Annual Review 2008
Aspire National Training Centre
The Aspire National Training Centre is our headquarters. But it’s also a unique leisure amenity where disabled and non-disabled people alike readily use the sports, fitness and arts facilities that are on offer. Designed over ten years ago, the ANTC still leads the way when it comes to accessible design and continues to be a model used by architects, planners and the fitness industry to this day. To our members, though, we’re probably more simply known as the place where they come for a swim, use the gym, play wheelchair basketball or their children take football lessons.
This year saw the ANTC undertake a series of improvements to provide a better service for our users; the swimming pool filter was overhauled, two new rowing machines were added to the gym and the sports hall floor underwent its ten-yearly sand and re-seal. We also refreshed reception, re-designing its look and feel and improving the way we provide information.
Aspire is already home to the internationally acclaimed integrated dance company Candoco and we wanted to provide more arts opportunities for our users. We’ve therefore looked to work in partnership with local arts and drama groups and, in the summer, were delighted to be able to offer integrated dance sessions to the children on our Summer Camps. This led to us putting a weekly dance class onto the schedule. Meanwhile, we’re working with a Charity Drama Group, Spiro Arc,to run an integrated drama course for children.
