Active Zone - Meet one of your Clip 'n Climb instructors!
The Active Zone at Swallows Leisure Centre is perfect for a fun-packed family day out. There is a huge soft play area for smaller children, a café for adults to relax – and perhaps the most impressive, a 13-wall Clip ‘n Climb area!
So, let’s meet one of the instructors who make our time at Active Zone fun and safe…
Luke Gilbert, 24, is one of the level 2 Clip ‘n Climb instructors and has worked at Swallows Leisure Centre in many capacities for close to four years.
After completing his carpentry apprenticeship, Luke struggled to find work as a tradesman so looked for help. He found it in the form of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and their ‘Get on Track’ initiative in partnership with Sport England.
The aim of the initiative is to help young people into employment and that’s exactly what happened with Luke.
“The Trust matched me with Swallows Leisure Centre and I completed a three-week work experience course as part of the events staff.
“I then moved onto working on the gym floor and helped out with the cleaning and whatever else the staff needed a hand with.
“I try and take advantage of any opportunities that come my way and, along with my Clip ‘n Climb qualification, I am also qualified to teach children basic gymnastics and I sometimes do that at Swallows”.
Luke says it took two full days of training to gain his level 2 qualification and he emphasised that fun and safety were the two major themes of the training course.
“Before they climb, children must watch a short briefing video, which takes them through safety aspects. Instructors will then reiterate the message in a way that children can easily understand.
“They’ll then get their harnesses on and taught the Clip ‘n Climb mechanism and they’re then ready to attack any of the 13 walls”.
Luke’s favourite wall in the Active Zone is the Spaghetti Junction – a 16-foot-high interactive wall with pull-ropes and challenging foot placement - and he says there is plenty more to keep climbers busy.
“Another favourite of mine is the Speed Climb – children are challenged to climb in the quickest possible time and there is a clock on the wall, which stops when the button right at the top is pressed.
“This brings out the competitive nature in the children and creates a great atmosphere”.
Despite being challenging to complete – Luke insists that the Clip ‘n Climb is for everyone.
“They’re not all easy – the harder climbs are there to test the children, but absolutely no climbing experience is needed – just turn up, let the children enjoy the walls and let us keep them safe”.
Active Zone is based at Swallows Leisure Centre – enter the Leisure Centre, ask for Active Zone, and our staff will point you in the right direction.
Active Zone is available for birthday parties and our staff are on hand to cater for all aspects of your child’s special day. See here for more on our birthday parties.
Book a place in our Active Zone @ Swallows Leisure Centre