INTERVIEW
BILLY GARRETT
THE SPORTS OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR GLASGOW LIFE TALKS TO KATE CRACKNELL ABOUT DRIVING A CULTURE OF ACTIVITY AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT A POPULATION LEVEL
operations manager at Glasgow Life – the independent charitable organisation that manages the culture and leisure services on behalf of Glasgow City Council. That’s a claim I’ve heard a number of times from within the health and fi tness sector, not always with much justifi cation. In this case however, as Garrett elaborates on the broad range of initiatives being spearheaded by Glasgow Life, it rings true. He says: “Our mission is very much
“I
refl ected in our name: Glasgow Life. We want to enhance the lives of Glasgow citizens, creating a city which allows people to grow, develop themselves, and enjoy life in this fantastic, dynamic city. “It’s about delivering healthy lifestyles across the board. We operate 32
t’s not about increasing our share of the pie, but about making the pie larger,” says Billy Garrett, sports
sports and leisure centres, with 27,000 direct debit members and 6.2 million attendances in 2012, but it’s not just about sport. We also operate arts and culture venues across the city – 50 sites in total – and research shows that going to a museum or the theatre can also bring about positive outcomes in terms of people’s health and wellbeing. We see ourselves as a health service in the broadest terms, looking to make a population-level impact in Glasgow.”
Consistent investment But although Glasgow Life’s remit is a broad one, sport and physical activity is a key part of its offering. “Sports and leisure has always been a focus for Glasgow, with a massive investment over the last 10, 15, 20 years,” says Garrett. “That’s been a consistent strategy for the local authority, rather than
simply a reaction to being awarded the Commonwealth Games in 2014. “I’ve been with the organisation since
the early 1990s, when we were still a department of the local authority, but since 2006 when Glasgow Life became an independent unit and I moved into the sports team, I can’t remember a time when we weren’t building new facilities.” The latest offering in the Glasgow Life estate is the £113m Emirates Arena, Europe’s largest dedicated indoor sports arena, which opened in the east end of the city in October 2012. Among its impressive list of facilities are the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, a 6,500-capacity sports arena, and a 1,000-capacity arena that can turn into a suite of community sports halls when not hosting an event. Indeed, community use is a key theme
Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy velodrome will be a key Commonwealth Games site 30 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
for Glasgow Life. Although the Emirates Arena is one of a number of its facilities that will be used as a Commonwealth Games venue, Glasgow Life’s belief is that public access is equally important. “We don’t see any distinction between facilities for elite versus community use,” explains Garrett. “All of our buildings cater for both audiences, and in fact the fi rst people to use all of our Commonwealth Games facilities will be Glasgow citizens. We’re not building facilities, keeping them under wraps until the Games so they’re fi rst used by elite athletes, and only then rolling out to the public. As soon as they’re completed, we open them out to the community – I think we may be unique in doing that.”
February 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
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