Behind the Scenes: May ‘26
They say April showers bring May flowers and if the last couple of months at Atlantis are anything to go by, they also bring tennis courses, packed-out Friday nights, and a very busy soft play repair schedule! Here's what's been going on down at your local community-run health and leisure charity:
Staff News - ‘the team behind the action’
It's been a busy and rewarding period for learning and development across the team. Anna, Rory and Ellie joined members of the wider community to complete the Lawn Tennis Association's Tennis Activators course - a free, entry-level programme designed to equip volunteers and community leaders with the skills to run fun, accessible tennis and padel sessions for beginners. A great addition to the team's toolkit!
Meanwhile, Emily, Mia, Aimee, Anna F, Craig, Rachael and Anna L have all completed the Scottish Gymnastics Learn to Coach course. This is a hands-on introductory workshop covering foundational coaching principles, physical preparation, movement shapes and participant safety. The session focussed on delivering safe, athlete-centred gymnastics, and the skills gained will feed directly into our growing gymnastics programme. Well done to everyone involved!
Rounding off a strong few months for professional development, Swimming Development Officer Emma and Operations Manager Scott attended the National Learn to Swim Conference in Edinburgh alongside colleagues from across Scotland. The packed programme covered everything from best practice workshops and national survey data to mentoring pathways, political engagement and Commonwealth Games aquatics planning. Key learnings are already being brought back to the centre to strengthen our aquatics offering - watch this space!
Community Programme -‘the buzz is back!‘
Future Friday is back - and what a return! The opening night on Friday 24th April welcomed over 125 P7 pupils through our doors for an evening of tennis, swimming, football, dancing, badminton, basketball and the chance to simply meet new pals ahead of the big move to high school. The energy in the building was something else and there's plenty more to come over the coming weeks - we can't wait!
Elsewhere, 32 pupils from Park Primary School's P6 year group have spent three weeks with us enjoying tennis sessions. What’s more, they've been blessed with some (mostly!) summery weather to go along with it. It's been a brilliant few weeks on court.
Centre Life - ‘know your building’
Two useful updates from the facilities gang this month. First, we installed light sensor controls in the male and female dry-side toilets. This is a small but smart upgrade that will help us manage energy use more efficiently day to day.
Also this month, and following a recent board decision, our Soft Play area saw a significant refresh back at the start of this month. A bunch of parts were replaced including new pole pads, entrance slope covers, deck covers, a causeway block, deck spinner, wobble board and slope obstacles! It's made a real difference and should give a fun, fresh new experience for our youngest visitors!
PoolMark Award - ‘pools apart’
We have some very exciting news to share: Atlantis Leisure has become the first facility in Scotland to achieve re-assessment for the PWTAG PoolMark Award - the national benchmark for pool water quality and safety! Regular readers will remember that Atlantis was the first Scottish recipient of the award a few years ago. It's a remarkable double landmark, and one that reflects years of dedicated refurbishment and ongoing improvements to our energy management. With our pool now over 50 years old, this recognition is a real credit to the hard work and dedication of everyone on the team - proof that a well-managed, well-loved facility can continue to lead the way, whatever its age. We’re chuffed to bits!