Membership at the new York Sport Village has soared as students sign up to use the new £9 million facilities on their return to university.
The estimate for the initial membership count was 1,200 but this was broken last month to reach 1,600 members. This figure has continued to rise and stands at over 2,300, half of which are students.
York Sport President, Charlotte Winter, has praised the investment, telling Vision: “The new facilities are fantastic, and it’s great to see them getting so much use during the pre-season week. With the weather being so bad of late, the 3G pitch has been particularly handy and helped to ensure that 22 Acres is in the best possible shape come the start of the season.”
Head of Sport at the University, Keith Morris, said: “Feedback has been very positive from student and community members and pay-as-you-go pool access has been very popular with significant usage by families in particular at weekends.”
Ultimately, the Sports Village environment is designed to be a friendly one, exemplified most in the provision of personal coaches and low-cost training sessions.
Daniel Hodkinson, a member of University of York Boat club, said: “The gym is great value for money. Previously I thought about joining David Lloyd, but the new centre has everything I need.”
The Sports Village currently runs 68 classes a week, ranging from aerobics and kickboxing to yoga and Bokwa, a type of South African war dance. All are run by specialist instructors in one of the multifunctional studios. One of the main areas is Studio 1, which includes innovative ViPR equipment, a range of dumbbells and space for aerobic exercise. There are also plans to introduce new classes in the future, with ideas such as Aqua Zumba in the loop.
The gym has 120 exercise stations, equipped with cuttting-edge software to manage your personal workout. It also provides four hours of free internet and docking stations for iPhones.
Membership for all of these facilities is available at a £290 a year. Many Sports Village members have also taken advantage of the popular £5 bolt-on membership so they can use the Heslington West facilities as well.
With a home Roses looming ahead in the Summer term, the £9 million investment will make staging such a prestigious tournament much easier, with one of the main venues being the eight-lane 25m swimming pool, which possesses a seating capacity in excess of 100.
But those at the top are keen to continue the good work into the future. Planning permission was granted two weeks ago for the construction of a county standard athletics track and a 1km cycling circuit.
The cycling circuit, to be opened in May 2013, will be the only one in Yorkshire and is being funded by a £300,000 grant from British Cycling. Plans are also being hatched to construct a pavilion and 140 parking spaces, subject to planning permission, and possibly a velodrome.
Facilities on the main campus are not being abandoned, but instead reinforced. For example, a dome is to be installed over the existing tennis courts, which will allow the courts to be used all year around Furthermore, the focus on the old gym will be switched to strength and weights equipment, with weights of up to 60kg introduced.
Such improvements will only help York achieve its target of breaking into the top 40 universities in BUCS, improving on their existing rank of 43rd.
On the back of the Olympic Games, the potential for unprecedented levels of sporting involvement at the University is greater than ever before.