Leisure centres and swimming in the Highlands reopen their doors after being closed due to coronavirus pandemic
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Leisure centres, swimming pools and gyms in the Highlands have welcomed back customers after being closed for almost 24 weeks due to coronavirus restrictions.
The reopening is two weeks earlier than had originally been anticipated.
High Life Highland (HLH), which operates centres across the region including Inverness and Nairn, reported a steady flow of visitors this morning.
Chief executive Steve Walsh said: "It is absolutely amazing to see leisure centres and swimming pools welcoming HLH members and customers back to swimming, working out or attending classes this morning.
"This has been a long time coming, but our HLH teams have done a fantastic job in preparing the sites that will allow participants to return to a covid-safe environment fully in-line with Scottish Government guidelines but presented in such a way that we hope will allow everyone to enjoy their safe return to activities.
"The feedback received from customers this morning has been extremely positive with centres experiencing a steady flow of visitors since they opened first thing this morning.
"It seems that our customers have been very positive and accepting of the new leisure centre environments and welcome the chance to ‘get back’.
"We expect to see numbers increase over the next few days and weeks as our customers get used to our systems and build their confidence to start attending their local leisure centre and pools."
Kirsty Ewen, a regular swimmer at Inverness Leisure, was one of the first in the pool when it opened its doors just after midnight.
"I’m totally buzzing after the swim and haven’t felt this good in such a while," she said.
A swimming coach and mentor to young people, she has spoken publicly about her own challenges with mental health.
"Activity is so important for both your physical and mental health, therefore it is great to see the leisure centres and swimming pools reopen to support those in communities where going to the gym, attending a class, or in my case, going for a swim will help them out in some personal way," she said.
In order to fully comply with Scottish Government protocols, customers will now be required to book online for any activities in its locations as drop-in sessions will not be available.
Following discussions with Highland Council, a partnership approach is being adopted for reopening joint school and community facilities over the next couple of weeks, with East Caithness Community Facility in the Wick school campus being the first joint site to be reopened today.
Discussions with headteachers will continue this week to identify and agree timelines to get joint facilities open as soon and as safely as possible.
Mr Walsh added: "We have waited on this day for a long time so it is great to see it finally arrive and our centres being reopen again.
"We look forward to welcoming all our members and customers back to our locations over the next days and weeks as we take another step towards our new normality."
See more on the reopening of gyms and leisure centres in tomorrow's Inverness Courier.
