LOCAL leisure operator LiveWire have announced that the outdoor tennis courts at Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Centre and Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub are now open and available to hire.
LiveWire’s Managing Director, Emma Hutchinson said: “We are very pleased to be able to re-open our outdoor tennis courts. Being physically active has never been so important to improve both physical and mental health. The Chief Medical Officer has been clear and consistent with advocating exercise as a way of both dampening the harmful response to Covid-19 and to play an integral role in the rehabilitation of this virus. Whilst we are not yet able to re-open our facilities any wider at this stage, we hope that our members will see this as a positive step to help get people moving.
“Our number one priority remains the safety of both our staff and customers – a great deal of consideration has been paid to following government guidelines to ensure that such a service can be reintroduced without comprising this stance.”
Recent government guidelines were announced that outdoor sports courts are permitted to re-open so long as they can do so safely, following public health guidance.
LiveWire have reacted to this by mobilising staff and investing in systems to be able to provide this service for local people.
Although LiveWire continue to freeze all membership fees, the decision has been taken to allow LiveWire members to access these facilities free of charge.
A funding campaign has been set up to allow all those who would like to make a donation to their local not-for-profit, Community Interest Company https://www.gofundme.com/f/livewire-member-donations
Again, in line with government guidelines, LiveWire have reintroduced a Personal Training offer, adapting delivery methods with measures including; limiting sessions to outdoors only, conducting sessions on a one-to-one basis only, and maintaining social distancing at all times.
LiveWire have continued to provide a number of free-to-access resources during this period of lock-down. This includes producing online workouts on a weekly basis, providing weekly healthy recipes, offering online library services such as e-books, e-comics, and audio books, as well as continuing to offer a Lifestyles service providing ongoing support with stop smoking, healthy weight, and exercise on prescription.
Timescales for wider facility reopening are not yet clear, the Senior Management team at LiveWire in partnership with WBC, are working very hard to plan how facilities may reopen safely once permission to re-open is granted.
How to book
All court bookings must be made via telephone by calling 01925 572504 and selecting Option 0, Monday – Friday between the hours of 7am – 5pm.
Courts are available for hire 7 days a week, between the hours of 7.00am – 7.50pm.
Courts must be pre-booked before attending. There is no mechanism for booking on site.
To support social distancing, each site will have only 2 of the 4 courts available for hire.
People aged 14 or below can hire a court, but an adult must attend with them. Where attendance of a parent/guardian (non-participant) is required, it must be limited to one adult where possible, with social distancing strictly observed while watching the sessions.
Courts will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Initially, individuals can only book one slot per day. This will be reviewed in accordance with demand.
Access arrangements will be emailed upon booking.
Cost of hire
Courts are available for hire, free of charge, for people who have a current Select, Advantage, Ace or Performance membership. Please note that membership payments will remain frozen.
Individuals who do not have a LiveWire select membership can book a court at a cost of £6.40 per session[1].
Any members accessing the courts during this time are welcome to make a voluntary donation to LiveWire’s ‘Go Fund Me’ page. As a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, any donation would be very much appreciated and will help to support such activity on an ongoing basis. You can donate here https://uk.gofundme.com/f/livewire-member-donations
For more details: https://livewirewarrington.co.uk/news/2366-livewire-re-open-outdoor-tennis-courts-free-of-charge-for-members
