King Alfred leisure centre
Encyclopedia
The King Alfred Leisure Centre in Hove
is the largest wet and dry sport centre in the city of Brighton and Hove situated on Hove sea front and is owned and managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
which ranges from a depth of 1.2 to 2.5m. This pool is used by Shiverers Swimming Club for training.
There is also a lagoon area with a large slide for over 8s..
A teaching pool (depth 0.9m to 1.2m) is also used for swimming lessons which follow a syllabus designed by the ASA
, the teaching pool can also be rented for children birthday parties.
Full wetside changing facilities are available including individual cubicals, family cubicals, group changing rooms and disable changing room (which uses the RADAR Key scheme). There are also lockers which take £1
coins
. Three flumes still stand on the east side of the building however these have not been open for many years due to health and safety concerns.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has "Fitness Works Gym", a relatively small gym with a variety of machines and free weights, the larger Cheetahs gym is also based in the building but is not managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
A therapy room is based in the old entrance hall called purple turtle which offers a wide variety of treatments.
There are two sports halls, based in the old pool halls. The main sports hall is used for sports such as badminton
, football, basketball
, roller hockey
and trampolining
. The small sports hall is used for the mini mayhem sessions (a soft play session), martial arts
, table tennis
and sessions such as aerobics.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has a ballroom which has a wide variety of events from meetings, to exams as well as live music, most notably is the recent performance by Nick Cave
on the 2nd July 2008.
There is also an indoor bowles club on the east side of the building (in what was once a car park) and the 'multiplay' facilities to the west which has netball and tennis courts. The centre has car parking facilities on the west side, above the ten pin bowling rink (which has been closed since 1999) and Megazone (a Laser
shooting game) which is also closed.
There is also a cafe
(Yes Cafe) which opened in 2008, replacing the long serving 'Splash Cafe' which closed due to the proposed redevelopment.
Club, and the newly (2008) formed Free-Diving
club. The pool is also used by Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre (Please see www.lastminutelifeguard.com for information on lifeguarding / lifesaving courses) . Until 2007, the offices of Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre were based in the offices on the north side of the building, along with the Brighton Transport offices, however both parties left in 2007 due to the proposed redevelopment, which has since been postponed.
The pool was also used twice by David Walliams
during his training for his channel crossing.
, giving its name..
eventually being accepted, stirring up much controversy about how it would fit in with the rest of Hove
along with concerns about whether the increase in sporting facilities proposed would be adequate for a city the size of Brighton and Hove. However these plans were shelved in 2008 due to the credit crunch meaning the required funds could not be borrowed and the housing market crash meant that the flats would not have produced the desired return. A partial refurbishment of the old, inadequate and worn out sporting facilities will be carried out in 2009, with new plans now sought for redevelopment of the site to provide the required pools and sporting facilities, perhaps with housing and entertainment facilities also.
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
is the largest wet and dry sport centre in the city of Brighton and Hove situated on Hove sea front and is owned and managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
Facilities
The wetside facilities include a 25m 6 lane swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
which ranges from a depth of 1.2 to 2.5m. This pool is used by Shiverers Swimming Club for training.
There is also a lagoon area with a large slide for over 8s..
A teaching pool (depth 0.9m to 1.2m) is also used for swimming lessons which follow a syllabus designed by the ASA
ASA
- Organizations :* Acoustical Society of America* Advertising Standards Authority * African Studies Association* Aid to Southeast Asia, a non-governmental organization* Airline Superintendents Association of Trinidad & Tobago...
, the teaching pool can also be rented for children birthday parties.
Full wetside changing facilities are available including individual cubicals, family cubicals, group changing rooms and disable changing room (which uses the RADAR Key scheme). There are also lockers which take £1
£1
There are many £1 banknotes, bills or coins, including:Current currencies:*One pound sterling coin and Sovereign, both of the United Kingdom**Old English pound coins: Anglo-Saxon pound, broad, Unite, laurel**Pound Scots...
coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
. Three flumes still stand on the east side of the building however these have not been open for many years due to health and safety concerns.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has "Fitness Works Gym", a relatively small gym with a variety of machines and free weights, the larger Cheetahs gym is also based in the building but is not managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
A therapy room is based in the old entrance hall called purple turtle which offers a wide variety of treatments.
There are two sports halls, based in the old pool halls. The main sports hall is used for sports such as badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, roller hockey
Roller hockey
Roller Hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. The term "Roller Hockey" is often used interchangeably to refer to two variant forms chiefly differentiated by the type of skate used. There is traditional "Roller Hockey," played with quad roller skates, and...
and trampolining
Trampolining
Trampolining is a competitive Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists....
. The small sports hall is used for the mini mayhem sessions (a soft play session), martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and sessions such as aerobics.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has a ballroom which has a wide variety of events from meetings, to exams as well as live music, most notably is the recent performance by Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
on the 2nd July 2008.
There is also an indoor bowles club on the east side of the building (in what was once a car park) and the 'multiplay' facilities to the west which has netball and tennis courts. The centre has car parking facilities on the west side, above the ten pin bowling rink (which has been closed since 1999) and Megazone (a Laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
shooting game) which is also closed.
There is also a cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
(Yes Cafe) which opened in 2008, replacing the long serving 'Splash Cafe' which closed due to the proposed redevelopment.
Pool users
As well as public sessions, the pools are also used by many clubs including Shiverers Swimming Club, Dolphins Disabled Swimming Club, Marlins Disabled Swimming Club, Brighton LifesavingLifesaving
Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue however it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete...
Club, and the newly (2008) formed Free-Diving
Free-diving
Freediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
club. The pool is also used by Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre (Please see www.lastminutelifeguard.com for information on lifeguarding / lifesaving courses) . Until 2007, the offices of Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre were based in the offices on the north side of the building, along with the Brighton Transport offices, however both parties left in 2007 due to the proposed redevelopment, which has since been postponed.
The pool was also used twice by David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
during his training for his channel crossing.
History
The King Alfred leisure centre had many set backs during its building due to the wars, it was used as a training facility by the Navy, being called the HMS King AlfredHMS King Alfred (shore establishment 1939)
The second Royal Navy "ship" to be called HMS King Alfred was the shore establishement sited at Hove in Sussex. In 1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War the Navy was searching for a site for a training depot for officers of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve...
, giving its name..
Redevelopment
Due to the age of the building redevelopment has been proposed for many years with plans by Frank GehryFrank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
eventually being accepted, stirring up much controversy about how it would fit in with the rest of Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
along with concerns about whether the increase in sporting facilities proposed would be adequate for a city the size of Brighton and Hove. However these plans were shelved in 2008 due to the credit crunch meaning the required funds could not be borrowed and the housing market crash meant that the flats would not have produced the desired return. A partial refurbishment of the old, inadequate and worn out sporting facilities will be carried out in 2009, with new plans now sought for redevelopment of the site to provide the required pools and sporting facilities, perhaps with housing and entertainment facilities also.