NEW OPENING
horses, a tumble track, a 12m sprung artistic floor and a 13m sq rhythmic floor. Other indoor facilities include an eight-
court, multi-use sports hall/theatre, two multi-purpose studios, a cafeteria, two conference meeting rooms, a crèche with an outside play area and sports therapy treatment rooms. The fitness suite has been designed for all abilities, with fitness equipment that includes Trixter Xdream bikes, a TRX suspension area, a Zig Zag childrens’ fitness sports wall, Power Plate vibration machines, and a functional training zone, which includes ViPR free weights and Kettlebells. This area also features 90 pieces from Precor’s new range of fitness equipment, making the Sporting Village one of just two centres in the UK to offer the full range to its members. Set in 100 hectares of scenic parkland, the outside facilities are even more impressive. “It’s unusual for a local community to have access to such a wide variety of facilities in one venue,” says Jefford. “The village offers six 3G synthetic turf five-a-side football pitches, 10 full-size natural turf football pitches, 12 outdoor netball courts, two cricket pitches, a hockey pitch and an athletics stadium – all surrounded by acres of beautiful parkland,” he says.
Easy access According to Jefford, many national governing bodies of sport are already aware of the complex’s potential for hosting events. “Within the first week of opening we were able to host an Ama- teur Athletes Association (AAA) Regional Athletics Meeting at the stadium, where we witnessed more than 800 athletes compete. The site will also host regional competitions in gymnastics, swimming and netball – offering a spectator capacity of 450 in the sports hall, 1,000 in the athletics stadium and 405 in the pool viewing areas,” says Jefford. Its status as an official training site for
the Paralympic Games is also testament to the ease of access to facilities for disabled users. “It took a large leap of faith and significant investment to create the type of fully inclusive facilities found
OPENING ATTRACTIONS
he grand opening day saw 10,000 local people visit the village to try out the facilities and meet some of the sporting ambassadors who helped promote the activity options on offer. Throughout the day, children were able to perfect their swimming technique with Olympic swimmers Mark Foster, Chris Cook and Jo Jackson, try synchronised swimming with former GB Team member Jazmine Stansbury and water polo with interna- tional player Jake Vincent.
T
Away from the pool, there were tag rugby and cheerleading sessions with the Saracens, a penalty shootout with Neville Southall, a ‘try out the track’ with former elite long dis- tance runner Eamonn Martin and junior cricket coaching with Essex cricketers Graham Napier and James Foster. While GB gymnastics Max Whitlock, Danny Lawrence, Meanwhile, Becky Wing and Reiss Beckford opened the gymnasium with an inspiring gym display.
Above: Former Olympic breas- troker Chris Cook and Essex cricketer Graham Napier (left) inspire youngsters into sport
at the venue,” says former World and Paralympic athlete and Basildon resident Danny Crates. “I do believe that if gyms and clubs invest in such facilities, a wider diversity of members will come. Basildon Sporting Village offers a wide range of accessible equipment and inclusive fit- ness programmes designed for disabled athletes, and its staff are committed to giving every user the encouragement and training they need.”
Progressive programming With the only 50m pool in Essex, there has been obvious interest from clubs as far afield as Ipswich to get onto the swimming timetable. The decision was made by the Everyone Active team to open the facility at 5.30am for club use before opening to the public at 6.30am to achieve the right balance of public swimming, club use and competitive events within the pool area. The ASA regional and Essex squads are now both based at Basildon Sporting
The greatest challenges are keeping the key partners happy about their investment and meeting the needs of everyone who used the previous facilities
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Village, along with swimming clubs from Basildon, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Ipswich, Mal- don, Redbridge, Romford and Thurrock. The Excel school swimming programme is also on the pool roster and 25 local primary schools also benefit from the huge range of activities on-site. Other sports clubs that will regularly use
the facilities include Essex Netball Club, South Essex Gymnastics Club, Essex County Football Club, the regional water polo squad and the regional triathlon club. Looking forward, the Everyone Active
team has big plans for the centre’s first year. It aims to attract up to one million visitors and encourage up to 50 per cent of the local residents to sign up for an Everyone Active card, (a pass that allows casual use of the centre’s facilities). Already 3,000 people have signed up as members and 20,000 people have regis- tered for Everyone Active Gold cards. There are also plans to host national
athletics, swimming and gymnastics competitions at the centre, increase the number of under 5s in the learn to swim area and develop key strategic partnerships with more schools, disabled groups and sports clubs – to offer some- thing for everybody. ●
David Thompson is a freelance writer Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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