Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust Kicks Off In Style

Coinciding with a truly diverse and fantastic sporting weekend hosting the UCI World Track Cup and the 1st BTCB British International Taekwondo Open, Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust will officially launch Saturday November 1st 2008 through the development of a new brand and website.

The Trust manages 19 indoor sport and leisure facilities on behalf of Manchester City Council, one of the most significant collections of sporting venues in the UK, including Sportcity; the largest concentration of sporting venues in Europe and a permanent legacy from the Manchester XVII Commonwealth Games 2002.

The launch will be kicked off by Sarah Stevenson, Olympic Taekwondo Medallist Beijing 2008 and Aaron Cook, World & European Junior Taekwondo Champion and strong medal hopeful for London 2012, both of whom epitomise our 'Grass Roots to Greatness' philosophy.

With the recent success of Team GB in Beijing, and in particular the amount attributed to North West athletes, the Trust is particularly proud to manage facilities that trace back the legacy of the Commonwealth Games, contributing to success.

From our impressive haul of 149 Olympic and Paralympic medals in Beijing, 55 medal winners were associated with the North West - and a staggering 77% train and use Manchester facilities managed by the Trust.

But, the Trust isn't just about nurturing the very top of the region's sporting talent.

Along with continuing to provide support and structure to athletes and future medal hopefuls through sports development and performance programmes, we also recognise the importance of supporting local community access across all our 19 facilities, which hold great importance within Manchester, open to residents and the general public.

We provide free swimming for all 60+ Manchester residents in all of our 9 facilities with swimming pools and will soon be involved in the delivery of two fantastic Manchester City Council initiatives aimed at encouraging families and hard to reach Manchester residents via 'Back to Sport' and 'Active Families' - watch this space!

We also provide access to schools, clubs and associations within Manchester to advance education through promotion and physical education, increasing participation in and watching of sport by all ages and abilities.

November 1st is the start of a new chapter in the management of Manchester's diverse infra-structure of leisure centres, swimming pools, sports halls and centres of excellence, commencing with the launch of a brand new website by the Trust that will improve access to information about the facilities and activities in all our venues.

For more information please call Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust on 0161 220 3800 or contact us by email.