La Manga Club has enhanced its position as Europe's leading sports destination after turning its attention to the growing sport of powerlifting and signing new long-term agreements with the European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) and International Powerlifting Federation (IPF).

In an exciting new development, Spain's flagship resort has agreed a four-year-deal with both organisations to host all their major competitions and tournaments at the luxury Murcia complex until 2018.

Under the terms of the new agreement, the EPF and IPF will establish a high performance powerlifting centre and have use of the extensive facilities at La Manga Club's five-star spa for its athletes to improve their skills and physiques.

In addition, Spa La Manga Club will also be used to host other powerlifting events including clinics, workshops and training camps, while the centre will also provide the base for the IPF's coach education programme.

Jose Asenjo, general manager of La Manga Club, says: "At La Manga Club there is room for all kinds of sports, from triathlons, golf, football and tennis to weightlifting, and thanks to such alliances, we can reach a much wider audience.”

A spokesman for the EPF and IPF said: “The aim of this partnership is for our sport to make a quantum leap forward in the training facilities that are available to all powerlifters and their families.

“La Manga club is a luxurious environment for athletes and coaches to train. On offer is some excellent full or half-board accommodation, plus access to a wide range of other sport, leisure and medical facilities. This first-class, unique setting offers powerlifters, coaches and their families the opportunity to combine training with relaxation.

“We're delighted to be working with La Manga Club and are hoping that this will have a positive impact upon the mind-set of people involved in the sport, and the perceptions of those outside the sport.”

Powerlifting is the latest sport that La Manga Club has given its backing to in 2014 in an exciting year that has also seen it host the opening event of the 2014 XTERRA Cross Triathlon Series in Europe.

La Manga Club is an ideal venue for fitness training at any time of year with extensive facilities, including a large comprehensively-equipped gym and 25-metre indoor pool.

In addition, the resort boasts unrivalled facilities as a sport and leisure venue including three 18-hole championship golf courses, a new Leadbetter Golf Academy – the only one in mainland Spain – a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. It also offers the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 20 bars and restaurants.

For more information or to book call 00 34 968 17 5577, email reservas@lamangaclub.com or visit www.lamangaclub.com.

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For more information on La Manga Club or images contact Pete Simm on 01730 711920 or email petes@theazaleagroup.com

La Manga Club – www.lamangaclub.com – is an unrivalled sports and leisure paradise which sits between the low hills that separate the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor Sea, just 20 minutes from Murcia airport and an hour from Alicante.

Set out over an area of some 560 hectares (approx. 1,400 acres), it enjoys a mild year-round Mediterranean climate and offers visitors a prestigious five-star hotel, luxury vacation apartments and extensive sports facilities, including three championship golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre and eight grass sports pitches. The resort is also home to innumerable leisure facilities, such as the 2,000m2 Spa La Manga Club with its 13 luxurious treatment rooms, comprehensive fitness centre and 25m indoor swimming pool; meeting, banqueting and incentive facilities, and more than 20 restaurants and bars.

As well as hosting both Davis and Fed Cup tennis matches, La Manga Club has signed a long-term deal to be the overseas training resort of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) until 2016. It has also staged the Spanish Open golf championship and regularly attracts professional and international football teams to the first-class year-round training facilities which are also used by rugby and cricket sides.

As a result of more than 40 years of continued investment, innovation and commitment to excellence, La Manga Club is widely recognised as Spain's flagship resort and as one of the finest sports and lifestyle destinations in the world. Evidence of this is provided by its numerous awards and accolades.

La Manga Club was the proud recipient of a 2013 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel website, for the facilities and service on offer at its five-star Hotel Principe Felipe. The resort has long been a staunch supporter of women's golf, being the official overseas resort partner of the English Women's Golf Association for three years as well as hosting the Ladies European Tour (LET) Qualifying School from 2009-12. La Manga Club is also the venue for the Ladies Murcia Open, an LET Access Series event, and regularly hosts top women's amateur events and teams.