Sport And Healthy Living

Lifestyle Goes Live

Thanks to the success of the free swimming ‘Freestyle’ scheme for children, the Trust in partnership with the Council, helped make Wigan Borough the first authority in England to provide free swimming provision for both the over 60s and children aged 16 and under. The scheme was officially launched at Howe Bridge Sports Centre, by local rugby league legends and Freemen of the Borough, Billy Boston and Tommy Sale.

Over 100,000 residents in the Borough will be able to swim for free at any of the five Trust-managed swimming pools all year round during normal public swimming times.

There are already 23,000 ‘Freestyle’ card holders in the borough, with the numbers of under 16’s swims increasing by an average of 5,000 per month in 2005/06 compared to 2004/05.

The over 60s swimming is part of a new ‘Lifestyle’ scheme, which also aims to increase participation in other sports and healthy activities in the borough.

Lifestyle offers benefits to people of any age, such as discounts of up to 50 % on leisure activities including golf, badminton and squash and also offers a priority booking service.

The Lifestyle scheme has been warmly welcomed by many members of the community and endorsed by many local and regional sports stars including Olympic swimmers Steve Parry, Wigan Athletic’s Arjan De Zeeuw, Wigan Warriors’ Sean O’Loughlin and Leigh Centurions’ Paul Rowley.

Chief Executive Rodney Hill says, “Keeping physically active as we grow older can help us to stay healthy into later years. Alongside the enjoyment of taking part, an active lifestyle can play an important part in preventing and tackling health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The provision of free swimming opportunities and all the other positive benefits that Lifestyle offers, together with the exercise programmes provided by the Trust’s Active Living Team, will make a considerable contribution to improving the health of Wigan Borough’s residents of all ages.”

Contact: Peter Burt on 01942 486954.

ACTIVE LIVING

Health Walks Up and Running

The Trust’s Active Living Team has successfully launched their programme of healthy walks, taking place across the Borough between March and November.

‘Health Walks’ are free guided walks of approximately one hour in duration and are open to all ages and abilities. They are ideal for beginners and those looking to improve their general health and well being.

“Our Health Walks programme provides a great opportunity for fun, safe and sociable exercise. They are especially suited for people who want to stay healthy, but perhaps cannot take part in strenuous exercise. All we ask is that participants wear suitable outdoors clothing and footwear,” says Alison Griffin, Community Outreach Officer with the Active Living Team. “We are glad to be supported this week by the Mayor, Brenda and the rugby players, all of whom advocate a healthy lifestyle.”

The Active Living Team co-ordinates the Health Walks with support from the Trust’s Parks and Countryside Team, Red Rose Forest, Groundwork Wigan and Chorley, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, local health professionals and Wigan Council.

Contact: Alison Griffin on 01942 828572.

SPORTS DEVELOPMENT

Borough’s Best Rewarded

Wigan Borough has a rich history of sporting excellence. Nowhere is that rich heritage more evident than at the borough’s sports awards ceremony, which aims to honour those who have worked hard to achieve great things in the sporting arena.

On Thursday 23 rd February at the JJB Stadium over 200 of the borough’s finest coaches, sports clubs, volunteers and performers came together to celebrate our borough’s sporting success stories. The event was organised by the Trust’s Sports Development Unit and is designed to reward and recognise the exceptional effort and dedication to sport shown by all those individuals and clubs nominated.

“In total nearly ninety nominations were received from over sixteen different sports which is a record number,” says Lizzie Hendley from the Trust’s Sports Development Unit. “The number of nominations is a true testament to the quality of the clubs and the commitment of individuals within the borough. The people of Wigan and Leigh have shown that they are truly passionate about sport.”

The six 2006 award-winners were:

Contact: Lizzie Hendley 01942 404995.

Rugby League Respect Campaign

The Trust’s Sports Development Unit, together with ex-Wigan and Great Britain Legend, Phil Clarke, is leading the way in a new campaign to reinforce rugby league’s reputation as a family-friendly, inclusive sport where players and officials respect one another.

On Tuesday 21st February, representatives from the Wigan Warriors, Leigh Centurions, all thirteen amateur clubs in the Wigan Borough and the Referees’ Society met to launch ‘RESPECT’ at Robin Park Arena. The evening was organised by Ben Lazenby, the Trust’s Service Area Co-ordinator.

The campaign has been set up to discourage un-sporting behaviour, foul or illegal behaviour and acts of violence both on and off the pitch. It reinforces the concept of fair play and condemns the use of recreational and performance enhancing drugs. Amateur club representatives also discussed club development and rugby league development as a whole in the Wigan and Leigh area.

RESPECT stands for Responsible, Encouraging, Sporting, Positive, Enjoyable, Considerate and Tolerant.

Contact: Ben Lazenby on 01942 828510.

LIBRARIES, INFORMATION AND HERITAGE

WIGAN PIER

Celebrating 20 Years of Learning

Tuesday 21 st March is a very special date in the life of Wigan Pier. On this day 20 years ago, Her Majesty The Queen officially opened The Way We Were Museum and “The Wigan Pier Experience” was born.

So, on the 21 st March 2006, the Pier celebrated 20 years of learning. Educational activities have always been a key aspect of Wigan Pier’s services and many schools, colleges and adult educational groups have visited the site over this period and participated in the varied and exciting learning activities we offer.

Pier staff welcomed guests including children from Shevington Community Primary School, who were visiting the site on their school trip and were delighted to participate in the celebrations. The children behaved wonderfully and were treated to a slice of birthday cake and given a goody bag to take home.

Another special guest was Marilyn Sumner, who played a key role in setting up, developing and delivering the learning services until her retirement in 2002. Since then, the Pier’s learning services have grown significantly.

As well as still maintaining strong links with primary schools, the learning officers now provide learning opportunities for high schools, further and higher education institutions, families and community groups.

Contact: Kirsty Hall on 01942 707049.

LIBRARIES

Ashton Library Opens In Style

On Saturday 18 th March, Ashton Library was officially re-opened by the Mayor of Wigan and Jacqui Boardman, Chair of the Trust. The re-opening followed a £171,000 refurbishment project funded by the Trust’s ‘Investment Fund’.

Over 500 people attended the opening weekend. Significantly, the date also marked the centenary of the original opening ceremony in 1906. The project team was careful to ensure that the refurbishment complemented the original Carnegie style of the library. A weekend packed full of activities took place and included choir singing, flower arranging, reading groups, story telling and a Playstation 2 competition.

Ian Bancroft, Executive Director with the Trust says, “We are really excited about the new look and feel of the library and we are confident that people will embrace the changes at Ashton. The new ‘Explore’ brand provides a more welcoming environment in which people can relax, study or take part in community activities.”

The library now includes dedicated areas for children and young people, as well as adults, and a new area has been specifically created for community activities.

The refurbishment included:

Contact: Taryn Pearson on 01942 486990.

Premier League Reading Stars

On March 21 st, the Trust, together with Wigan Athletic successfully launched Wigan’s version of the Premier League Reading Stars Scheme (PLRS).

PLRS is a national campaign, co-ordinated by the Football Foundation, aimed at encouraging people of all ages to read more books and access their local libraries. Wigan Athletic has nominated their club captain Matt Jackson as their ‘Reading Champion’.

At the launch event held at the JJB Stadium, Matt met with children, parents, teachers and the Trust’s team who are delivering the scheme. Matt also gave an inspiring read from his chosen book: Roald Dahl’s ‘Danny – Champion of the World’. The book forms part of a Premier League book list that will be used to inspire families across the country to read.

All 20 children participating in the scheme have the chance to meet an author, and take part in a series of football based literacy games throughout the initiative. The Wiend Children’s Centre and Leigh Library will co-ordinate the scheme, with both libraries receiving free copies of all titles in the players’ recommended list.

Contact: Jean Lamb on 01942 404126.

COMMUNITY REGENERATION

ARTS AND FESTIVALS

Dance Festival Flourishes

On Saturday 18th of March 2006 talented dance groups from across the borough performed to a packed audience at Lowton Civic Hall to mark the beginning of Wigan's first ever dance festival 'Dance Fusion'.

The festival was organised by the Trust’s Arts and Festivals Team, the Active Living Team and the Wigan and Leigh Dance Network.

The sell out show at Lowton featured Latin, ballet, street dance and even belly dancing. Sixteen groups performed including: Apple Dance Centre, Step by Step, North West All Stars, Daughters Of Isis, Wigan and Leigh Youth Dance Company, Broomfield Academy ,Studio 5 and L & L Superstars.

Following the showcase event, a week of free dance workshops took place across the Borough. Dance workshops were available for all ages and abilities and included Jazz, Line Dancing, Street Dancing and Salsa Dancing.

The festival provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase the diverse range of dance groups within the Borough and highlighted both the creative and health benefits of dance by engaging the wider community.

Contact: Vicky Fletcher 01942 486918

Words ’06 Festival

The Words Together Wigan and Leigh Literary Festival is set to become the best of three!

Words ‘06 began only two years ago, and this year it has something for everyone - Wigan's best known living novelist, Kate Long; workshops for scrabble and crossword addicts; children's writers and hip-hop Chaucer (bringing together skate-boarders and students of English Literature!).

Kate’s appearance at Words ’06 is one of many highlights during the festival, which includes performances of poetry, prose, theatre and music, as well as workshops, games and personal stories.

Words ’06, is co-ordinated by the Trust with a dedicated team of volunteers and will host over thirty literary events across the borough from April 17 th to 29 th.

Meanwhile, an exhibition at the Turnpike Centre at the end of April and a launch meeting on May 10 th will be the starting point of a campaign to involve the whole community in a public art project for Leigh Sports Village.

Contact: Alan Barton on 486917.

International Artists at the Turnpike

Complementing British Art Show 6 in Manchester, The Turnpike Gallery in Leigh hosted an exhibition of five international artists during February and March.

Specially commissioned for the gallery and with support from Arts Council England NW, The Kingston Turnpike included some beautiful, intriguing and challenging works in painting, photography and video.

Over 1000 people visited the exhibition and a programme of learning workshops engaged a wide variety of local communities, including school children and teachers.

The latest exhibition PastPresentFuture showcases over 30 artists from the Borough from 8 th April to 20 th May.

Contact: Martyn Lucas on 01942 404469.

Crossing Boundaries

Members of Wigan Pier Youth Theatre took part in a regional drama residential during February half term. They were whisked away to The Conway Centre in Anglesey with young people from five other North West Youth Theatres to create a 50-minute piece of theatre in five days!

Martin Green, Wigan Pier Theatre Company’s Development Officer, accompanied the youngsters to Wales and was involved in the creation of the project with youth theatre leaders from Oldham Theatre Workshop, M6 Theatre Rochdale, Drama Workshop Bolton, So Many Words Salford and Yellow Jelly Youth Theatre, Tameside.

Martin says, “This was a fantastic opportunity for all the young people involved thanks to funding from AGMA and the Arts Council. It was great to see members of our local youth theatres make new friends and work really hard with like-minded young people from around the region.”

The residential resulted in a piece of theatre about two different communities separated by a river. With elements of “Romeo & Juliet” and “Lost”, it included dance, song, movement and mask and resulted in four free performances at the Zion Arts Centre in Manchester for family and friends. A DVD will be available soon!

Contact: Martin Green on 01942 709305.

PLAY SECTION

New Play Area for Medway Walk

Medway Walk in Norley Hall has seen the creation of a new under-fives play area complete with benches for parents and carers to sit and watch their little ones at play.

The new area also has a brand new accessible swing so that any child, regardless of their ability, can access the play area. The older children have not been forgotten - a state of the art piece of play equipment called a 'Sky Surf' has been installed.

The play area got the thumbs up from local children and the Play Section has been delighted to be part of this new and exciting project, driven by the local residents in Norley Hall.

Contact: Deb Freeman on 01942 486920.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

PARKS AND COUNTYSIDE

Parson’s Meadow’s Big Kick Off!

A brand new ‘state of the art’ changing facility, to enhance the sporting provision at Parson’s Meadow Playing Fields, Worsley Mesnes, was opened on 9 th March. The opening follows a two-year programme to improve the facilities at Parson’s Meadow in partnership with Sport England, the SRB6 regeneration programme and the local community.

Special guests Brett Dallas and Joel Tomkins from Wigan Warriors, together with Ryan Taylor, Steve McMillan, and Reto Ziegler from Wigan Athletic were on hand to unveil the new changing rooms. Over thirty children from St James’ Primary School also took part in an exhibition match to celebrate the opening.

The total cost of the project, funded by SRB6, Sport England and the LEA, was £310,000 including:

A further sum of money has been ring fenced for the long-term maintenance of the facilities to be carried out by the Trust’s Grounds Maintenance Team.

The facilities are now available for weekend use by the local voluntary sports clubs currently playing on Parson’s Meadow.

One of the many clubs to benefit is St Judes ARLFC, Joe Fitzimmons from the club said, “The transformation has been amazing and we are delighted to be part of such a fantastic project. Quality facilities such as these give people a strong sense of community pride and spirit. I am confident that the physical changes at Parson’s Meadow will give hours and hours of pleasure to rugby and football clubs such as ours.”

Contact: Andrew Bond on 01942 488471.

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