Aylestone Leisure Centre

A large multi-use facility based in the heart of Aylestone and just a five minute drive from Leicester city centre, Aylestone Leisure Centre has improved the lifestyles of local residents, whilst becoming a thriving base for the community.

The 25 metre swimming pool is extremely popular and dominates the visual impact of the centre, but there is much more to Aylestone, as Centre Facility Manager, Shaun Miles explained.

“We’ve got a large sports hall with retractable seating, so we can host large fairs, boxing and wrestling events and casual use for badminton and martial arts.

“This site is very popular in attracting disabled people to take part in sport and leisure activities. We have two groups that reside here, Pyramid and DISC. They have specialist weekly sessions with carers and make great use of the disabled facilities. The sporting and social benefits of DISC and Pyramid are both important.”

The social aspect provided at Aylestone is something that Shaun is proud of.

“We’ve got a very strong community feel to the place. Lots of groups and clubs come here so there’s a big social element. This is just as important as physical exercise and we make surethat is the case. We can also provide GP referrals, other avenues for people to access the gym and personal fitness trainers, so we cater for everybody’s needs.”

Key Facilities

Swimming Pool
A whole range of swimming lessons are provided, including those for non-swimmers, children and adults. The lessons last for 12 weeks and people then have the chance to re-enrol. Shaun explained how they are attempting to make swimming as inclusive as possible.

“We try to make sure we can cater for groups as well as individuals. We can assess people if they’re not sure of their swimming ability and then provide relevant lessons for them. We also have a whole range of awards available, whether that’s lifesaving or just learning to swim.”

Fitness Suites & Weights Room
The fitness suite is relatively new and contains all of the latest fitness equipment. As well as a fully kitted out fitness suite, Aylestone boasts a separate weights room, providing more options for users, as Shaun explained.

“The fitness suite isn’t just about being an elite athlete or being at peak physical condition, we’re very much about lifestyle and getting healthy. If people want to come and use the weights then we have a room filled with plenty of equipment and if they want to use the more cardio-based machines, they can access the fitness suite.”

Fun for Kids
The Hartley Heart soft play area is available for casual usage, parties and group bookings.

Other Functions
It’s not just sport and fitness that proves popular at Aylestone, the function rooms are also widely used, as Shaun highlighted.

“We have a large function room and bar which is predominantly booked out on Friday and Saturday nights. We have very competitive rates and can host wedding receptions, Christenings and other party bookings.”

Knighton Tennis Centre

If you fancy taking up a new activity for the New Year the last sport you’ve probably thought about is tennis. With the cold, blustery conditions, dark evenings and the sunny scenes of Wimbledon a distant memory, the idea of putting on your shorts and stepping out on court probably isn’t that appealing, but have you considered playing indoor tennis?

The Knighton Indoor Tennis Centre is one of the finest sports facilities in Leicester, boasting four full-sized courts. It’s been open since 2007, but a lot of people still don’t know about it.

Situated between Sir Jonathan North and Lancaster schools, that both use the facilities during the day, the centre is run by Leicester City Council in the evenings and is open to the public. Lifestyle Fitness members can access the facilities by booking them, but have to pay a fee on top of their direct debit.

Facility Manager, Jeanette Harris, explained how the tennis centre’s busiest periods are during autumn and winter.

“From October until March we’re busy all week, as people play outdoors more in the summer months. We are situated near four other local tennis clubs, so during the winter they all come here and use the indoor courts. We had a good August this year too because it rained so much!”

The standard of the courts is first-class and the likes of Andy Murray and Serena Williams would be at home having a knockabout at Knighton. Jeanette is clearly proud of the facilities.

“I think people are impressed by the facilities when they come here. We also cater for all standards and ages, with coaching provided if people want it.”

There is also a wheelchair tennis club and coaching for juniors and adults with special tournaments at the weekend, as Jeanette explained.

“The coaching is more popular with younger children but casual play is popular with adults. The Knighton Tennis Centre Club have a Saturday Match Day where they come and play each other and take part in tournaments. They won the first Knighton Open Tennis Tournament, held here in August.”

As pleased as she’s been with the development of the centre, Jeanette explained how she’s looking for further progress and hoping to change the perception of tennis as a predominantly middle-class sport.

“We sit on a partnership group working with other tennis clubs and governing bodies, called the Tennis Development Group. We’re looking to deliver high quality tennis in the city and the parks, whilst encouraging more usage. We want to make it more accessible to people who have never played before and remove the barriers.”

Coaching
GE Sports Limited started running the tennis programme at Knighton last December and coach, Chris Whitworth, explained a little more about their junior section.

“We have a range of coaching opportunities for children aged from 6 to 10 years old. We run a coaching programme on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with Saturday our development. It runs from 9am until 1pm, starting with mini-red which is for under 6s and mini-orange which is seven plus. Then we do mini-green for 10-year-olds. On Wednesdays we replicate it but it is performance based and invitation only.

“We’ve got over 100 people on the course, which is great. We have tots tennis, for pre-school children, on Saturday mornings in the dance studio. The idea is they will filter down to the main tennis courts when they’re older. It’s a fantastic facility, with guaranteed tennis.”

Chris talked further about the success of the tennis club.

“We formed the Knighton Tennis Club in January. We have competed in leagues and are now the current under 12 champions, mini-red champions and under 14 division four winners. We’ve also secured funding for holiday courses and tennis camps.”

Other Activities
The air-conditioned dance studio is used in the evenings for Pilates, spin, cardio-combat and core conditioning sessions.

CASH BOOST FOR SPORTS SERVICES…

Leicester City Council is investing £308,000 in its community sports facilities to encourage more local residents to become healthier and more physically active.

The establishment of Lifestyle Lite gyms at New Parks, Spence Street and Cossington Street will provide a low cost budget alternative to the current Lifestyle gym offer.

Project Manager, Shaun Miles, said: “The new Lifestyle Lite brand is a great addition to the city’s current sports provision. Cost can be a prohibitive factor to accessing local fitness facilities but with a direct debit cost of £10 per month, more people than ever can enjoy the benefits of healthy exercise.”

A number of new health referral rooms are also being installed at most centres. Advice will be given to patients who are referred by their GP surgeries to take part in a more active lifestyle.

Other improvements taking place include a new water feature at Leicester Leys Leisure Centre, refurbished changing facilities and improved lighting and signage. These improvements will be completed by January 2011.