Olympic swimmers make a splash to celebrate Stratford Leisure Centre's £5million transformation

Olympic stars, including double gold medal winner Rebecca Adlington, gathered on Saturday (3^rd October 2015) to celebrate and mark the end of Stratford Leisure Centre's impressive £5million refurbishment.  

Sports and leisure operator, Everyone Active, which manages the centre on behalf of Stratford-on-Avon District Council, marked the occasion with an Open Day full of free activities for the entire family to enjoy.  

A host of Olympians joined in on the fun, including Rosie Morris, who competed as the GB water polo goalkeeper at the London Olympics in 2012 and Zoe Reeve (formerly Zoe Cooper), who is a former member of the GB Synchro Squad and a Britain's Got Talent Finalist. She also appeared on ITV's hit show 'Splash' with Tom Daley.

Fast Swimmer and three-time Olympian, James Goddard was also at the event, alongside former Olympic swimmer and sports presenter, Steve Parry. Becky Adlington also inspired up-and-coming swimmers by delivering a motivational speech on her career.

Free activities included a range of group exercise classes and the brand new and innovative Les Mills virtual classes. Children's activities included face painting, colouring competitions and Active Ants sessions. Visitors were also able to try out the centre's eight, brand new, climbing walls for the very first time.

In the afternoon, children were given the opportunity to try out a variety of new water activities, including water polo, fast swimming and synchronised swimming with Rosie Morris, James Goddard and Zoe Reeve. The centre's teaching pool also had a range of family swim sessions taking place throughout the afternoon, along with two 'Wet n Wild' sessions and fun activities with pool inflatables.

The centre's extensive refurbishment began in late 2014. This is the second time Rebecca Adlington has visited the centre, after a host of top swimmers came together to celebrate the launch of its British Gas Pools 4 Schools programme in February 2015. The programme saw the centre install a temporary swimming pool whilst refurbishment on its own pool was carried out.

Rebecca Adlington OBE, Double Olympic Gold Medal Winning Swimmer, commented on the centre's transformation:“This venue is incredible: it's light, airy and spacious and a really nice environment.  I like the idea you have the kids pool as well as the main pool – it means you don't feel you're all on top of each other while trying to swim. 

“I can't believe how central this venue is – so many pools and leisure centres are a little way out of town.  But Stratford Leisure Centre is so close to the town, it's unbelievable.  And there's no excuse saying you can't get here!

“The location is brilliant and the price is really reasonable.  And the variety you have here is amazing – from the pool to the climbing wall, the virtual class studios to the outdoor courts: there is something for everyone in the family.

“I really hope families make the most of the pool and swimming lessons here.  First of all, being able to swim is a life skill and potentially a life-saving skill.  It's also great exercise and if you learn young you're likely to continue as a teenager, into your 20s and 30s and beyond.  Also, if you learn to swim young, you can enjoy it for all your life – not just half your life!

“The difference since I was here opening the temporary pool is massive.  The reception area and changing rooms are completely transformed, the Clip'n'Climb is incredible – I've never seen anything like it before. And to be honest it feels more like a brand new facility than a refurbished one.

“My highlight today was seeing the kids enjoying themselves in the Oceans of Fun event.  They had a great experience working with the Olympians – trying synchronized swimming and water polo as well as swimming techniques.  The atmosphere in the pool was incredible – so positive and energetic.  They were definitely inspired and that makes me really happy."

Gareth Wagg, Everyone Active General Manager, said:“Our Open Day was a great chance to get the message out to the local community that the work is finally complete and to show what a difference the investment has made. Not only is this a refurbishment of the existing building – we have developed additional areas such as the climbing wall at the front and the opening up of the group exercise studios.  Today was about inviting people to celebrate the new-look centre and showcase the wide variety of activities we have to offer.

“Having the athletes here has been a real highlight – it was great to have them return and to hear their feedback on the changes since there were here earlier in the year.  Also the Clip'n'Climb climbing facility has been a huge success.  The Clip'n'Climb was the first activity to book up and everyone who tried it had huge smiles on their faces: we've had some really positive comments.

“We've also had some really positive feedback from people who tried out our new virtual group exercise studio.  This aspect means we can run an extra 30 classes a week here which will help meeting the growing demand for our Les Mills timetable and will be real draw for people I think.

“There are a lot of people to thank, not least of which is Stratford-on-Avon District Council for its investment and giving us the opportunity to develop the centre in this way.  I'd also like to thank the development team at Speller Metcalfe and the project management team at Mace who worked with great consideration for our needs as the operator and our colleagues and members for supporting us throughout.  We kept the centre open throughout the work and their careful planning made that possible.  Finally, I'd like to thank our customers for bearing with us throughout the development: I hope the refurbished centre and new facilities will reward their patience for years to come."

Cllr Mike Brain, Portfolio Holder for Technical Services, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said:“The Open Day has been a fantastic way to celebrate the completion of the refurbishment works and I'm pleased to see so many people here, having such a great time.

“We have enjoyed working very closely with the Everyone Active team and they, in turn, have done a great job keeping the centre open throughout the development works.  The temporary pool was an inspired solution to ensure our swimming provision remained in place and I'm pleased that we didn't have to close the centre at any point.

“To look at it now you wouldn't think Stratford Leisure Centre is 40 years old – it has evolved over the years and now feels very much like a new facility.  We are very pleased to have invested £5m into this project.  At a time when many councils are dis-investing in such facilities, we at Stratford-on-Avon District Council believe in the value – and need – to re-invest in such projects.

“Stratford is a world class town and it needs a world class leisure centre. There are many things to be proud of in the town and this venue is one of them."