Ten years of Athlone Regional Sports Centre

Over its first ten years in existence, Athlone's Regional Sports Centre has served as a vital resource for the local community. Every week, in addition to the general public, hundreds of members of community groups and voluntary organisations benefit from the use of its facilities. The centre has also helped good causes by raising almost €30,000 for charities including St Vincent De Paul, Athlone Lions Club, Athlone Drug Awareness, Athlone HSE Mental Health Group and People In Need. General Manager Liam Cunningham pointed out that facilities such as the swimming pool are used by virtually all age groups - from babies to people in their 80s. "The centre is for the use of people of all ages, and we engage with local groups to ensure that our prices are affordable," he said. Schools, mental health groups, Special Olympics participants, and children with special needs are among those who often attend the centre. "Using the centre and improving fitness brings great benefits in terms of boosting people's morale and state of mind," said Mr Cunningham. "The important thing for us is that we bring these groups into a centre where they can socially engage with one another and with the public in general. They feel that they are a part of the centre." He said that, in general, sports facilities are most often used by people aged between 20 and 45 years. Athlone Regional Sports Centre has implemented a number of promotions and special offers aimed at making it more attractive to people who are either younger or older than that core 20-45 demographic. Discounts are offered to under-17s and over-50s, and Athlone Regional Sports Centre is the only centre of its kind which provides free child membership to children up to and including 17 years of age in cases where the parent of the child is a centre member. The centre has given thousands of adults and children the opportunity to learn how to swim, but there's much more to it than just the 25m heated indoor swimming pool and toddler's pool. The centre also provides a jacuzzi, sauna, steam rooms, a fitness suite, an aerobics studio, astro-turf pitch, sports hall, children's outdoor playground and outdoor skatepark, coffee shop, créche service and meeting rooms. Today, when he looks back on his time as a member of Athlone Urban District Council, one achievement which fills Breffni Rowan with pride is that he helped to make the Athlone Regional Sports Centre a reality. "Before the centre opened we were one of the biggest towns in the Midlands but we had no facility of that kind. Now we have what I believe is the best sports centre in the country," said Mr Rowan. "When I was on the council I proposed that we would go ahead and develop it. I was being a bit greedy when I did that, because I wanted to use it myself! "Now I have a 'season ticket' and I go to swim in the centre about three times a week. It's a superb facility and the way that it's managed is top class." He added that the cost of using the centre was very reasonable and he encouraged locals to take advantage of the facility as much as possible. One of the Athlone organisations which regularly makes use of the centre is St Hilda's Services. Users of St Hilda's Services visit the Regional Sports Centre several times a week. They attend sessions in the swimming pool, and some groups use the centre's hall and astro-turf facilities for soccer training. The centre's gym is also utilised by some service users. Discussing the benefits of using the facility, a spokesperson for St Hilda's said: "It's all about helping to provide exercise, social integration, and community integration for the service users. It's definitely an advantage for us to be able to access the centre, and I'd imagine that in the future we will be using it more and more as we work towards greater community interaction and integration." Athlone TD Nicky McFadden has been a member of the sports centre's board from the outset, and she said the facility was very dear to her heart. "I would like to congratulate and pay tribute to Liam Cunningham and the staff of Athlone Regional Sports Centre on its tenth anniversary," said Deputy McFadden. "The centre has made an amazing difference to the town over the last ten years and it has operated to the highest standards."