A leisure centre in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

(also called aquatic centres),

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, borough council or municipal district

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.

Typical facilities

Facilities may include a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

(many with water slide), large sports hall, squash courts,

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or sch ...

, licensed bar, fitness suite, aerobics studios, outdoor grass and/or artificial pitches for

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, hockey etc., a solarium, sauna and/or steam room. Leisure centres in Canada are staffed by leisure centre attendants employed by the local council. They carry out a range of tasks to help and supervise people using leisure centre facilities and act as swimming pool lifeguards, gym instructors and coaches, offering advice, motivation, and expertise to users. Many of its functions may overlap with that of a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole c ...

. Leisure centres are also popular in Australia, where they are mostly privately operated but government-funded. They are often also called recreation centres, or most commonly aquatic centres due to the swimming facilities being the most popular facility that is available. In some areas of the UK and Canada (such as

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

) these services are now operated by private companies on contract to the local authority. Most towns in the UK are now introducing leisure facilities for the local community.

Examples of leisure centres

;Current *

Deeside Leisure Centre Deeside Leisure Centre is a sports centre located in Queensferry, Flintshire. Its facilities include Deeside Ice Rink (an Olympic-sized inline hockey rink), badminton courts, and squash courts. The centre was the venue for the 1974 Wightman Cu ...

Leisure centres in Cardiff Most leisure centres in Cardiff, capital of Wales, are owned by Cardiff Council. Since 2016, the running of eight formerly Council-run leisure centres has been outsourced to Greenwich Leisure Limited, operating under their 'Better' branding. C ...

Kensington Leisure Centre Kensington Leisure Centre is a leisure centre located in the North Kensington area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in London, England. It occupies land formerly considered to be part of the Lancaster West Estate, and was built w ...

South Norwood Leisure Centre South Norwood Leisure Centre is a leisure centre located on Portland Road in South Norwood in Croydon, London. It contains a 25m sized swimming pool, teaching pool, 32 station gym and two studios. The centre is managed by Better (GLL). Facilities ...

Splashpoint Leisure Centre Splashpoint Leisure Centre is a leisure centre located in the centre of Worthing, West Sussex, England. It contains a 25-metre long pool and gymnasium. Designed by WilkinsonEyre it won an award at the World Architecture Festival in 2013. Wilki ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

Swansea Leisure Centre The LC is a leisure centre located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. Originally Swansea Leisure Centre, it was re-branded as 'The LC' when the facility re-opened to the public on 1 March 2008 after a £32-million makeover. The LC's exte ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

* Penarth Leisure Centre in

* Barry Leisure Centre in

* The Dome Leisure Centre in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

* Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge * Oak Park Leisure Centre in Walsall Wood ;Former * Gloucester Leisure Centre * Ladywell Leisure Centre in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

Physical exercise Sports venues {{sports-venue-stub

Typical facilities

Examples of leisure centres

See also

References