SPORT ABERDEEN | EDITION #15 | SUMMER 2021
Sport Aberdeen is a private limited company, registered in Scotland, Company no SC350981
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES, INSPIRING PEOPLE AND CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
HROUGH PORT AND PHYSICA
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CONTENTS
Page 3
Editor’s letter
Page 6
Welcoming the community back to physical activity
Page 8
Funding extended from Action for Children
elcome to the summer 2021 edition of Active News, Sport Aberdeen’s quarterly newsletter highlighting some of the fantastic work that has been going on over the past few months.
Page 4 - 5 The 5Ps
Page 7
What our members have been saying
Page 9
Managing Director’s insights
Page 10 - 11 Focus on: Golf
The sun is shining, or at least it was when I initially wrote this, and with lockdown restrictions easing in Scotland we can now all look forward to getting out and active across the city once again. The entire leisure sector has faced a mass of unprecedented challenges throughout the Covid-19 pandemic but the continued support and resilience from our members has allowed us to bounce back and continue operating as the north-east’s largest physical activity provider. Since reopening several of our venues in April, and reactivating more activities, including fitness classes in mid-May (much to the delight of our members), we have received fantastic feedback which is extremely encouraging and down to the hard work of all of our staff and volunteers. We welcomed over 4,500 members back to several of our citywide venues during the first week of reopening (page six) and the reactivation of adventurous activity in the city saw a staggering 2,093 participants taking part in a range of outdoor activities in the first two months (page five). From extending partnerships to help children and families within the city access sporting opportunities (page eight), to signing a new contract with our fitness equipment provider, Pulse Fitness (page five); even in the midst of a global pandemic we never stand still. We were thrilled to officially reopen the greens at Kings Links Golf Course to the public in May following a significant programme of restoration works over the autumn and winter months (page 11) and Balnagask Golf Course joined in the celebrations with a historic donation helping us mark 100 years since it reopened after World War One (page 10). As ever, I hope this glimpse into the exciting work going on will motivate you all to get out and get active, making the most of all the sporting opportunities that we offer throughout the city and helping to support the community’s wellbeing by doing so. On behalf of the whole charity, thank you for your incredible support and we hope that you are enjoying getting active with us once again.
Contact If you would like more information on anything in this edition, or would like to find out about work and volunteer opportunities with Sport Aberdeen, get in touch with us by emailing
editor@sportaberdeen.co.uk
Editor
Active News
Sarah Webster
Communications Lead
Above: Thank you to our Walk Leaders
Above: Pulse Fitness equipment
Above: Activity packs
THE FIVE Ps SPORT ABERDEEN IS COMMITTED TO: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES, INSPIRING PEOPLE AND CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
PEOPLE
PLACE
THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS
REFRESHING OUR VENUES
We marked Volunteers Week 2021 at the start of June with a series of social media shout-outs and a thank you email to all of the wonderful people who give up their own time to help others by volunteering to support programmes and activities run by Active Lifestyles, Active Schools, Aquatics Aberdeen and Golf Aberdeen.
Get active @ Peterculter and Bucksburn Swimming Pool are the latest venues to receive a refreshing dose of light renovation. Both venues have seen improvement works undertaken over lockdown in preparation for reopening to the public.
Volunteers contribute hugely to the capacity in which we are able to deliver our community driven programmes. While a total of 35 furloughed staff members volunteered their time with different partner agencies throughout the city during lockdown, Active Lifestyles volunteers have continued to help provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in physical activity. Within the Active Lifestyles programme, volunteers have helped as follows: 30 dedicated volunteers
18 volunteer Walk Leaders
helped us deliver 17 activities per week
8 social walking groups per week
in 11 locations across the city
1,565 participations
Bucksburn Swimming Pool’s reception area had a complete restyle which involved painting the whole area including the changing corridor. Brand-new vinyl’s have been applied to external facing windows and main doors including reception viewing windows to poolside, and new cubicle framework and wall panelling has been fitted in the female showers. Over £8,000 was invested into upgrade works at Get active @ Peterculter which saw the following improvements undertaken: The group exercise studio now benefits from extensive work which included sanding, resealing and varnishing of the studio floor alongside painting the walls and the addition of a new feature wall with vinyl imagery. A new wall-mounted sound system, including a multi-choice lighting system has also been installed into the studio while the sports hall has been fitted with a new set of sideways play basketball hoops.
PARTICIPATION
PARTNERSHIP
WAVE OF EXCITEMENT OVER CITY’S ADVENTUROUS ACTIVITY RESTARTING
IMPROVING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN IN ABERDEEN THROUGH SPORT
On April 1 outdoor adventurous activity was given the green light to reactivate in Scotland following national guidance.
During lockdown the SPACE (Supported Physical Activity for Care Experienced) project teamed up with Children 1st, Scotland’s national children’s charity, to introduce physical activity to an initiative which was delivering ‘wellbeing packs’ to young people, working alongside Aberdeen City Council’s Virtual School.
In the first two months of reopening to the public, we saw over 2,000 participants enjoying outdoor activities. We were thrilled to be able to offer activities through Adventure Aberdeen, with the addition of new opportunities including rock climbing, providing the public with opportunities to safely experience and enjoy the unique landscape that the north-east has to offer. Learn to Bike sessions for children aged three to eight also reactivated and demand for this has been tremendous. After an enormously successful launch last year, canoeing and stand up paddleboarding at Rubislaw Quarry are continuing to be extremely popular and are fully booked throughout the upcoming summer months. In April, the marketing team took to the water and explored the beautiful Lui Gorge near Braemar to film footage for a new video advertising the unique opportunities we have on offer in the north-east.
We were pleased to fund sports packs, which were specifically tailored, where possible, for individual participants as identified through the project to allow for maximum impact on each participant, with a key focus on getting children and young people active and improving mental and physical health and wellbeing through sport. Almost 250 requests from social work and education were received and packs were distributed throughout the city by our staff.
As a corporate parent, Sport Aberdeen has a commitment to care experienced young people within the care of Aberdeen City Council, and by using the positive effects that sport has on mental and physical health, we can play our part in supporting this group. After identifying the same joint goal as Children 1st and with the backing of Aberdeen City Council’s Virtual School we have been able to work in partnership to create and deliver activity packs to as many people as possible. - Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities
PROCESS PULSE FITNESS AWARDED NEW CONTRACT Pulse Fitness has supplied our gym equipment since 2016, helping us transform our fitness offering and offer an improved experience for our members. With this agreement reaching its end, we began a robust procurement process a number of months ago, to secure a new four-year contract with bids received from several suppliers. Following a thorough evaluation of the bids, we were pleased to make the contract award to Pulse Fitness. This new agreement will allow us to manage our gym floors in the most effective way and offers unrivalled flexibility towards creating fresh gym floor designs and improved customer experiences, which is a fantastic step towards creating more first-class physical activities for people of all ages and abilities in Aberdeen.
“We were delighted to partner with Sport Aberdeen and the Virtual School to provide these sports packs to young people and families in the local community. All sports packs included a range of equipment for indoor and outdoor activities, along with activity cards to help get the children started. The children and carers were delighted with their doorstep drops offs and we have had some really positive feedback.” - Lindsay Jessiman, Service Manager for Children 1st in Aberdeen
The 5Ps / Page 5
Above: Our members enjoying a yoga class
Above: Welcoming the community back to sport
‘IT WAS FANTASTIC TO BE BACK’:
WELCOMING THE COMMUNITY BACK TO SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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e received over 4,500 bookings from customers keen to come back to our venues over the first week of reopening, after four months of closure due to Covid-19 restrictions. Alongside Aberdeen Tennis Centre and Adventure Aberdeen Snowsports Centre, seven of our gyms opened their doors on 26th April. During the countdown to reopening, staff attended refresher training in preparation for reopening, ensuring that enhanced safety protocols were in place to protect employees, volunteers and members.
“The response from the community has been fantastic. Gyms, pools and community leisure centres are absolutely vital to the mental and physical health and wellbeing of our community and these encouraging numbers only serve to highlight the eagerness to return to fitness. “Everyone has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to ensure that our venues are safe, clean and ready and from the very encouraging feedback we have received since reopening I am proud to say that our team has been going above and beyond in creating a friendly and welcoming environment for people returning to activities.” - Alistair Robertson, Sport Aberdeen Managing Director
Aquatics Aberdeen swimming lessons are currently running at two venues, Tullos Swimming Pool and Get active @ Beach Leisure Centre and programmes at these venues have been revised to maximise Learn to Swim opportunities, currently accommodating around 2,500 swimmers.
“We are thrilled that swimming lessons have reactivated in two of our venues however we do have a significant waiting list of new applicants. We are working closely with Aberdeen City Council’s Education and Childcare Team regarding the reopening of ‘dual use’ venues which are linked to schools and will reactivate these venues as soon as we can. - Dianne Breen, Sport Aberdeen Programme and Membership Services Manager
RECORD BREAKING MONTH! Congratulations to Kyle Scott, supervisor at Get active @ Jesmond who sold the membership to make May 2021 a record breaking month for new members! Alistair Robertson was delighted to present Kyle with a prize for his efforts, alongside Operations Manager Graham Ritchie and Alasdair Barron, Sales and Retention Manager.
The reactivation of swimming, ice skating and exercise classes followed suit and the feedback from participants and customers has been very supportive. The Linx Ice Arena officially reopened on Monday 17 May to members of the public and Learn to Skate participants who had been eagerly awaiting a chance to don their skates once again. As part of our commitment to investing in community facilities, we recently purchased a Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine to replace the old one. The Zamboni is essential in providing a high-quality skating experience, rejuvenating the ice between sessions and giving it a smooth finish. Page 6 / Welcoming the community back to sport and physical activity
WHAT OUR MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SAYING FIRST MONTH REOPENING STATS: FROM 26TH APRIL 2021 - 25TH MAY 2021
INDIVIDUAL VISITS:
15,546
INDIVIDUAL USERS:
2,710
Yesterday was my first visit to any gym since March 2020 & I felt super safe. Staff were friendly & helpful and there were cleaning materials everywhere. Good to see members regularly using them to wipe down equipment after use & staff going round doing additional cleaning on door handles etc. I was really impressed.
% MEMBERS ACTIVE:
47%
“THE STAFF WERE GREAT ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS SAW THEM DO EXTRA CLEANING TOO, I WAS VERY COMFORTABLE WITH MY VISIT.”
“The staff are so lovely. Always helpful. Always smiley. Always friendly. The gym is 10000000% outside my comfort zone. So these small ‘acts of kindness’ are very much appreciated.”
Well done Sport Aberdeen. I can honestly say as an organisation you have handled the changing rules very well from the start. I am glad I continued my membership throughout.
“ IT FELT AMAZING TO BE BACK! VERY CLEAN AND FELT SAFE TO BE THERE.“ “The gym experience at Jesmond is first class! Perfectly safe, all machines easily accessible and everything is spotlessly clean. Staff on hand as required, all thoroughly welcoming and helpful.“
What our members have been saying / Page 7
SPORT ABERDEEN SEES FUNDING EXTENDED FROM ACTION FOR CHILDREN TO HELP LOCAL FAMILIES
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n May we received investment from Action for Children, a UK children’s charity committed to helping vulnerable children and young people, to extend a partnership project supporting local families facing challenges in Aberdeen.
“The last year has been exceptionally challenging and with this extra lifeline we will look to support the community’s recovery through harnessing the power of sport and bringing about real and positive change
In 2019 we joined forces to appoint a new Project Activator post within the city, made possible through a grant from the Changing Lives Through Sport and Physical Activity Fund – a partnership between The Robertson Trust, the Scottish Government, sportscotland and Spirit of 2012.
- Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities
Following a very successful three years, the Priority Families Service has been awarded further investment and Action for Children will facilitate the local post until March 2022. The additional resource has allowed the project to offer a greater level of support to meet the needs of families and individuals within the city who often have fewer opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity and are frequently affected by negative outcomes leading to health inequalities. Programme interventions work both on a one to one basis and with the family as a whole. The project uses activities offered by Sport Aberdeen and partnerships within the local sports network, providing a wide range of opportunities.
“Extending this project not only means that we can support even more families across the city but also highlights the vital role that partnership working plays within the third sector, creating more opportunities to reach the local community.
Page 8 / Funding extension from Action for Children
to vulnerable families in Aberdeen.”
“Covid lockdowns have shown how much people value and link their physical and mental health to their general wellbeing. It is vital in aiding the recovery of individuals and communities that we can continue to offer people that increased engagement with sport and physical activities. “We are grateful to Sport Aberdeen and the funders for their support and commitment to the children, young people and families we work with in Aberdeen.” - Paul Carberry, Action for Children Director for Scotland
A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN The Board of Directors and I have been delighted to hear about the fantastic response to the reopening of our venues. Every Sport Aberdeen member and customer contributes towards the wider community work that we do, to make sure that everyone in Aberdeen has the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity, no matter their age, ability or circumstances. From working with strategic partners such as Children 1st to delivering programmes to support people with long term health conditions, every penny we receive is reinvested back in to the communities we serve, so thank you all for your ongoing support as we reopen, which in turn supports your local communities.
We are really looking forward to a busy summer ahead, with our participation in the Summer of Play thanks to a £150,000 investment and the relaunch of our popular Summer Holiday Camps. We will look forward to updating you further on these projects in the next edition of Active News. Until then, I hope that the sun continues to shine and that you are able to make the most of getting active outdoors.
TONY DAWSON Chairman
MANAGING DIRECTOR’S INSIGHTS As you read through this latest edition of Active News, I’m sure that you will agree that Sport Aberdeen is never an organisation to rest on its laurels! I am delighted that we are finally in a position where the vast majority of our venues and programmes are now back up and running, to a great reception from our customers and members who are thrilled to get back to the sports and activities that they enjoy. The lead up to this point has involved a huge amount of preparatory work by Team Sport Aberdeen and my thanks go to every member of our staff for their dedication to providing opportunities for everyone in Aberdeen to get active once again. We have been seeking regular feedback from our customers since reopening and I am so pleased that we are receiving consistent scores of 4.7/5 for cleanliness and hygiene and physical distancing arrangements. The safety of our staff and customers has always been at the forefront of our operations, and I am so glad that people are having such a positive experience when visiting a Sport Aberdeen venue. Ongoing social distancing measures mean that we are still working to reduced capacity numbers within venues. As these restrictions hopefully begin to ease over the coming weeks and months, we will be able to work towards bringing our programmes and activities back to pre-Covid levels.
I was absolutely delighted to see the Kings Links Golf Course reopen with full greens in May. There has been a significant journey to get to this point and I would like to thank the Golf Aberdeen team, our maintenance partners idverde and the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) for their collective efforts in restoring the greens. We now turn our attention to the restoration of the courses at Hazlehead, which have suffered significant damage due to the prolonged winter weather. We are once again supported by the STRI as we continue to strive to provide the best golfing experience for our members.
ALISTAIR S. ROBERTSON Managing Director
Chairman and Managing Director’s insights / Page 9
FOCUS ON: GOLF
Above: A llan Rae Sport Aberdeen Group Operations Manager, Garry Millard golf club donor and Coby Needle Marine Golf Club Secretary
Above: The donated century-old mashie iron
CENTENARY GOLFING MILESTONE MARKED BY HISTORICAL DONATION
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pril 2021 marked 100 years since Balnagask Golf Course reopened after a period of closure during World War One and local golfer Garry Millard helped us to celebrate the centenary milestone by gifting a historical golf club to the course. The century-old club, a mashie iron; the modern equivalent of this being the 5-iron, was designed by Tom Whyte who was the Professional at Balnagask Golf Club around the time of reopening one hundred years ago. Balnagask Golf Course is widely acknowledged as one of the best municipal 18-hole courses in Scotland. James Braid, Archie Simpson and the Hawtree family all had a hand in carving out the coastal golf experience.
“It “It is is fantastic fantastic that that we we have have been been able able to to mark mark the centenary withwith this this extremely kindkind and and historical gift the centenary extremely from a fellow golfer. The fact we are celebrating historical gift from a fellow golfer. The fact we this landmark anniversary at a time when golf at hasa never are celebrating this landmark anniversary time been more popular in Scotland highlights our ongoing when golf has never been more popular in Scotland national for the sport and we are highlightsaffection our ongoing national affection forextremely the proud of the range of golfing opportunities available sport and we are extremely proud of the range of in Aberdeen City.” golfing opportunities available in Aberdeen City.” -- Alistair Alistair Robertson, Robertson, Sport Sport Aberdeen Aberdeen Managing Managing Director Director
“My father-in-law found the club in an antiques shop in Bury St Edmonds. He is a keen golfer and visits us in Aberdeen a couple of times a year and we play golf together. When he realised the club was from Aberdeen, he brought it home last year and gifted it to me and I’m delighted to donate this to Balnagask Golf Course to mark this occasion.” - Garry Millard Page 10 / Focus on:Golf
Balnagask Golf Course was originally opened on the 9 August 1905 by J. W. Crombie MP, however in 1915 membership declined as people got involved in the war effort. The course was officially reopened post-war on 13 April 1921 and since then has proved to be one of Aberdeen’s best loved courses. Golf Aberdeen has invested over £0.5m in the city’s courses since 2014, ensuring that a consistently high-quality experience is available to the local golf community.
“We are proud to be associated with a course that is such a key part of golf in the north-east of Scotland and I am pleased to be celebrating this milestone. I started Marine Golf Club in 2007 as a small, noncourse-owning club, and we have remained active at Balnagask ever since. It is a fantastic course in an excellent location, and a constant challenge even after all these years there are still holes which consistently defeat me.” - Coby Needle, Marine Golf Club Secretary
“Nigg Bay Golf Club has had a long-standing association with Balnagask Golf Course, around 67 years and it’s fantastic that the course is celebrating 100 years of catering for golfers from all over Aberdeen and the world. The course is a strong test for all who play on it at any time of year. All at Nigg Bay look forward to continuing to enjoy our great association with Balnagask Golf Course.” - Graham Freeland, Nigg Bay Golf Club Captain
Above: Kings Links Greens
Above: William Pirie, John Wood and Scott Davidson
KINGS LINKS GETS GREEN LIGHT W
e were thrilled to officially re-open the greens at Kings Links Golf Course to the public on Saturday 2 May following a significant programme of restoration works over the autumn and winter months. Following chemical damage to the greens last August, work on the course has been overseen by our maintenance partners idverde with on-going expert independent advice from the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) who have commended the maintenance team on the quality of work undertaken and progress made to date. “I believe the overriding success of this project was due to the team ethic at Golf Aberdeen and their partners at idverde. “The challenges of regenerating damaged grass plants alongside germinating new seedlings into mature grasses in poor weather conditions are enormous, however, with perseverance and patience, underpinned by the decisions made to close the greens to play, allowed the targeted outcomes to be achieved. “All parties should be congratulated on the positive can-do attitude taken and adoption of the primary concerns of cardinal importance for grass plant health and longer-term improved surface renewal.” - Gary Smith, STRI’s Regional Turfgrass Agronomist who worked in partnership with Golf Aberdeen
“I am sure that we have a very positive season ahead for Golf Aberdeen members and players and I would like to extend my thanks to them for their patience while these rectification works took place. I would also like to thank our staff and maintenance partners who have worked hard to ensure the greens are in the condition they are now.” - Alistair Robertson, Sport Aberdeen Managing Director Golf Aberdeen members flocked to the newly opened greens on the reopening day. John Wood, William Pirie and Scott Davidson were the very first to tee off after reopening and commented on the condition of the greens after almost a year of hard work to bring them back to their former glory.
“It’s good to see lots of familiar faces back out on the course. I thought the greens were in really good condition. I’ve been on different courses over the last four or five weeks and this is right up there with the other ones I’ve been playing on, so well done.” - John Wood “It’s fantastic. We played here most of the winter and the course was always in good nick but today was exceptional. For early season greens they were all really good, a few bumpy bits but that’s to be expected. It’s great to be back on a lovely day like today.” - William Pirie
The programme consisted of: regular surface brushing, reseeding with fine turfgrass, topdressing, rolling and mowing and a nutritional programme which includes fertilisers and soil improvers. A monitoring programme saw daily photographic records of each green and soil sampling throughout. Focus on: Golf/ Page 11
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