Print and broadcast media were the main sources of information about sports centres and sport more widely in the 20th century, but with the advent of widespread access to the internet and associated social media platforms in the 21st century, the media landscape has changed for leisure centres in the same way as it has […]
An important leisure centre development since 2000 has been the facility provision for the growing popularity of exercise classes. We have come a long way from those rather traditional keep fit classes in Harlow Sports Centre’s sports hall. Now, new or improved centres often have two or three dedicated ‘studio’ spaces, capable of accommodating income […]
Based on a submission from Professor Peter Thomas MBE, former Senior Education Officer and Head of Arts, Sport & Recreation, Buckinghamshire County Council Buckinghamshire, including Milton Keynes, also sought to make the best use of school facilities. As a consequence of the many changes in the structure of Local Government in 1974, a significant and […]
Origins In 1967 Cheshire recorded only 25 indoor ‘sports premises’ in the County in excess of 3,999 ft.[i]. By 1979, a mere 12 years later, some 29 additional new indoor sports centres had been provided, an impressive achievement. But what is all the more remarkable is that 22 of these were jointly provided by the […]
The Oval Bebington, Cheshire, (sometimes referred to as the Bebington Oval and Port Sunlight) is a municipal athletics stadium with a sports hall in Bebington, Merseyside. It opened in 1973 and its first centre manager was Denis Woodman, who became Director of the Countryside & Recreation Division, Cheshire CC, and Chairman of the Association of […]
My initial view as an assessor at the beginning of the award, was the difficulty of comparing the management of centres that were very different e.g. a large town centre facility with a small rural. Indeed, at one stage there was a discussion about the desirability of having different categories. The award then moved on […]
I started my first job as a sports director in 1964 when I was appointed by Leeds City Council as Principal of the Leeds Athletic Institute. The council embarked on an innovative scheme and set up an old Victorian “E shaped” school as a sports activity centre. It’s design provided three large halls and twelve […]
The John Hirn Construction low cost sports centre model was selected by Salisbury District Council in 1992 to meet the needs of the Districts Western Parishes. The late Michael Norrish, Managing Director of John Hirn had been developing an all timber sports centre model very successfully in Southern England. Tisbury and District Sports Centre had […]
Recollections of the Early Years (March 12th, 1971 – April 2nd, 1978) The Project The Gamechangers In 1960 Sir John Wolfenden drew national attention to “the serious shortage of facilities for indoor games and sports”. His report (Sport and the Community) persuaded many local authorities to plan for the “greatest challenge of the seventies”. […]
ARM News played a key role in the formative years of recreation management from 1970 to 1982. It is an amazing chronicle of – the practicalities of sports centre management in the first decade of centres, of the developing recreation management scene, and of the important character and role of the Association of Recreation Managers […]
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