Wincanton Sports Centre


Opening Times: (Mon - Fri 7am-10pm / Sat 8am-6pm / Sun 8am-10pm)

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About Wincanton Sports Centre

Welcome to the Wincanton Sports Centre Web site.
We have a great Sports Centre to provide you with a wide range of services that we know you will enjoy using. By using our facilities you will also be adding to your enjoyment of life and health in general. Behind every great organisation you have to have a great bunch of people to keep it moving forward. Have a look at the staff page and put names to the team. They are a very shy bunch as can be seen by the distinct lack of photos. But none the less they are a great team.

Don't forget to visit our downloads page where you can download and print off a number of documents that you will find useful. Let us know if you think there are documents that should be in this section that aren't there at this time.

Check out our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. You may find your questions have already been answered. It your question isn't there, contact us and we'll do our best to answer it and add it to our FAQ page.

As we are here to serve you we would like to hear from you. Help us to ensure that the Wincanton Sports Centre always provides you with the service and facilities you need.

Wincanton Sports Centre:
How it took over my life!!!
by Alison Cameron

I first heard the idea for a Sports Centre in Wincanton back in 1995 when I started as Community Leisure Manager for South Somerset District Council, based at their offices in Wincanton. I know however, that for a lot of people in Wincanton the wish to see sports facilities in their town had been there for many, many years before that.

The project soon became the number one leisure priority for leisure staff based in Wincanton and for the district as a whole and was championed by the SSDC Area East director, the late George Smith.

The initial task was to set up a steering group to oversee the project, made up of representatives from the town, district and county councils, King Arthur's Community School , Community Education, Wincanton Recreation Trust and other local groups and individuals. After several years of hard work by this group and our professional consultants under the leadership of architect David Lambert, we finally heard that we had been successful in our bid to the Sport England Lottery Fund, and in 1999 were awarded a lottery grant of £2.6 million. This represented a grant of 79% which was the highest percentage awarded to a project in the South West at that time.

After the appointment of main contractors, Bartletts (now ROK), work started on site in October 1999 and the was completed, within budget, in May, 2001.

Some of the highlights during this period:

Over 100 people turning up to a public meeting at the Memorial Hall to discuss the possible options for where the centre should be located.
The local fundraising events, raising £14 000 towards the project
The day we heard that we had received the lottery award
The open days we held whilst the centre was still being built, giving everyone an opportunity to see what the centre was going to look like
Choosing the colour scheme for the centre
The official opening with Trevor Brooking
Now being able to take my oldest son to swimming lessons at the pool

The future - On a more serious note, I am still based with the Council, in Yeovil as Leisure Policy Co-ordinator and have also been asked to make a comment on the council's future aims and objectives for leisure in the Wincanton area. Wincanton and surrounding area are now well served by the facilities at the Sports Centre and Moor Lane .

The focus for the future is therefore very much around increasing participation in the area, particularly for young people, women, people with low incomes and people with lifelong limiting illnesses. As well as traditional sports, the council are also supporting other opportunities for residents to lead active and healthy lifestyles, such as Flexercise classes for the over 60s.

Alison Cameron
Leisure Policy Co-ordinator, SSDC
Tel: 01935 462615
Email Alison