SINN Féin councillor Danny Baker has welcomed the introduction of new family memberships for Better leisure facilities operated on behalf of Belfast City Council.
With life busier than ever and individuals more focused on good health and wellbeing in light of the global pandemic, the social enterprise GLL, who operate the facilities, believes exercise should be a key part of family life.
Rather than slotting it in around work, school runs and the daily to-do list for busy family units, GLL has introduced the all-inclusive memberships to make physical activity part of the family routine and a healthy alternative option for downtime at the end of a busy day or week.
Welcoming the news, Cllr Baker said: “I was lucky enough as Mayor at the time to open Brooke. One of my priorities at the time was to ensure that our leisure facilities are accessible for all.
“One of the reasons that I was pushing for family memberships was because it can be very expensive if you have a family of four or five.
“Covid had delayed the launch of the initiative but the memberships have been available from Monday and start from £45. This will help encourage people use our top of the range facilities in the heart of our communities.
“We have to keep working to make sure that we get full use of them for our local families, our schools and other groups as well.”
With 14 centres across the city that offer gyms, swimming pools, group fitness classes and individual and group training, the Better Leisure Centres have something for each member of the family. Whether they wish to build life skills in the swimming pool, boost their strength in the gym or blow off steam in the sports halls, Better has an activity
available in all four corners of the city.
Designed to offer great savings for adults and kids, the memberships have a 30 per cent discount for the headline rate and 50 per cent discount for concessionaries. All family members have automatic citywide access to the 14 centres across the city and can take part in personalised fitness inductions, tailored exercise programmes and access to one racquet or handball court per day.
The all-inclusive memberships include up to seven days advanced booking and up to 30 per cent off non-member prices for other activities.
For children who join as Junior Family members, they will enjoy swimming pool
access, fitness classes and access to the gym during junior gym times for 11 to 15-year-olds. Supervised at all times, these sessions are a starting point for young people and an opportunity to get fit and active in a safe environment.
Full details and pricing options can be found at the Better website.
Families are encouraged to visit one of the centres for an induction, included in the Better All Inclusive Family membership, during which a trained fitness instructor will provide guidance on safe equipment use.
