Aberdeen’s state-of-the art sports village will throw open the doors to local communities with the launch of a new pilot scheme to get those living in regeneration areas more active.
Aberdeen Sports Village, which opened its doors last year and offers top-of-the-range facilities including a large sports hall the size of nine badminton courts and a fitness suite, will offer free activities to those who have not had an opportunity to make use of the centre.
From today (November 2) the sports village will pilot a scheme in conjunction with Aberdeen City Council’s Community Learning & Development team, which will see vouchers offering free use of facilities like the gym as well as free activities such as squash, badminton and table tennis, distributed to local residents.
The voucher scheme is open to CLD Teams 1 and 2, which covers the Seaton, Tillydrone, and Sunnybank areas, and facilities can be used at any time during the off-peak period, which includes times during the weekend.
Seaton Community Learning Worker Christine McLean, who is part of the team working on the project, said: “This is an opportunity for community groups working with and supported by Community Learning and Development to engage in sports activities that they would normally never use, for some it will be part of a planned progress in moving on in their lives, building confidences, gaining a stable lifestyle, moving on to further education and employment.”
Jan Griffiths, Sports Development Manager at Aberdeen Sports Village, added: “This is one of a number of projects we are working on which we hope will have a positive impact upon the lives of those who participate.
“Aberdeen Sports Village has facilities designed to standards for elite athletes but we also have an important role to play in the community and we are here to meet the needs of everyone from top sportsmen and women to those wanting to improve their general health and fitness.
“Exercise has been shown to have benefits well beyond an improvement in physical fitness and we look forward to assessing the results of the pilot and continuing to work closely with our Community Development colleagues.”