MORE THAN 600 athletes from 22 countries are set to train in the North West in the run-up to the Olympics – but none of the pre-Games preparation camps is in East Lancashire.

Stonyhurst School near Clitheroe had expressed an interest to host hockey training during the build-up but was not on the final list of venues released yesterday.

None of the camps will be with the boroughs of Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, Rossendale, Ribble Valley or Chorley.

Olympic squads training in the North West include the Australian swimming and table tennis teams, the USA’s basketball and boxing squads and teams from the 15 Pacific Islands in Oceania.

There will be 17 Brazilian Paralympic teams training in the Manchester, as well as athletes representing Namibia, Romania and Thailand.

High profile venues such as Manchester’s National Cycling Centre and Liverpool Aquatics Centre are being used as well as athletics facilities at UCLan in Preston and Edge Hill, near Ormskirk.

Other smaller venues included in the 25 training locations are Aspull Wrestling Club near Wigan, who will host both the Guam and Palau teams and Kendal Judo Club, which will be the base for the Papua New Guinea pre-Games camp.

Among the largest teams will be the Australian swimming a squad who will prepare in Manchester and the USA boxing competitors who will train at Bolton Arena.

Ron Hill, 73, from Accrington, who competed in three Olympic Games, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City, 1968 where he finished seventh in the 10,000 metres and 1972’s Munich games, said that it was disappointing for East Lan-cashire to miss out on welcoming athletes.

He said: “The facilities aren’t great in most parts of our area but often you find that does not stop talented athletes coming through.”

Andy Worthington, chair of the North West steering group for the 2012 Games, said: ‘It is a great testament to the quality of facilities that the region is able to host so many teams in the build up to London 2012.

“Since hosting our first training camps in 2009 we have seen how they can lever economic, sporting and social benefits.”