Active Leicester coronavirus FAQs
In line with government guidance, we are currently working towards welcoming you back to our leisure centres.
On Monday 14 September, four of our leisure centres will reopen. These are:
- Braunstone Leisure Centre
- Evington Leisure Centre
- Leicester Leys Leisure Centre
- Spence Street Sports Centre.
Cossington Street Sports Centre will reopen on Saturday 19 September, with both the swimming pool and the brand-new gym available.
Aylestone Leisure Centre, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment of its gym, and New Parks Leisure Centre, are set to open in early October.
If your local centre isn’t open yet, as an Active Leicester member, you can use any of our leisure centres across the city. However, you can choose to further suspend your membership until your local centre reopens. To do this, please email our membership team.
Unfortunately, swimming lessons and other courses will not be available when we first reopen. Members will be contacted directly about restarting lessons, with the restart date likely to be early to mid-October.
We are increasing the level of cleaning in all areas of our centres throughout the day. This includes the introduction of a one-hour closure during the day for deep cleaning – please check your leisure centre programme for information relating to this. Cleaning sprays and torque roll are located throughout our gyms so customers can clean their gym equipment before and after each use.
Hand sanitiser and cleaning materials will be located at various locations, with new cleaning rules for members visible throughout our centres. We are providing training for all our staff on our new way of operating, ensuring both customer and staff safety is always a priority.
We are taking a number of measures to ensure that when we reopen, our centres are social distancing ready. This includes markings for queues, protective screens at reception desks, spacing out gym equipment, widening lanes in our swimming pools and caps on the number of people allowed in our centres at any given time. We are also implementing one-way systems where possible and allowing extra time between gym classes and other sessions for changeover of participants. Gym inductions will be conducted online, to save any unnecessary visits to the centre.
All sessions need to be booked through our website and you can book up to seven days in advance. You must register for a free Active Leicester membership to book sessions (gym, swim, courts and classes). Once registered, you can book your next session online. If you are a returning customer, please ensure that the email address registered to your account is correct, or you may have trouble booking or accessing our facilities. You can update any personal details by emailing active@leicester.gov.uk.
By asking customers to book in advance we can ensure that we are aware of how many people there are in our centres at any given time. Our booking system is open with no priority, so as long as you book in good time, there shouldn’t be any trouble reserving your spot. If you book a slot but cannot attend, please let us know at least three hours before your booking, or you will be charged.
Customers are permitted to book one session of each type of activity – gym, group exercise, swim, climbing and courts – per day. For example, you could enjoy a group exercise class in the morning and go swimming in the afternoon, but you can’t attend two classes in the same day.
While we are not currently running any junior-specific gym sessions, junior gym customers (14+) can still visit our centres. Any inductions will need to take place on site with a parent or guardian present.
- Booking and paying in advance are essential.
- Please arrive dressed to exercise and bring your own water bottle, as changing rooms, showering facilities and water fountains will not be available.
- Please do not bring your own towel, there will be cleaning stations located around the gym.
- Please bring your own hand sanitiser if possible and do not come to any of our centres if you are feeling unwell.
- When you arrive, we ask that you follow any one-way systems in place at your local centre and look out for signage regarding the relocation of equipment.
- During your session you will be required to clean down any equipment you use before and after your workout.
- Bookable sessions are an hour long, though you will need to be ready to leave 10 minutes before the end of your session to allow time for cleaning and changeover of customers.
- Booking and paying in advance are essential.
- Please arrive dressed to exercise and bring your own water bottle, as changing rooms, showering facilities and water fountains will not be available.
- We encourage all customer to bring their own exercise mat for group exercise classes to assist with cleaning and hygiene regimes.
- Please bring your own hand sanitiser if possible and do not come to any of our centres if you are feeling unwell.
- When you arrive, we ask that you follow any one-way systems in place at your local centre and look out for signage regarding the relocation of classes.
- Your group exercise class will include time for the cleaning of equipment before and after use, with breaks between classes for cleaning and changeover of participants.
- At the end of your group exercise class we ask that you then leave the centre as quickly as possible.
- Booking and paying in advance are essential.
- Swimming sessions are booked for one-hour slots with 45 minutes allocated for swimming and 15 minutes for changing. Please note that the swimming pool will be cleared by lifeguards 45 minutes into your session.
- Please bring your own hand sanitiser if possible and do not come to any of our centres if you are feeling unwell.
- You will need to arrive ‘beach ready’ with your swimming costume under your clothes to limit time in the changing rooms.
- Please bring any equipment you wish to use (water bottles, floats, arm bands, etc.) with you as we are unable to provide equipment during this time.
- When you arrive, we ask that you follow any one-way systems in place at your local centre and look out for signage regarding the relocation of equipment.
- Lockers will be available to store personal items.
- Our swimming sessions are now split into lane swimming and general swimming, so please acquaint yourself with the swimming rules related to your session in your confirmation email sent the morning of your swim and on signage around the pool.
- All customers are advised to change as quickly as possible after swimming, and to shower and dry hair at home.
- Booking and paying in advance are essential.
- Customers must arrive ready to climb and will not be able to change at the centre.
- Wall capacity has been reduced to ensure social distancing, with floor markers outlining starting points for customers.
- Sessions will be time limited (see our booking page for more details).
- Only customers who have completed an Active Leicester climbing competency assessment can book.
- A maximum of two people per line will be permitted.
- Hand sanitising stations will be located around the climbing wall and we ask customers to hand wash before each climb.
- Customers must maintain social distancing of 2m from other wall users (every other panel when climbing or belaying).
- Climbing instructors will be operating and will be required to maintain social distancing.
- Hand sanitising stations are located around the climbing wall and must be used throughout your session.
- Water fountains will not be available so please bring a water bottle with you.
- As with other activities, all court bookings must be booked in advance.
- Bookings will be for a maximum of 60 minutes, with customers required to bring their own equipment (racquets, balls, shuttlecocks, etc.).
- We ask that customers leave five minutes before the end of their session to reduce congestion at changeover point.
- We ask all customers to use the hand sanitiser provided as they enter the centre.
To ensure social distancing and reduce risk of transmission, the dry-side changing rooms are closed until further notice. This means that you will need to get changed into gym clothes and kit at home and leave the centre after your gym session to shower at home.
The swimming pool changing rooms are open, however we ask customer to limit their use of this area. This means that you will need to come ‘beach-ready’ to swim with your costume on under your clothes. Lockers will be available for you to store personal items in. On finishing your swim, we ask that you change swiftly in the changing rooms and leave the centre after your session.
We have taken every step possible to ensure that our new way of operating does not impact anyone with accessibility requirements. However, if you get in touch prior to visiting one of our centres, we can ensure that your visit goes smoothly. Customers requiring use of a pool hoist or disabled changing rooms will need to inform staff ahead of their visit.
We understand that some of our members may feel uncomfortable about returning to our centres, particularly those from vulnerable demographics and those who are shielding. If this is the case, please contact our membership team at active@leicester.gov.uk and we can extend the suspension of your membership free of charge. Please note that cancellation of memberships is subject to the same terms as outlined in the terms and conditions of an Active Leicester membership. An annual membership may be cancelled only on the grounds of a medical condition or relocation. In this instance, shielding does not constitute a medical condition.
We froze memberships on Saturday 21 March. When we unfreeze your membership, the unused time will be added on, so you won’t miss out on any of the membership you have paid for.
We have been communicating with members regularly since we closed our centres in March. If you have not been receiving emails from us, make sure to update your contact details and opt into communications by emailing active@leicester.gov.uk. You can also choose whether you want to receive promotions or not, so we won’t contact you with offers if you don’t want us to.
You can exercise or play sport in groups of up to six people from other households, but should only do so where it is possible to maintain a 2 metre gap from those you do not live with.
You will be able to play sport outdoors in groups of more than six people and without social distancing if they are all from your household or in your support bubble.
People who play team sports can meet to train together and do things like conditioning or fitness sessions but not in groups of more than six and you should be 2 metres apart at all times. While groups could practise ball skills like passing and kicking, equipment sharing should be kept to a minimum and strong hand hygiene practices should be in place before and after.
Easings of the Leicester lockdown have allowed some venues in the city to return to competitive grassroots football in line with FA guidance. These venues are secure sites that do not have free public access and are deemed Covid secure, such as clubs/organisations that own and operate their own facility. This includes our venues such as the 3g pitches at Aylestone Recreation Ground, Riverside and New College.
This means:
- Residents can now play team sport in any number if this is formally organised by a sports club or similar organisation and sports-governing body guidance has been issued.
Please be advised that Live Well Leicester is not currently operating any face to face services. For any queries relating to Live Well Leicester, contact the team at livewell@leicester.gov.uk or call 0116 454 4000.
