Town goes Olympic crazy (From Warrington Guardian)

Town goes Olympic crazy

10:20am Monday 10th September 2012 in News

FROM volleyball to handball and wheelchair basketball to tennis, hundreds tried out a variety of Olympic and Paralympic sports over the weekend.

Live Wire has taken over the running of the council’s leisure centres and on Sunday threw open its doors to offer free taster sessions for a range of sports.

And families were left queuing out as interest in membership reached a record high. More than 450 inductions have been booked in or taken place – a 94 per cent rise – while 133 memberships have been agreed in the past three days.

Jan Souness runs the centres, and is based at the flagship Orford Park hub which opened in May.

She said she was delighted with the response and popularity of the day.

She added: “The taster day helped as did the closure of Total Fitness.

“We had people saying that Total Fitness did them a favour because they didn’t realise we were here. So we are really pleased.”

Among the events during the weekend was a visit from Samantha Jones, a trust user who carried the Paralympic Torch through Regent Street in London.

The 20-year-old, from Appleton , coaches weekly sessions of wheelchair basketball every Monday at Broomfields Leisure Centre between 5pm and 6pm.

Karen Beaton, a permanent wheelchair user for more than 30 years, was persuaded to try the sport for the first time on Sunday.

She said: “I experienced wheelchair basketball for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, I cant wait to get involved and do it again.”

Families at Culcheth meanwhile were queuing to try table tennis and Broomfields ran a rowing session where residents competed to row 500 metres in the best time with Luke Homan the winner.