New Acting Manager Cameron Bate Talks About the Sports Centre

I have been given the responsibility by the company that runs the Sports Centre of being Acting Manager of Wincanton Sports Centre, as well as of the Goldenstone's Pool and Leisure Centre in Yeovil, so I am dividing my time more or less equally between the two. As regards the future we have yet to learn what our Board of Directors will decide. Either I will continue running the two, or they may decide to appoint a full-time manager for Wincanton.

This has been a tough year for Wincanton and for my predecessor Barry Taylor, for we were faced with the discovery that the pool had very serious problems and it took months to find out exactly what was wrong and then to put it right, during which time it had to be closed. Not surprisingly that had a negative impact on the Sports Centre. No one was able to come and swim or combine a swim with a work out-in the gym. The result of course was that we lost some members, some of which are yet to come back. However, we still have a good base of casual customers and full members. The pool is now working perfectly and it really is a wonderful thing for the people of Wincanton and the surrounding area to be able to come here and enjoy a swim or to get involved in some of the many water-based activities we have running like the Swimming Club. In fact we have some 700 people of all ages who have joined up to take part in the Learn to Swim Programme.

I was however sorry to have to give notice to our many over-60 swimmers that the new Government has decided to scrap free swimming for the over 60's. I think this may be a short-sighted saving as exercise is certainly most important for older people who wish to keep fit – as it is in fact for everyone. In practice this means this age group will again have to pay to swim after the end of July. The likelihood is that these customers will have to pay a small concession price for a swim, which will be the same amount as before the free swimming initiative. We hope those who came to value having a swim as a result of the free swimming initiative will continue.

In writing this I was asked by John Baxter to say a bit about myself. I am 27 and graduated in Leisure and Sport Management from Cardiff University. Starting as a student I took up various work placements and subsequently I have had experience in a range of different leisure and sports centres, private, council run, or like Wincanton, run by an independent trust. Of course I have not just worked as a manager, but have had hands on experience of all the jobs that Leisure and Sports centre staff may find themselves being asked to do, from cleaning the toilets to marketing, accounts and gym inductions. Although my role now is more focused on business development and sustaining performance, I love working in this environment where people do such a variety of jobs, and I really enjoy motivating and encouraging staff to do the best they can.

I think this is a terrific sports centre with great staff and that we offer an amazing range of activities. What I now see as a high priority in these tough economic times is to build up our membership base and get more and more people to come here and use what we have - for the more people that use the centre, the greater our opportunity to keep our charges as low as possible, so come and see what we have to offer.

For lots more detail about our programme click onto our web site www.wincantonsports.co.uk

Cameron Bate
Acting Manager, Wincanton Sports Centre

[Photo and image by John Baxter, www.getshot.co.uk]

Comments

Login to comment!