Aberdeen Tennis Centre (formerly Westburn Tennis Centre) is due to be formally opened to the public on Thursday 2 August 2018.

The quarter of a million pound refurbishment has facilitated a complete reconfiguration and resurfacing of the 4 outdoor courts and the installation of state of the art LED lighting and fencing, bringing them up to the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) highest standard and therefore only non-private venue in the North East of Scotland suitable for high profile competitions.

As well as investment from Sport Aberdeen – who own, run and manage the centre – additional funding has also come from Tennis Scotland and sportscotland.

Colin Taylor, Chairman of Sport Aberdeen said:

“The finished high specification courts will help Aberdeen Tennis Centre offer top quality tennis opportunities unique in the North East, accommodating everything from come and try sessions, for people new to tennis, right through to prestigious tournaments attracting the very best in Scotland; a centre for the whole community.

Aberdeen Tennis Centre is the home of the Aberdeen Tennis Academy. As the only non-private venue in the city with both indoor and outdoor tennis courts it is the focal point for tennis in region and the ideal place to play tennis at all levels”

Councillor Jenny Laing, Tennis Scotland Chairman, Scott Martin and Tennis Scotland Chief Executive Blane Dodds will be in attendance to cut the ribbon at the reopening event on the Thursday 2 August 2018.

A selection of top local district players and juniors will take part in an exhibition session whilst Aberdeen Tennis Academy summer camps will have the opportunity to put the new facilities through their paces for the first time.

Councillor Jenny Laing, Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council said:

“The Council is proud to support Sport Aberdeen in the significant investment being made in facilities throughout the city.

“The Aberdeen Tennis Centre project is a real boost to competitive and recreational players, with the facilities always well used.

“First class facilities are an important part of the wider aims around health and wellbeing in Aberdeen, with a focus on encouraging active lifestyles that will bring lasting social and health benefits. We will continue to work in partnership with Sport Aberdeen to meet those goals.”

Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland said:

“We are delighted that Tennis Scotland was able to help bring this facility to fruition. However this facility and investment reinforces the need for strong quality partners on the ground delivering key facilities to the community. We are delighted that we are working with Sport Aberdeen and we will continue to work with the Trust along with local clubs and partners to grow and develop tennis in the area for all to benefit.”

From 1 August 2018, Sport Aberdeen will officially use the new telephone number 01224 507744 as our main switchboard number, replacing the old 0845 601 3611 telephone number. All venue and programme specific telephone numbers remain unchanged.

Anyone dialling the 0845 telephone number for Sport Aberdeen after 1 August 2018, will hear a recorded message asking them to redial the new 01224 507744 telephone number. This message service will run for one month to support the transition from the old 0845 telephone number to the new 01224 507744 telephone number.

Unlike 0845 telephone numbers, 01224 numbers are charged at standard, local landline rates and are included in most consumer call packages. This will mean a lower call cost or no call cost for Sport Aberdeen customers.

The switch also complies with Cabinet Office and Scottish Government directives that public sector organisations must have a contact number that is included in consumer call packages and must cost no more than a local call.

The money saved from changing from a 0845 telephone number to a 01224 telephone number will be invested back into Sport Aberdeen facilities and programmes.

Taking this opportunity, we would kindly ask you to update your contact information and thank you for the support that you have given Sport Aberdeen over the years.

We look forward to serving you as usual with our new telephone number.

Members of Sport Aberdeen’s board of directors have marked National Reserves Day by signing the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Covenant honours an agreement between the Armed Forces and Sport Aberdeen that ensures servicemen and women and their families will not be left disadvantaged because of their service.

Sport Aberdeen will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by:

• Promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation
• Seeking to support the employment of veterans young and old and working with the Career Transition Partnership [CTP], in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for Service Leavers;
• Striving to support the employment of Service spouses and partners
• Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment
• Seeking to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible
• Offering support to our local cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools, where possible;
• Aiming to actively participate in Armed Forces Day

On the significance of the signing Sport Aberdeen Managing Director, Alistair Robertson said:

“It is with a great sense of pride that we enter into this partnership.  Our charity is committed to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives and aim for this to be reflected in our continued efforts to show solidarity with servicemen and women and their families”.

Chairman, Colin Taylor signed the Covenant at Broadfold House with Lt Colonel Matthew Sheldrick, 51 [Highland] 7^th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, Lt Colonel Geraint M Davies, Alistair Robertson, Managing Director, Alan Forsyth, Chair of HR & OD Committee and Head of HR & OD, Nickie Scorgie.

After the signing Lt Colonel Matthew Sheldrick said:

“Signing the Armed Forces Covenant is a pledge that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives. 

“I am delighted to be signing this Covenant with Sport Aberdeen in recognition of the support they provide to our Armed Forces personnel and their family members”. 

Sport Aberdeen is pleased to announce that it will be undertaking a significant programme of capital investment at the MacKenzie Championship Course at Hazlehead Park, the only public Championship course in the North East of Scotland.

Sport Aberdeen, which manages the course on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, is focusing on addressing underlying drainage and associated water logging issues to key holes and areas of the course, as identified by an independent drainage consultation.

Improvement work will commence on 16 July 2018 and is expected to take around 10 weeks. There will be no public access to the course until the beginning of the new golf season in April 2019. This will allow ground repairs and fine turf management to be fully effective.

Colin Taylor, Chairman of Sport Aberdeen said:

“The capital works represent a significant investment by Sport Aberdeen to enhance the playability and conditioning of the course, which will reduce days lost as a result of bad weather.

“We fully appreciate the inconvenience that this improvement work will cause, but it is important that we protect the investment we are making and allow the ground in the affected areas to recover and for new growth to bed in.

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with Hazlehead Golf Club on this project to maintain the integrity of this iconic golf course, which will strengthen our golf offering and signify our commitment to investing in the sport and leisure facilities within the city”.

Sport Aberdeen have got off to a flying start this awards season, winning the Community Award at the 10th annual TREND – Life with Style Awards on 14 June.

The Life with Style Awards has been described as being all about excellence in the areas that contribute to the quality of life people enjoy in the North-East, and it’s clear to see that Sport Aberdeen’s work fits that criteria perfectly.

The award recognised Sport Aberdeen’s commitment to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity regardless of barriers such as age, cost, ability and gender.

Sport Aberdeen’s involvement in a diverse range of initiatives designed to increase participation across all ages and abilities includes programmes such as Active Schools, a partnership with sportscotland, which gets children involved in extra-curricular school sport; Active Ageing – which aims to help older adults stay active and the partnership with Me Too! who run relaxed skating and swimming sessions for people with additional support needs at the Beach Leisure Centre and Linx Ice Arena.

This success continued into the following week when Get Active @ Jesmond was named Scottish ‘Centre of the Year’ at Active Uprising Awards 2018. This is a flagship award scheme and celebrates facilities which live and breathe excellent customer service with the aim of getting more people more active more often.

Get active @ Jesmond is Sport Aberdeen’s most recently modernised sports centre, boasting a state of the art gym with over 60 work stations, comprehensive fitness class programme, sports hall and dedicated immersive spin studio.

Keith Gerrard Director of Operations and Asset Development at Sport Aberdeen said:

“I am delighted that Sport Aberdeen’s work within the communities in which it operates is being recognised both on a local and national level.

“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity. These awards are a great reminder that we continue to pursue that vision”

The Scottish Charity Awards also recognised Move More Aberdeen (MMA) – a partnership between Sport Aberdeen and Macmillan Cancer Support – which highly commended and received runner up in the Pioneering Project category. MMA was nominated for being at the forefront of working with people living with cancer and translating the evidence of the benefits of physical activity across the cancer pathway into practice.

Macmillan Support Assistant, Anna Bailey who attended the ceremony on behalf of Sport Aberdeen and Macmillan Cancer Support said:

“Although we did not win at the award it was still an honour to be a finalist, especially when there were so many amazing projects present, all working to improve the lives of people in Scotland”

People are being asked to think about how to keep safe around water this summer – whether on Aberdeen’s beach, it’s two rivers or other lochs and water sources.

Aberdeen Water Safety Group made the plea as its members from emergency and safety organisations gathered to highlight the issue on a beautiful sunny day at the city’s beach.

AWSG chairman Dan Price-Davies, who is a member of Aberdeen Surf Lifesaving Club, said:

“We’re all hoping for a lovely sunny summer especially with the school holidays fast approaching so we’re asking children and adults to think about being safe around water.

“Going swimming or paddling about in the sea or a river can be great fun but there’s some safety advice we’d like people to think about before they go, and also when they’re out beside water.

“Before people go, we’d ask them to look at weather conditions and tide times, and also to remember to take a mobile phone for emergencies, warm clothes for when you come out of the water, and sun cream as you can burn when it’s cloudy – even in Scotland.

“We’d ask people to look at the RNLI’s Respect The Water campaign at www.respectthewater.com which asks that when you fall into water, to fight your instinct to swim until the cold water shock passes, as cold water shock makes you gasp uncontrollably and breathe in water.

“The Respect The Water campaign asks you to pause, float on your back until you’re able to catch your breath, and it would be great if people had a look at the website which has lots of incredibly practical lifesaving advice.

“When you’re at the beach or rivers, look at your surroundings and take a mental note where you are in case you have to call the emergency services – there’s location codes on signs at the fencing beside the promenade at Aberdeen beach which are helpful for pinpointing an exact location.

“When you get to the beach, look out for submerged objects when you’re swimming such as rocks, and also don’t assume a sandbank will be there all day for you to walk out to and walk back from.

“Also take a note of the nearest lifebelt just in case and, above all, remember to phone 999 in an emergency.

“We want everyone to have a fun time and come and enjoy our beautiful nature resources we have in Aberdeen such as the gorgeous walks full of interesting nature along both the beach and the River Dee and River Don, and also we want everyone at the same time to have a safe summer.”

Young people with experience of the care system in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will be given opportunities to become more creative and active thanks to a funding award of £150,000. The money comes from Scottish charity the Life Changes Trust.

Working in partnership, Aberdeen Foyer and Sport Aberdeen will use the funding to engage more care experienced young people in sports and creative activities.

The aim of the project is to develop the skill sets of the young people involved, to improve their confidence, their physical and mental wellbeing, their relationship skills and their long term quality of life. Participants in the project will be given opportunities to get involved in activities that matter to them, such as sport, music, drama, art and media.

Sport Aberdeen’s Looked After Project will continue to use sport and physical activity as a vehicle to improve the lives of looked after children and young people. Current activities include skateboarding, boxing, horse riding, swimming lessons, ice skating, climbing, snowboarding, skiing and athletics.

Aberdeen Foyer will offer creative activities such as creative writing, painting, craft work, graffiti art, lino printing, hand casting, jewellery making and cooking.

Heather Coady, Director of the Trust’s Care Experienced Young People Programme said:

“Care experienced young people have often told us that they would love more opportunities to be active and have fun, developing their interests and trying out new things in areas such as music, art, sport and crafts. This project is great because it combines all of these things, and really does offer something for everyone. Care experienced young people don’t often have ready access to opportunities like these. Not only will they have to chance to take part in a range of activities that matter to them, they will also be able to make new friends, improve their self-esteem and be valued for their contributions and talents.”

Both Sport Aberdeen and Aberdeen Foyer already have experience of working with young people who are care experienced, and have witnessed the positive effects when they try new things and experience positive opportunities that enable them to discover what they are good at, grow their confidence and feel good about themselves. The project will also encourage young people to understand and value their own aspirations, abilities, health and wellbeing.

Simon Starr, Director of Sport and Active Lifestyles at Sport Aberdeen said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding from the Life Changes Trust as it will enable the Looked After Project to work with more looked after children and young people. The partnership with Aberdeen Foyer is very exciting as it will allow both organisations to share experience and learn from each other. We’re already seeing the positive impact the Looked After Project is having, so it is great to be able to expand the project and help to increase the number of looked after children and young people achieving positive destinations.”

Kathleen Singer, Operations Manager at Aberdeen Foyer said:

“Aberdeen Foyer is absolutely delighted to be working in partnership with Sport Aberdeen to engage with care experienced young people and make a difference together through the funding awarded by Life Changes Trust.

“Aberdeen Foyer is guided by the belief that it is a young person’s unique strengths and capabilities that will determine their journey and define who they are – not their limitations and our values align very well with those of Sport Aberdeen. Both organisations want to enable young people to feel ‘I can’.

“We are also aware of the health benefits (physical and mental) of engaging with positive activities and the improved resilience to deal with past and/or ongoing challenges in their lives. Young people will have space to be kind to themselves, to reflect on their journey and progress, recognise their strengths and talents. They will find lost and new aspirations and feel hopeful about their future.

“At Aberdeen Foyer we work with amazing young people who are vibrant and talented, and we can’t wait to see the outcomes of this project and to celebrate their achievements with the people that are important to them.”

Heather Coady added:

“Research shows that these activities can actually support a healthy lifestyle, and help to improve physical and mental wellbeing. We very much look forward to watching these young people flourish as they develop and grow as individuals.”

The funding award is one of fourteen made by the Life Changes Trust under the banner of ‘Creative and Active Lives’, with a funding total of £1.75 million.

Creative and Active lives awards aim to improve the physical and mental well-being of care experienced young people by increasing their participation in creative and physical activities. Each of the fourteen funded projects will focus on growing opportunities across a broad range of creative and active pursuits, so that care experienced young people can engage with their peers and increase their skills, self-esteem and social connections.

The Life Changes Trust was set up with a Big Lottery Fund endowment of £50 million to improve the lives of two key groups in Scotland: people affected by dementia and care experienced young people.

Sport Aberdeen has been shortlisted for ‘Making the Difference’ at the 2018 Northern Star Business Awards.

Organised by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), the Northern Star Business Awards recognises companies across the North-East for their exceptional accomplishments in pioneering innovation and outstanding customer service to excellence in people development, environmental outlook and marketing prowess.

Sport Aberdeen has been shortlisted in the Making the Difference category in recognition of its ongoing commitment and investment into creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity.

Over the last 12 months, the team have worked in partnership with a range of local and national bodies to showcase how Sport Aberdeen is helping to make Aberdeen an active and healthy city. This includes the Active Ageing Programme, the Looked After Project and Move More Aberdeen.

To read more about the awards, visit: https://www.agcc.co.uk/northern-star.

Stars of ITV’s Dancing on Ice Mark Hanretty and Sylvain Longchambon are set to wow Aberdeen audiences this July when they visit the Linx Ice Arena for the Summer Skating Spectacular.

The Summer Skating Spectacular will bring together local skaters nominated by coaches from skating and hockey clubs across Aberdeen to perform alongside the TV dancers in a one-off showcase for family, friends and spectators.

Neither of the dancers have performed in the North East before so this will be a first for both performers and viewers alike.

The showcase will be the centrepiece of a day that also includes a series of workshops for juniors and adults – allowing skaters of all ages to receive, invaluable, expert advice from two professional ice dancers who have competed and won medals for their respective countries at a championship level.

Jon Behari, Learn to Skate Coordinator and NISA Level 2 Coach & Choreographer said:

“It’s great to be able to include Mark Hanretty and Sylvain Longchambon in the showcase. Both are extremely talented dancers but also, with their history of coaching, they’re certainly a great pair to pass on some invaluable wisdom to the juniors and adults in attendance.

“The event will provide a great insight into the number of paths available within ice skating – be that; dancing, hockey, or figure skating and we hope that it will encourage those in attendance to come back and give it a try.”

Tickets for the showcase can be purchased here.

A recent funding boost has allowed for significant improvements to be made to basketball facilities at Sport Aberdeen’s Beach Leisure Centre.

A total of £10,000 has been secured by two local sports organisations from the National Lottery and Nexen, to carry out transformational work to the Granite City’s home of basketball.

Over the past 18 months, volunteers from Grampian Flyers Basketball Club and Basketball Grampian have worked to secure the funding and have since purchased four new height adjustable baskets for junior wheelchair basketball, four new full height competition backboards with protective padding and two sets of 24 second shot clocks.

This has led to a three-year partnership agreement between sport Aberdeen and Basketball Grampian, who relocated their senior local league to the central Aberdeen venue, turning the Beach Leisure Centre into a hub for basketball in the region.

Grant Wilson, Chairman of Basketball Grampian and coach of Grampian Flyers Wheelchair Basketball Team, said:

“This joint project from the national league club and local governing body has created a platform to take basketball to the next level in Aberdeen.

“There has always been a high quality of basketball in the area, however this has been an underground world, where if you knew where to go and when to be there you would see excellent basketball. This will pull our competitions together and hopefully lead to creating a closer basketball community.

“We cater for everyone with male and female senior leagues, a senior and a junior wheelchair team, we even have a Lithuanian team, a Polish team and a Filipino team who all compete in our leagues.

“I hope that this will now pull everyone together to work collaboratively with Sport Aberdeen to increase participation, improve competition and strive for excellence in performance.”

The Beach Leisure Centre already hosts a number of Aberdeen based basketball clubs including the only wheelchair basketball team in Aberdeen, and will now be able to host a full spectrum of youth, senior and wheelchair pathways from local, national and international competitions. We hope the new facilities will also attract Basketball Scotland events and competitions, including local youth leagues, senior cup games and international matches.

Graham McEvoy, Operations Manager at Beach Leisure Centre, said: 

“We are delighted with the partnership with Basketball Grampian and Grampian Flyers which has allowed us to upgrade our basketball facilities.

“This funding has transformed the Beach Leisure Centre into a ‘home’ for basketball in the region and brings the centre up to national standards which will allow us to continue to attract teams from all levels of the sport.”