olympics himself, said the facility will give Hunter athletes the best chance to compete at the highest level.
"Sports science has come so far in the last 20 years, so where we are now with how we prepare for events, how athletes recover from events, it is huge what sports science has done," he said.
"Every little bit forward we can go forward in sports science is a massive step forward for every athlete."
The next stage of the Hunter Sports Centre expansion is the three-storey sport and community centre with function rooms, a commercial kitchen and cafe and new health and fitness facilities.
The final stage will see the NSW Trampoline Centre of Excellence built at Glendale.
