Marlborough stadium under pressure as senior classes boom

RNZ News

20 hours ago

By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporting
Aquacise instructor Alison 'Janey' Phipps always has at least 50 people in her 9am class at the Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000 in Blenheim.
Photo:
LDR / Supplied
Blenheim seniors are flocking to Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000 and staff are starting to worry there may not be room for them all.
Even first thing on a Monday, the changingrooms are packed before the Aquacise class, a hot favourite among the older demographic.
"Don't suggest that people join our class, because there's no room," one participant said, only partly joking.
Senior use of the aquatic, fitness and sport centre was expected to keep growing until 2038, while other demographics were expected to plateau, a report from the Marlborough Stadium Trust said.
Seniors went to the stadium 25,555 times in the 2023/24 year, up 249 percent from 7333 visits in 2013/14.
Aquacise instructor Alison 'Janey' Phipps said at least 50 people or even up to 90 people attended her class, which started at 9am, three times a week. An Aqua-gentle class ran twice a week.
"I just love this demographic of people," Phipps said. "They just get on with it, they're just in there and I really like that."
Aquacise was really good for seniors, as it helped with mobility, injury recovery and fall prevention, as well as just being fun, she said.
"I really like to focus on balance and hip mobility. Working into the hip joint, just for trips and falls, getting that strength in the legs, so that they can correct quickly."
As classic tunes from the 80s boomed through the aquatic area, Phipps had the group doing leg, arm and core exercises in a 45-minute workout that was not for the faint of heart, using pool noodles and foam dumb bells.
An 80-year-old participant, having her ritual coffee after the class at the stadium cafe with the other participants, said she was dragged along by a friend, while she was recovering from an injury.
"I was still on crutches and I was at the back of the pool, and I've gradually got myself fit enough and now I'm there doing it all."
Aquacise class help seniors with mobility and fall prevention.
Photo:
LDR / Supplied
Classes offered more than simply exercise, she said.
"Don't discount all the social stuff. A lot of the people who come, it's the only people they see all day.
"They come and they swim, and they talk to the people and they live alone. That one bit of socialisation they can get is fantastic."
Her friend had joined after moving to Blenheim from Wellington. The stadium's pool facilities was one of the reasons she chose the town, she said.
"It's a great facility. A lot of councils don't have the same facility to provide these services."
All the demand had put the facilities under considerable strain, stadium trustee Anna Houkamau told the Marlborough District Council's assets and services committee on 15 July.
"We have up to 90 seniors in some of the exercise classes in the mornings and associated capacity issues with things like changing," Houkamau said.
The basketball and netball courts were also at capacity, particularly due to their use by groups, with not enough space to hold tournaments.
The trust's new '10 + 10 committee' was working on a plan to future-proof the stadium and part one involved assessing the community's needs, likely working with the council to do that, she said.
"[It's about] ensuring that our existing asset is in good form for the next 10 years and 10 beyond that," Houkamau said. "Step one is to be able to understand what we could afford to maintain in the future."
In 2013, the council bought the neighbouring buildings at the corner of Redwood and Kinross streets, and leased them to Smith's City and the Marlborough Youth Trust's MySpace centre.
The aim of the purchase was to ensure the stadium could expand in the future, if demand warranted it.
Council's group manager for property and community facilities Jamie Lyall said it was now proposed for those buildings to be integrated into the stadium complex, but any decision to transfer the buildings to the trust would be done in collaboration with the Marlborough Youth Trust.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air