Women, pensioners and the disabled are getting fit in Oxford by paying more visits to the city’s sports centres.
Oxford City Council has reported a record year for its leisure centres for the period up to March 31.
Figures show a total of 1.4 million visits were made to the seven council-owned leisure facilities, compared to 990,000 visits last year.
The majority of the extra visits were made by women, whose usage increased by 23%, and those over 60, whose visits increased by 17%. Disabled people also increased their usage by 35%.
Steve Holt, business manager at Fusion Lifestyle, which runs the centres on behalf of the council, said: “I am extremely pleased with these great results and it is a credit to the centre’s staff teams; this has been a great achievement in a difficult economic environment.”
Ian Brooke, head of leisure and parks at Oxford City Council, said: “The results are a fantastic achievement for the staff at the centres and the officers who work behind the scenes at the council.
“We have been improving the facilities over the last few years and that has been reflected in the attendance figures.
“I am especially pleased with the increase in visits by women, over 60s and the disabled, this shows that the centres really are welcoming, affordable and accessible to all.”
The centres are: Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre, Blackbird Leys Pool, Barton Leisure Centre, Hinksey Heated Outdoor Pool, Ferry Leisure Centre, Oxford Ice Rink and Temple Cowley Pools & Fitness Centre.