World-class Sportsmen and women from Oxford Brookes University are now in the midst of their preparations for the London 2012 Olympics. Thanks to some fantastic coaching and facilities across six sports of excellence, Brookes can look forward to cheering on a number of students and alumni once the games eventually arrive in the UK.

The university has full-time coaches across rowing, cricket, climbing, hockey, basketball and Rugby. Charlotte Young, Brookes' Sportswoman of the Year in 2008, plays football for Watford FC and England U23s while volleyball player Phil Smith was spotted through the Sporting Giants programme - a talent identification scheme aimed at giving gifted athletes an intensive five years' preparation in readiness for Olympic selection.

It is rowing, though, at which Brookes excels. Brookes Boat Club has an extremely strong Olympic pedigree having produced three gold medallists since 2000 - Fred Scarlett, Rowley Douglas and double Olympic winner Steve Williams. At the 2009 Olympics in Beijing eight undergraduates and alumni from our Taurus crew clinched one gold and three silver medals. Half of the silver medal-winning men's eights in Beijing in 2008 had at some point in their careers trained at Brookes.

Such gilt-edged success has set expectations high for 2012. Thankfully, Richard Spratley, the team's director of coaching, has built Oxford Brookes University Boat Club up to become one of the strongest undergraduate teams in the world. "We are the strongest university at rowing, in performance terms, outside Oxford and Cambridge and at undergraduate rowing we are as good as anybody in the world."

He adds: "We have been a good feeder for many years into the British Olympic Team and we are the strongest we have been for five years."

At Henley in July, the boat club proved their calibre by adding to their tally of wins at the Royal Regatta down the years when they cruised to victory against US rivals Yale in the final of the university coxed fours.

With five British team members currently studying at Brookes, all the signs look good for the future. Steve Williams is Brookes' most successful Olympian. He came to the university in 1994 before going on to win rowing golds at Athens and Beijing. "From my own experience Brookes has made my dreams come true," he says. "For me, that was in the world of rowing."

"It had so much to offer in rowing but the university can offer so much more right across the board."

He adds: "I came to Brookes to row because I loved the sport. Quite a few guys from my school had gone to Brookes and been educated there because of the big rowing heritage and successes. I was very green and had to grow up quite a lot."

"I had a great experience at Brookes learning exactly how hard you had to train to get to the top."

Steve's fellow Olympian and Brookes alumnus Carla Ashford also rowed at the Olympics in Beijing - helping Team GB to an overall win in the games' regatta. "I had never been in a boat before I came to Oxford Brookes, so I was a novice" she explains. "As soon as I started I fell in love with it and I always, always wanted to go to the Olympics."

"Brookes got me to the Olympic Games, which is where I wanted to be."

Brookes has a growing reputation for its sports - particularly the sports of excellence:

Hockey
Oxford Brookes Hockey Club is the largest of the university's sports clubs and currently runs eight teams in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues coached by Greg Wade.

Climbing
The university is well known for its climbing and bouldering wall, which is the best in the country and has just undergone a major upgrade.

Basketball
Back on terra firma, Brookes' basketball teams have climbed the national and student leagues. Under head coach and former Great Britain captain Ken Walton, our men's team has repeatedly gone deep into the BUCS championships and competes in England Basketball's National League.

Cricket
In cricket, the Oxford Universities Centre of Cricketing Excellence (UCCE) is one of six university centres around the country. Aimed at developing talented young cricketers, the combined squad draws on players from both Oxford Brookes and the University of Oxford.

Rugby
The men's first XV plays in the BUSA Premier League South B.