Behind the Scenes: September ‘25
September always feels like a moment of reset - the return to school routines, cooler evenings, and fresh opportunities to get stuck back into the rhythm of those weekly clubs and activities. Read on to find out what all of that has looked like down at your community run health and leisure charity:
Summer Sensations - ‘sweet, sweet Summer’
Earlier in the summer, Atlantis was once again very proud to host part of Summer Sensations, our joint event with Oban High School marking the finale of the P7 transitions programme. The event is all about fun, friendship, and connection, giving new pupils a chance to meet and spend time together before starting secondary school. For rural communities like ours, these bonds are especially valuable - helping young people feel supported and confident as they take their next step..
Bike Park Event -‘pedal to the medaln the beat at Atlantis’
Our Bike Park was buzzing again this August as part of the latest event delivered with Adventure Oban and the North Argyll Cycle Club. Demand was huge, with more than 100 young riders taking part – that’s almost double the numbers we saw at the May event.
From balance bikers to confident teens, riders of all ages had the chance to explore the park, test their skills, and enjoy the challenge of ramps, obstacles, and jumps. The atmosphere was brilliant, with families cheering from the sidelines and young cyclists pushing themselves to try something new and hone their skills.
We were also delighted to host a dedicated SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) session, giving families the chance to enjoy the park in a supportive, inclusive environment. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to building on this for future events. This Bike Park series continues to go from strength to strength, offering a brilliant way to get more young people on bikes, active outdoors, and connected through sport.
Community Programme -‘a little extra time’
In response to customer feedback, we trialled longer weekend opening hours this summer, extending both Saturdays and Sundays by one hour. The move was warmly welcomed, giving families and individuals more flexibility to fit their Atlantis activities into their weekend routines.
We’ve now extended the trial through to the October school holidays to see how well these additional hours work during term time. Once we’ve reviewed uptake, we’ll make a final decision on whether to make the change permanent – we’ll keep you posted!
Centre Life -‘know your building’
Behind the scenes at Atlantis is always busy, but this past month has been a true tip-to-toe effort with work taking place all the way from the roof right down to the foundations: Up on high: we’ve had Proclad Roofing carrying out roofing repairs in an effort to tackle the leaks that have been troubling our main Sports Hall. So far, no further leaks have appeared - but the real test will come with our famous Scottish winter weather. For now, though, it’s a relief to see the hall dry and ready for use – we’ll keep you up to speed with any developments.
Way down at the other end of the building, we’ve been getting cracking with preliminary works underneath the swimming pool for a much larger project to follow later in the year. We have a significant programme of urgent maintenance that is needed to bring some of the pool fabric up to date. The works are so significant that we’ll need to close the pool for a period to complete them.