Discovery Trail

Oriam - Sport science

Oriam is Scotland's National Performance Centre for sport. Construction began in March 2015, with the £33million facility opening to the public in August 2016. The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association use it as a training facility, as do Heart of Midlothian FC for first-team training and to run their academy. It is also used by other sports teams, students and members of the public.  

The building design won the Future Building section at the 2016 Scottish Design Awards. Within the sports centre there is a twelve-court sports hall, eight squash courts and four-court sports hall.  

It's important to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle, but it's also important to know the reasons behind a healthy lifestyle. Have you ever wondered how Olympic divers learnt to swim? Ever wondered about how far footballers can kick a ball? At Heriot-Watt, researchers explore our bodies' potential and the science behind exercising!  

By studying the body and the ways in which the metabolism (the chemical processes that go on continuously inside your body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally) and muscles change during exercise, we can better understand how to train people like professional athletes to keep their bodies fit and healthy.  

Researchers at the University also study the psychological benefits of staying fit and how important it is for people's wellbeing to maintain a healthy body, which in turn leads to a healthy mind – something that has become increasingly important given the COVID-19 pandemic.