BRIDGWATER and Taunton College has announced a new Bristol Bears Aspire Centre based at the Bridgwater Campus.

The long-standing partnership between BTC and Bristol Bears has resulted in the creation of this new rugby development centre.

The new Centre will provide local Bristol Bears athletes additional opportunities to support their overall development.

Players will attend BTC three times a week as part of Bristol Bears Aspire and Excel programmes.

Heading up the new Aspire Centre at BTC is Roy Davies who joins BTC as a full-time rugby development manager.

Davies is a junior academy excel coach for Bristol Bears and a former Premier15s head coach for Worcester Warriors and Bristol Bears.

Supporting Davies in the Aspire Centre will be Brett Harvey and Luke Payne, both established Bears’ Aspire coaches.

Jason Gunningham, vice principal at BTC commented: “This partnership and appointment is another example of how, at BTC, we are determined to ensure our students have access to the best resources and coaching teams in their pursuit of sporting excellence.

"I am delighted Roy Davies is joining us to run the Bears Aspire Centre, his track record as a professional sportsman will enhance our rugby programme and enable students to gain a real insight into a career in professional sport and the pathways and opportunities available.”

On his appointment Roy Davies said: “It’s an exciting time for rugby at BTC, and our partnership with Bears is part of the vision to be the leading provider in Somerset.

"The new role will allow us to grow the performance support elements of our programmes, such as strength and conditioning, injury prevention and analysis."

Bristol Bears junior academy manager Gary Townsend said: "We are delighted with Roy’s appointment as Director of Rugby at Bridgwater & Taunton College.

"The mission to help young people to maximise potential on and off the pitch aligns itself to the culture of both the Bears and BTC - Roy is the perfect person to promote our partnership and shared values.’’

BTC is one of the only a few colleges in the UK to be accredited as a TASS dual-career centre further validating BTC is an outstanding provider of both academic and sporting support for elite-level athletes.