Behind the Scenes: June ‘24
The ink on the last exam papers has dried, the campervans and caravans bumble along our roads and the sun is shining (most of the time) – Summer is here! This time of year makes for busy days at Atlantis and we love it. Read on to find out what’s been happening at your community-run leisure centre as June leads us into Summer:
Centre Life – ‘keeping a lid on it’
We kept chipping away at our list of planned maintenance jobs this month with some important repair works carried out up on the roof. Over the years, we’ve developed a really good working partnership with contractors and the team were up again this month repairing areas of the Giromax surface and flashing that needed attention above the Sports Hall. We’re happy to report that all repairs were carried out successfully – some of them even beneath sunny skies!
Elsewhere in the building, we’ve also completed a refurbishment on the Sauna. This 30 year old facility is much-loved by our community and had got to the stage where it was wearing its age a little too well, having last been refurbished over 12 years ago. We swapped out old timbers for specially treated kiln-dried replacements and installed a modern lighting system. We might be a little biased but now that the works are all completed, we think the Sauna is looking the best it ever has! Part of the joy of running this community leisure centre is finding responsible ways to invest in and look after the facility and its fabric – we get a real kick out of completing projects that we know will safeguard this special place for the next generation.
After all that hard work we think a refreshment is in order- which is just as well, as we also took delivery of a brand new Café vending machine this month! Our vending machines do a power of work, making sure the community is fed and watered. They particularly come into their own after hours when the Café is closed for the day. A brand new machine makes sure no one goes without, whatever the hour.
Gymnastic– ‘flipping good fun!’
Back in March, some of the Atlantis team met with Emma Vincent – a spokesperson for a home educated children’s activity group. They had been organising various activities for home educated children to improve the group’s social interaction. As part of this, the group were interested in getting stuck into gymnastics, sampling a taster block in the hope that it might become more of an established weekly activity. Over the month of May we held three sessions led by our gymnastics instructors. Over the length of the sessions, we introduced and worked on gymnastics with over 30 young people. The feedback from Emma and attending parents has been fantastic which encourages us to explore future activities for home educated children here at Atlantis Leisure.
Staff News – ‘the team behind the action’’
After a brilliant trial dance block with Oban High School, 8 fantastic dance instructors have now joined the staff team here Atlantis to continue delivering the new classes as part of PlaySport. We’re delighted to welcome Alasdair Lewis, Annie Gill, Daniel Craik, Erin Farrelly, Hannah Ferguson, Karis Brown, Lola MacIntyre and Rachael Steward to the gang! It’s great to have dance back after a long break since 2020.
Alongside the dancers we also have James Joss, Mathew Dundas and Russell Hutchison who first came to Atlantis as part of the school’s work experience programme. Following this, all three have now completed their lifeguard training and joined the team! Keep an eye out for them round the building and down at poolside.
Atlantis has worked with Oban High School for many years now and it continues to prove a wonderful and important partnership that supports pupils’ transition from school to the world of work.