Olympic medallist Darren Campbell with Hawthorn Leisure Centre customers
An exciting, modern fitness suite has opened its doors in Pontypridd thanks to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Leisure Services Department determination to cater for the ever growing number of customers.
Around £70,000 of investment in its popular suite was made available through a lease agreement with a private fitness company.
The centre has an extensive customer base and following lengthy consultation with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council it was decided to totally upgrade all of the equipment.
The suite was also redecorated and the ventilation system upgraded to give customers a more pleasant environment in which to exercise.
The equipment was supplied and installed by Life Fitness and includes six treadmills; six cross trainers; five exercise bikes; two scifit bikes; and an array of fixed resistance equipment.
A number of pieces of equipment are Inclusive Fitness Initiative accredited which means that they fully meet DDA standards.
Olympic medal-winning athlete Darren Campbell visited the the new fitness suite, much to the delight of regular users and visitors alike.
The sprinter, who holds the European record in the relay event joined local schoolchildren in opening the refurbished suite at Hawthorn.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s councillor for Hawthorn Cllr Theressa Bates and Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation Cllr Robert Bevan officially opened the new suite.
Cllr Bevan said: “The newly refurbished fitness suite at Hawthorn Leisure Centre is exemplary and will undoubtedly impress the regular users while also rapidly increase the current customer base.
“The Council has 11 leisure centres across the Rhondda, Cynon and Taf areas and more than two million people use them each year. Most leisure centres have swimming pools, fitness suites, health suites, sports halls and conference facilities.
“A range of groundbreaking leisure initiatives are also being run, such as health referral schemes offering tailor-made exercise programmes to help patients on the road to recovery.
“More than 70 per cent of Rhondda Cynon Taf residents have less than 20 minutes travel time to their nearest leisure centre or swimming pool, so it’s well worth calling in to your local leisure centre or pool to see what’s on offer.”
Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Leisure card scheme – the More Card – offers excellent-value unlimited access to Leisure facilities, including all gyms, fitness classes and racquet sports, subject to availablity, and there is a choice of payment methods to suit all budgets. There are three cards: morediscount, morevalue and moremax and they can all be used in any of Rhondda Cynon Taf’s leisure centres and swimming pools.
The corporate more card allows Council employees discounted access to all of RCT’s Leisure facilities. The scheme has now been extended to include a number of local employers.
For more information on the more card scheme or to join, please call 01443 400563
For contact details for your local leisure centre, please call Rhondda Cynon Taf Leisure Services on 01443 400563 or go to www.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk.
