Leisure Centre gives women a sporting chance

To celebrate International Women's Day last Sunday, Kings Hall Leisure Centre offered massages and manicures in an attempt to get more women through their doors. Harriet Shawcross discovers the beginnings of a "quiet revolution".

FOR MANY women the mere thought of the gym is enough to induce a cold sweat.

The prospect of unforgiving Lycra, and the condescending gaze of a whippet-thin instructor can make exercise seem a rather unattractive proposition.

And this is not just idle speculation of a self-confessed gym hater. According to the Youth Sports Trust, a charity that works with young people through sport, 40 per cent of women in Britain will have dropped out of physical activity by the age of 18, and only one in ten women take part in competitive sport each year, as opposed to one in five men. It all points to the fact that not enough is being done to encourage women into sport.

But at the Kings Hall Leisure Centre, on Lower Clapton Road, a quiet revolution has begun, working to change these statistics by making exercise more attractive to women.

Last Sunday, the centre celebrated International Women’s Day by offering a range of activities, including manicures and massage, all designed to entice women to the dreaded gym. Men were barred from the centre, and more than 150 women attended the day, free from the unwelcome attention (not to mention odour) of sweating men.

Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Women's Sports Foundation, explains why it is that women often find it difficult to exercise: “We have identified various practical barriers which women face when entering into sport,” she says. “Lack of time, childcare, money, personal safety, funding, and access to facilities are the most prominent.

“We welcome the initiatives by Hackney Council and the Kings Hall, which are the first steps in bringing women into sport.”

Younger girls battling with their weight are also catered for at the centre’s Shokk Gym, which opened in January, and is tailor-made for those under 15. Brightly coloured cardiovascular machines are designed to encourage kids to exercise, and a unique points system means that children can win prizes for good behaviour.

These incentives are vital, as the number of obese children in the UK has doubled in the past decade, creating a generation prone to heart disease and diabetes in later life. The problem is one that affects women and girls disproportionately. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, one in three girls aged 8-11 in the UK is overweight and, between the ages of 16 and 24, women are twice as likely as men to be obese.

Claire Vuocco, a duty manager at King’s Hall hopes families will use the Shokk gym to exercise together: “A good way to deal with childhood obesity is to get parents to exercise with their children,” she says, “Whether that’s going to the swimming pool or the adults using the fitness centre while their kids are in the Shokk gym.”

So now there’s no excuse. Lazy children and Lycra-phobic mothers can team up at the Kings Hall to boost their fitness, and help make this a healthier Hackney.