Sports leaders raise leisure centre fears
· Yahoo Sports
A leisure centre's future is causing concern among sports clubs, with netball and squash representatives warning that any loss of facilities could have a major impact.
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Guernsey's Beau Sejour leisure centre is in a "persistent operating deficit" and a "solution has not been defined", a sustainability report said.
Naomi Szmierek, of the Guernsey Netball Association, said netball was already struggling with a lack of court space and said the sport was not meeting demand across junior, community and island programmes.
Martin Watts, treasurer of Guernsey Squash and Racquetball Association, said Beau Sejour was "crucial" because it was now the only venue on the island where squash could be played.
The leisure centre is in a persistent deficit, says a report [BBC]Szmierek added that Beau Sejour was "hugely important" to the association, hosting junior programmes, island squad training and club activity.
She warned that, if the centre was unavailable for a period, it would cause "a huge problem", particularly with Guernsey due to host the Inter-Insular tournament next year.
While she said changes to the site could be considered, she stressed the importance of retaining a sports hub where islanders could access a range of activities in one place.
Watts said years of underinvestment had left parts of the facility in need of significant refurbishment, although improvements had begun in recent years.
He said suggestions in the report that squash provision could be reduced were "slightly frustrating".
He argued demand was higher than figures might suggest because the association had historically been restricted in the number of courts it could book.
He also expressed disappointment that racquetball, which he said was attracting new players, was not mentioned in the report.
Despite concerns, Watts said the association was prepared to work with centre bosses on future plans.
He said: "Our best option is to work with Beau Sejour to get the best quality facilities that we can."
Earlier this week, Paul Montague, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, admitted the centre was "not sustainable" financially and said it was "perfectly possible that private organisations" could become investors, but would not comment further on such funding.
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