The nights are drawing in, the leaves are turning, and Atlantis is shifting gear into autumn - busier than ever, with plenty happening both in front of and behind the scenes. Here's your latest update from your community-run, charity leisure centre:
Staff News - ‘the team behind the action’
Sixteen of our swimming teachers took part in a dedicated professional development day with Scottish Swimming earlier this month, completing two CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions covering Early Years and Fun & Progressive Practices. The team came away buzzing with fresh ideas - and wasted no time trying some of them out in the pool. It was also a brilliant bit of team building along the way. A huge thank you to tutors Lorna and Suzanne for making the day such a success.
Community Programme - ‘investing in the next generation’
Since last we wrote, we were delighted to welcome students from Oban High School's Youth Philanthropy Initiative, who visited Atlantis to hear our story and find out what makes us tick. Over the coming months, the group will spend more time volunteering with us - with a particular focus on women's and girls' participation in sport. After that, the group will make a case for Atlantis to the Youth Philanthropy Initiative judging panel for the chance of a £3,000 donation towards our charitable aims. They'll also be helping us think about what more we can offer young people of high school age. Watch this space!
Alongside that, we're developing a work experience programme for the year ahead, with pupil meetings planned after the October holidays to shape it around what they'd like to get out of it. It's exactly the kind of partnership that underpins the community DNA that makes Atlantis: Atlantis!
Events - ‘taking the plunge!’
The Healthy Options, Elevate and Stay Active teams delivered another brilliant fundraising Hoolie - a high-energy mix of classes, colour and no small amount of fancy dress! Every penny raised goes straight back into classes, equipment and programme development. Thank you to everyone who came along.
Freediving comes to Oban!
At the start of October, Atlantis hosted the first-ever free diving competition to be held in Scotland, with competitors gathering from all across the UK. To prepare, Laura from Mara's Adventures worked with our lifeguard team on supervising free divers and recognising signs of difficulty - Laura herself also competed on the day! We were excited to host something genuinely historic for Scottish sport.
We were also proud to take part in the SOLACE Conference, sharing the Atlantis story and our partnership work with Healthy Options. We heard that delegates were still talking about it the next day - exactly the kind of impression we hope to make.
Finally, we've been meeting with our local pickleball groups to discuss how we can best support the sport's continued growth in the area. Our chats with the gang covered equipment, bookings and working with Pickleball Scotland. Off the back of these conversations, a new, higher-quality net has been ordered to make setup quicker and play better, with a follow-up meeting planned for early November.
Centre Life - ‘know your building’
It's been a busy period for the building too. We have completed a fresh round of decorating work on the Gym and Squash Lounge, building on the painting completed earlier in the summer. While, outside, we’ve lifted and re-laid the paving across the full exterior of the Sports Hall, beside the Play Park and in front of the main entrance - making the approach to the building both smarter and safer underfoot.
The flumes have had their annual service and are in great shape for the months ahead. Behind the scenes, we're completing insulation of the pipework from the new outside water tank into the plant room, keeping everything running smoothly as the cold weather arrives. And if you've popped into the Café recently, you may have noticed a rather smart upgrade to the gents' toilets!