|
The Parks Leisure Centre, Barrow is currently undergoing major construction and renovation work to enhance the leisure facilities it provides to the local community.
Barrow Borough Council has funded the £1.2million improvement scheme which includes a 10-year partnership agreement with Pulse. As part of the development Pulse has created a zone dedicated for children aged between 8 and 15 years of age. The new kids gym, called ‘Club Max’ will feature the newly launched Pulse ‘Vibe’ range, which includes Pursuit Cycle, Extreme Elliptical Trainer, Fluid Rower, Ascent Elevated Treadmill, Fluid Upper Body Ergometer, Group Cycle, Fluid Recumbent Cycle, Absolo and the kids strength circuit.
Margaret Wilson, Centre Manager at The Parks is certain that the new facilities that the centre is offering will have a positive impact on the local community. "We recognised several years ago the opportunity for children to be involved in a gym environment and have been running a junior session since 2003 that has proven to be very popular. This development has given us the opportunity to cater for this market in a more comprehensive way. We see fitness becoming a family activity where the parents and children exercise in their own areas then meet within the social area to unwind. It is also apparent that some children just don’t enjoy exercising within a school environment. Lack of one on one teaching, peer pressure, gender mixes etc can all add pressure to a child when exercising and we hope that by creating the right environment children will come and enjoy exercising.”
The staff at The Park are certain that offering a children’s gym and dedicated classes are just the start of what will become the blueprint for gyms nationally. Gym operators will naturally start to work more closely with schools to ensure they can provide curricular and extra curricular activities to help relive the pressure of government targets.
“There are too many conflicts to be able to successfully merge adult and children’s facilities in one space,” says Margaret Wilson, “To encourage a child to exercise you need a child’s environment, a space that the children can own. We have been through a process of consulting local secondary school children to ensure they have an input into the facilities, they have been consulted on everything from staff uniform to artwork on the walls.”
“This is an exciting new development and it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to continually improving sporting facilities for the Barrow community,” comments Margaret. “We hope the introduction of the kids gym will encourage children to participate in regular exercise in a fun environment that they can truly call their own.”
The project is expected to take 26 weeks to complete, opening in July 2008.
Related files
 barrow childrens piece 07.05.doc (147.50 KB)
13th May 2008
|
