The countdown has begun to the opening of Active Nation’s first indoor climbing experience at Green Bank Leisure Centre in South Derbyshire.

The 16-station attraction has been design and created by industry leaders Hang Fast Ltd using their new XHeight climbing range. The clip and climb design means that anyone, regardless of age or experience, can become a climbing hero!

Emma Twyford is one of the country’s top pro climbers and an XHeight ambassador. She said: “XHeight is a great and safe way to get kids in to climbing.”

The brilliant news is that this amazing adventure will be accessible to everyone – costing just £6 for an off peak session and £8 at weekends. This will include 1 hours climbing time as well as a 30 minute briefing beforehand to help you get to grips with the equipment and make the most of your time in the zone.

The installation of the climbing zone has formed part of a £1million redevelopment of the venue which has seen party rooms, a studio and community areas also created within Grove Hall. It has also seen the installation of a brilliant new Wattbike indoor cycling studio, the replacement of the sports hall floor and the poolside and spectator areas revamped.

Active Nation’s Simon Ricketts said: “These really are exciting times for Green Bank Leisure Centre and this investment in the climbing zone is creating huge interest from across the country – it is becoming a major tourist attraction before it’s even completed!

“We are all really proud of the transformation Grove Hall has undertaken and we can’t wait to show it off and see it in use, so please come down and see for yourself. Everything will be completed and open to the public during the half term holidays.”

Don’t worry if you’re not a supporter at Green Bank Leisure Centre as the climbing centre will be open to all and is already attracting a lot of attention from schools planning adventure days for pupils, businesses looking at future corporate days and people looking to plan birthday parties and other celebrations.

With a 10% discount for anyone booking all 16 stations it really is a great option for a birthday or office party!

For more information and to see how we can get you climbing and active give us a call on 01283 216269 or simply pop in the next time you’re passing.

The post Active Nation’s First Indoor Climbing Zone Ready To Launch In South Derbyshire! appeared first on Active Nation.

Active Nation’s Green Bank Leisure Centre is home to a new state-of-the-art studio of Wattbike indoor cycles that will transform the way you train.

Wattbikes, developed in association with British Cycling and used by top athletes and sports clubs around the world, are the only indoor cycle to ‘feel’ like  riding a real bike and at the same time deliver accurate, consistent performance data and technical feedback.

The Swadlincote venue’s former sauna area has been completely transformed into a new studio to house these impressive pieces of kit. This brilliant use of the space has provided a great new addition to what the centre has to offer.

The upgrade has formed part of the £1million redevelopment of the venue which has seen the creation of a new 16-station indoor climbing zone, party rooms, studio and community areas in Grove Hall. It has also replaced the sports hall floor and revamped the poolside and spectator areas.

The studio provides a world class training facility not only for Active Nation supporters – but also local cyclists, triathletes, athletes, teams, groups and clubs – to assist with their training all year round.

The great thing about Wattbikes is that you don’t have to be a world class athlete to use them – they are straight forward to use and accessible to everyone. All of our instructors have been trained by the Wattbike team and will be on hand to offer advice and feedback.

Simply attend one of our many group exercise indoor cycling classes or get in touch if you would like your group to use this exciting new fully equipped Wattbike studio.

Active Nation’s Simon Ricketts said: “We are passionate about the benefits Wattbikes can bring to your training. It’s why the cycling, triathlon and fitness worlds have been so excited by their development! But don’t just take our word for it – come down and discover Wattbikes today at Green Bank Leisure Centre.”

Give us a call today on 01283 216269 to find out more and arrange a visit.

The post Green Bank’s New Watt Bike Studio – The Latest Stage In The Venue’s £1m Development Now Completed! appeared first on Active Nation.

Divers from Active Nation’s Southampton Diving Academy competed against teams from around the world when they travelled to Sofia in Bulgaria for their 2015 Summer Team Trip.

This year Southampton joined forces with Albatross Dive Club Reading, and Star Diving Team Guildford to make a 21 strong squad flying the flag for the South East Region Talent Programme.

The team ranged in age from 10 to 18 years, a mix of youngsters fresh from their first National Final competition up to seasoned elites. All enjoyed a week of competition against very strong teams from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Serbia and of course Bulgaria.

The team touched down in a hot Sofia and immediately headed to The Diana Pool for training. For all but 3 of them, it was their first international trip and the first time they had ever dived outdoors, which was not without its challenges with very cold water and quite high winds requiring serious focus – particularly whilst diving from the high platforms.

However the team of 6 young SDA divers, supported by experienced coach Jack Clewlow showed self-assurance in both training and competition and worked really hard to adjust to the different conditions.

The experience of Brandon Foster shone through, and he won the only medals for the young SDA squad at the meet, diving in the Boys B 14/15 years winning Gold in the platform event and Silver on the 3m Springboard.

Thomas Bailey, recently crowned National Age Group Champion of England on 3m Springboard, worked hard against the strong international field managing 5th place in this tough event which will prove to be a positive experience for the future.

Evelyna Johnson, National Age Group 1 metre Champion of England, competed in the Platform competition in the girls 12/13 age group, where she finished a creditable 5^th. Unfortunately, as she injured her foot during training, she wasn’t able to take part in her other events.

The 3 younger SDA divers put in some great performances with Milly Batten narrowly missing out on the medals on the 1m and the Platform, Ethan Bennett a top 6 place on the Platform and Milo French 7^th on both the 3m and the Platform.

Senior Coach Jack Clewlow said “Travelling overseas always creates an extra challenge for our divers and the other European Countries were very strong, but SDA showed great strength and team spirit.”

Girls 10/11 Years

Milly Batten: 1m 4th, 3m 7th, 5m Platform 4th

Boys 10/11 Years

Ethan Bennett: 1m 7th, 3m 8th, 5m Platform 6th

Milo French: 1m 11th, 3m 7th, 5m Platform 7th

Girls 12/13 Years

Evelyna Johnson : Platform 5th

Boys 14/15 Years

Thomas Bailey: 1m 5th, 3m 5th, Platform 4th

Brandon Foster: 1m 4th, 3m 2nd, Platform 1st

The post Young Divers Compete At Summer Team Trip To Bulgaria appeared first on Active Nation.

After a brilliant season on the slopes Toby Case is on track to achieve his goal of competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics – and has just been selected to represent Team GB in Andorra in January 2016.

13-year-old Toby from Fleet in Hampshire, has had an unbelievable season competing all around Europe and has come away as the All England Slalom Champion on snow after winning in Bormio in Italy and on the artificial slopes he is now the GBR Series Champion, Irish National Champion, European Champion, GBR Series Indoor Champion, SRSA Champion and has won various Club Nationals.

To top it all off his talent has been spotted by Snowsport England who have invited him to join the U14 England Alpine Development Squad 2015/16.

The talented skier was chosen to attend the selection weekend in Manchester, which involved fitness tests, on-snow skill-based exercises at indoor snow slope Chill Factore and strength and conditioning and nutrition sessions.

The England call up, which will see Toby represent England in dry and indoor slope races across the country, international competitions in Europe as well as at the English Alpine Ski Championships in Italy next February, comes after a series of successes on the slopes.

Toby said: “I developed my taste for skiing at the age of 5 on the dry slope at the Alpine Snowsports Centre in Aldershot, where I had visited with a friend to try out an introductory course.

“I loved it so much that I started attending regular ‘Skids’ sessions on a Saturday morning, which is where I learnt basic technical skills. Over the next 9 months I trained hard and was awarded my Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates.

“After trials at the age of 7, I was fortunate to win a place as the youngest member of the Aldershot Ski Race squad.”

And since then he hasn’t looked back. He is already regarded as one of the country’s top young stars and has achieved his first personal goal of qualifying for the England development squad. He has also got his sights on the 2018 Youth Winter Olympics, before his ultimate goal of representing his county at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Eddy Kirk from Active Nation’s Alpine Snowsports in Aldershot said: “Toby Case is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through learning and training on an artificial ski slope.

“Toby’s hard work and the support of his parents and coaches is clear to see. It just goes to show what can come from a visit to your local dry ski slope, a huge amount of talent and a lot of dedication. Well done Toby!”

To keep up with Toby’s progress follow him through his website: www.tobycase.co.uk. For more information about Alpine Snowsports in Aldershot give us a call on 01252 325889.

The post Toby Is On Track To Compete In The Olympics appeared first on Active Nation.

Work has now begun on transforming Grove Hall into an exciting new space for the whole community. The conversion of the old health suite into a new Watt Bike studio also well underway and plans are now being made for the next exciting phase that will concentrate on the main sports hall and swimming pool areas.

Works in the sports hall and swimming pool Hall are scheduled to commence in August, starting with the replacement of the sports hall floor from August 17^th-28^th. During this time this area will not be available to supporters, but we are drawing up a revised timetable for this period to help keep you active while the changes are taking place.

From August 24^th-September 4^th we will be resurfacing the swimming pool surrounds – during this time you are invited to use Etwall Leisure Centre’s pool.

Not only will this area be buzzing with energy, enthusiasm and activity – but the new studio will also offer a purpose built, state-of-the art, air-conditioned space with a new sound system, new lighting, new equipment and everything needed to make it brilliant and accessible to all. It really will be worth the wait!

If you would like to understand more about the redevelopment and the benefits it will bring to the venue please speak to a member of our team during your next visit. We’d love to tell you all about it! Without your continued support none of this would have been possible – so…thank you!

The post Green Bank Leisure Centre’s Exciting £1million Transformation Is Well Underway appeared first on Active Nation.

Wow! A massive thank you to all of our brilliant supporters who have helped to make a sick little boy’s dream come true! Thanks to you, 3-year-old Charlie Dowdall will now get the chance to go to Disneyland with his family later this year once he has completed his chemotherapy.

Charlie is currently undergoing the treatment to help fight an inoperable brain tumour. He is responding well and his godparents– including Active Nation Zumba instructor Jenni – have been busy fundraising to help send the brave little boy and his family on the trip of a lifetime and had already raised more than £1,200 towards the trip.

On Sunday dozens of supporters jumped at the challenge to help Charlie and took part in a 2-hour Zumbathon at Yarborough Leisure Centre in Lincoln – with all donations and sponsorship going straight to Charlie’s fund which needed another £1,200 to reach the final target.

Jenni said: “We did it! Two hours of Zumba – we were very sweaty. I can’t believe how much support we had. From the Zumba instructors Carla and Beth; to Yarborough Leisure Centre for putting on the class for free and Awesome Discos for giving us the lights.

“We raised £435 online and collected £685 sponsorship so the event made a massive £1,120 and counting as people still have sponsor money to hand in. Incredible! I am shattered. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped. Charlie is thrilled!”

Thanks to all of the support Charlie, his big sister Summer (aged 5) and parents Ricky and Kelly, can now look forward to the trip at the end of the year.

Charlie’s mum Kelly said: “We cannot believe how generous and supportive people have been since Charlie’s diagnosis. We are stunned at how many people who do not even know us have helped with raising money to help Charlie go to Disneyland.

“The last year has been a roller coaster of emotions since Charlie’s diagnosis and even now we are just taking each day as it comes and are making the most of the here and now.

“To think that by the time Charlie hopefully finishes chemotherapy we could be going to Disneyland is just amazing. Thank you to everyone who has helped Jenni and Luke along the way. Words cannot express our gratitude.”

Donations can still be made here: www.gofundme.com/tac99c any extra money will go towards making the trip even more magical!

The post Charlie’s Off To Disneyland Thanks To Our Brilliant Supporters! appeared first on Active Nation.

Active Nation’s Southampton Diving Academy recently hosted the ASA South East Regional Age Group competition at The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex.

This competition was a qualifying event for the ASA National Age Group Diving Championships to be held in Sheffield’s Ponds Forge in May. Clubs from across the South East region attended including Albatross Diving Club (Reading), Maidstone Swimming Club and Star (Guildford) alongside guest teams from Crystal Palace, Southend Diving, Waltham Forest, Haringey Aquatics, West Wilts and Dive London Aquatics Club.

The team scooped an impressive 26 South East Regional medals over the two weekends, 9 Gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze.

SDA’s head coach Lindsey Fraser said: “These results were very impressive and I would like to congratulate the coaches and divers on these performances.”

Many of the Southampton Divers were new to this level of competition; some were looking to achieve the qualification scores to progress to the National Finals and some were there for the experience of competing in a higher level event.

Taking gold on the Platform and 1m Springboard for Boys 14/15 Years was Elliott Moorhouse in a fantastic comeback after a long absence from injury. Also performing well in that age group were William Osborne, who took gold on the 3m Springboard and bronze on the 1m Springboard, and Thomas Bailey who took silver on the 1m Springboard.

In Boys 12/13 Years, Reuben Brown took silver in both the 3m and 1m Springboard and bronze on the Platform with a solid performance on all 3 boards showing consistent skills under pressure.

In Boys 10/11, Milo French, the youngest boy in the Southampton squad, impressed the judges to take silver in both the 1m and 3m Springboard and a bronze on the Platform with team mate Ethan Bennett putting in some very consistent diving to take the bronze on the 1m.

The girls’ competition was fierce in all age groups, but in the 14/15 Years group, Southampton’s Katie McArthur held her nerve to take gold on the 1m, beating team mate Serena Torpey into Silver.

In the Girls 12/13 years Tia Pritchard and Evelyna Johnson battled hard and eventually couldn’t be separated, taking joint top spot, Tia was one of the few girls in this age group to dive from the 7.5m Platform. Tia also took gold on the 3m Springboard and bronze on the 1m Springboard to complete a great all round performance. Ella Anderson and Lauren Bailey took gold and silver respectively on the 1m both of them performing risky double somersaults to secure their medals.

Meanwhile in Girls 10/11 Years, the star was Milly Batten taking gold on the 3m Springboard with a superb inward 1.5 somersault with pike securing her title. Milly also took silver on the 1m Springboard against some tough competition and bronze on the Platform. Dulcie Wilson showed great composure to take the bronze on both 1m and 3m Springboards in only her second competition at this level and is one to watch for the future as one of the youngest girls in the Southampton team.

Angus Kerr and Cameron Gammage, two of Southampton Diving Academy’s Elite divers also took part in this competition as guest divers in preparation for their National Junior Elite Championships which take place in Sheffield in May.

Girls 10/11 Years

1m  2nd Milly Batten, 3rd Dulcie Wilson, 5th Collette guyett-Smith, 7th Lucy Chandler

3m   1st Milly Batten, 3rd Dulcie Wilson, 5th Collette Guyett-Smith, 6th Lucy Chandler

Platform  3rd Milly Batten

Boys 10/11 Years

1m  2nd Milo French, 3rd Ethan Bennett, 8th Robbie Lee

3m  2nd Milo French, 5th Ethan Bennett

Platform 3rd Milo French, 7th Ethan Bennett

Girls 12/13 Years

1m 1st Ella Anderson, 2nd Lauren Bailey, 3rd Tia Pritchard, 4th Gabrielle Kirkham, 6th Sofia Sathio, 7th Victoria Ward

3m 1st Tia Pritchard, 4th Ella Anderson, 5th Victoria Ward, 6th Sofia Sathio, 7th Lauren Bailey, 8th Gabrielle Kirkham

Platform Joint 1st Evelyna Johnson and Tia Pritchard, 4th Gabrielle Kirkham, 5th Lauren Bailey, 6th Ella Anderson, 7th Chloe Harrington, 8th Victoria Ward, 9th Sofia Sathio, 10th Megan Curtis

Boys 12/13 Years

1m 2nd Reuben Brown

3m 2nd Reuben Brown

Platform 3rd Reuben Brown, 4th Alex Walton

Girls 14/15 Years

1m 1st Katie McArthur, 2nd Serena Torpey, 4th Jessica Bennett, 5th Jade Brindley, 7th Nicole van Hoof, 8th Emily Adams, 10th Victoria Kennedy, 11th Chantelle Beckett

3m 4th Katie McArthur , 5th Jessica Bennett, 6th Serena Torpey, 7th Emily Adams, 8th Nicole Van Hoof, 9th Victoria Kennedy, 10th Chantelle Beckett

Platform 5th Katie McArthur , 6th Emily Adams, 7th Victoria Kennedy

Boys 14/15 Years

1m 1st Elliot Moorhouse, 2nd Thomas Bailey, 3rd William Osborne

3m 1st  William Osborne, 3rd Thomas Bailey, 4th Elliot Moorhouse

Platform 1st  Elliot Moorhouse

The post Young Divers Put In Impressive Performances At Regional Competition appeared first on Active Nation.

An eleven strong party from Southampton Diving Academy (SDA) returned as team victors from Bergen, Norway having participated in the Internasjonalt Stupestevne diving meet.

Hosted by Bergen Stupeklubb, this event included national teams from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Monaco and Poland as well as club divers from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, plus the UK.

With some in the Southampton team fresh from competing in the UK’s Junior Elite Championships in Plymouth, there were nine individual medals for five divers as well as their win of the overall team competition.

Notable were three ‘Elite’ divers, Max Cott (Gold Platform, with a huge 470 points, a score right up there with the top European youth, and bronze on the 1 metre board), Tanya Watson (Silver Medals on the 3 metre and platform boards) and Brandon Foster (Bronze Platform), who lived up to their known high standards.

In between the medals were some excellent performances from Lucy Watson (including 4th, platform), Rhys Crookes, Thomas Bailey, Will Osborne, Jessica Bennett and Serena Torpey who all scored personal bests and took some notable scalps throughout the meet. Their dives were consistently sound, essential in competing at this level. Director of Coaching Lindsay Fraser declared herself hugely impressed with the meet organisation, the hospitality of the people of Bergen and the maturity of her own divers.

In her second foray at this level overseas, youngest SDA diver, Evelyna Johnson performed very well especially on the one metre board taking the silver medal and beating a Swiss International diver, as well as scoring over 40 points on her inward one and a half somersault.

Cameron Gammage, age 13 years, posted a super individual SDA result with a clean sweep of three gold medals, including a personal best 8-dive score of 324 points on the 3 metre board – one point behind the meet record held by Yong Wang of China since 2003. His best dive was a forward two and one half somersault on the 5 metre platform for which he scored 53 points.

This was SDA’s first trip to Bergen, but having seen the superb organisation of the meet, the excellent facilities and the quality of the international competition it surely will not be the last!

The post Southampton Diving Academy Return As Team Victors From International Competition appeared first on Active Nation.

Active Nation’s Southampton Diving Academy (SDA) recently attended The British Elite Junior Diving Championships with 8 of their top junior divers and returned with a national champion!

This prestigious competition is the highlight of the domestic junior calendar with the top British divers aged 14-18 Years battling it out for honours. This competition not only serves to find our National Junior Elite Champions but, more importantly, it is the event used to select our Junior International Teams. This year it was held at The Life Centre in Plymouth and the standard of British Junior diving was impressive.

SDA’s Emily Martin comfortably secured the title of Girls 14/15 years British National Junior Elite Champion on 1m springboard, where she won both the preliminary and the final. Emily was on top form and demonstrated some impressive diving in a very competitive field, scoring personal best scores in all her preliminary and final events, finishing ahead of Junior GB divers to win a hat trick of medals.

Not satisfied with her 5^th place in the preliminaries on 3m, she upped her game in the final to lift herself into the silver medal position in this event. In her platform final she retained her second place from the preliminary to, again, win the silver medal, making her the top girl in her age group.

Emily has now been confirmed as part of the Junior GB team competing at a Junior International in Dresden, Germany later this month and also Junior European Championships in Moscow, Russia in June. Emily’s coach, Jack Clewlow, has also been selected as coach for the Dresden International.

Tanya Watson and Lucy Hawkins also competed on all three boards in the girls 14/15 years. Tanya scored personal best scores on all three boards and secured a place in the platform final where she finished in 6^th place. Lucy also achieved personal best scores in both springboard events, finishing her 3m competition with two fantastic dives.

Sarah White, Gemma M^cArthur and Madeleine Angell all dived in the girls 16/18 Years age group, Gemma & Madeleine secured a place in the platform final. Madeleine scored personal best scores in both the preliminary and final of this event, finishing in 5^th place, just behind teammate Gemma M^cArthur in 4^th place with Sarah in 8^th. Gemma and Sarah went on to compete in the 3m event, where Gemma finished in 7^th place just a fraction away from the finals and Sarah finished in 9^th.

Tanya Watson and Emily Martin teamed up in the Girls 14-18 years 3m Synchro, the girls executed a fantastic last dive to lift themselves into 5^th place.

Two boys represented SDA, Brandon Foster in the boys 14/15 years and Max Cott in the Boys 16/18 years. Both Brandon and Max secured their place in the platform finals where Max attracted 8’s from the judges with his impressive back two and half somersaults from 7.5m taking him into the final in 3rd place, where he was just nudged into 4^th. Brandon progressed into his platform final in 5^th place finally finishing 6^th. Brandon also competed in the boys 14/15 years 1m and 3m events making the final on 1m, finishing in 5^th place.

Jack said: “I was extremely pleased with the performance of the Southampton team. All of the divers have worked so hard in order to prepare for this event. It was a pleasure to see all of their efforts rewarded.”

Feeling inspired? Give your nearest Active Nation venue a call to see how we can help get you swimming and diving.

The post Active Nation’s SDA Diver Emily Is A National Champion! appeared first on Active Nation.

After a short break, Clayton Green Sports Centre squash teams have gone from the bottom of the league to champions in their first season back!

The first team at Clayton Green Sports Centre, which is managed by Active Nation on behalf of Chorley Council, has won the North West Counties Division 5 title and promotion with two games remaining. But the brilliant news doesn’t stop there – the club entered a second team for the first time, who is expected to finish third narrowly missing out on promotion themselves.

Club captain Paul Lane said: “It’s been great seeing the enthusiasm for competitive squash at Clayton Green Sports Centre on a Thursday night against teams from all over the North West. To be champions in our first season back is simply brilliant and beyond all of our expectations.”

Back in 2010/11 the future of squash at the sports centre looked to be bleak as the team had finished bottom of the North West Counties League. Unfortunately, with the sport in decline, the team duly disbanded.

Since then Active Nation’s Gareth Austin has been on a mission promoting the sport and encouraging people to play squash. He said: “It’s been great fun promoting sport at the venue and especially watching squash go from strength to strength – with more than 60 players now regularly playing at the centre.”

All of this hard work has seen two qualified coaches join the team in partnership with England Squash. They offer sessions and coaching for youngsters wishing to start playing squash for the first time and also for adults who wish to improve their skills and fitness.

The venue has a steep history of producing promising squash players as Women’s World Champion 2014 Laura Massaro first started her squash journey here over 20 years ago. She and her brother Chris both attended coaching here as juniors.

Chris has gone on to become one of the country’s top squash coaches whilst working at the National Squash Centre for over five years as their head coach. He has since returned to Clayton Green Sports Centre as the junior squash coach.

This investment in the sport coincided with a band of volunteers – led by Paul – reforming the club as a member of Squash England. After joining forces with Active Nation and two local businesses the club re-joined at the bottom of the league and have gone from strength to strength.

Paul added: “After a long hard successful winter season, the club would like to thank Active Nation and Chorley Council, Morgan Bros from Chorley and Chris Fell Joinery for their support.”

For more information about squash at Clayton Green Sports Centre please email Gareth.Austin@activenation.org.uk. Alternatively, you can book a court at anytime during opening hours and hire equipment too. Call on 0300 0200 136 for bookings.

The post From Bottom Of The League To Squash Champs In Their First Season Back appeared first on Active Nation.