Lake Tuggeranong, Wanniassa and Lyneham school gyms to be upgraded for community use

Three Canberra school gyms are set to be upgraded this year in order to provide more local community sporting groups with access to indoor training facilities.

Wanniassa High School and Lyneham High School will receive upgrades to improve access and security, with work at Lake Tuggeranong College completed this week.

These latest improvements follow upgrades to the security system at Alfred Deakin High School earlier this year to enable community access to the gym facilities outside of school hours, which are now used as a training facility for the Woden Weston Creek Dodgers basketball club.

ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation, Yvette Berry explained “following the release of the ACT Indoor Sports Facility Study earlier this year, the ACT Government has concentrated its efforts on better use of existing facilities for the benefit of sporting teams and the broadercommunity.

“Once the works are completed at the schools, the gyms can be used by a range of sports including futsal, basketball, gymnastics and badminton.

“The Education Directorate and Active Canberra are currently working with sporting organisations to schedule access to these improved facilities.

“Upgrading access to facilities at government schools is a great way to meet demand and provide opportunities for a range of sporting teams in Canberra, and we are pleased that over the coming weeks these latest facilities will all be available for clubs to use for training.”

ACT Minister for Education, Shane Rattenbury added that it made sense to utilise existing school facilities outside of school hours.

He explained “we’ve got some great sporting facilities across our 87 public schools and with just some minor upgrades we can make them available to sporting organisations and the community after hours for a range of different uses.

“This is a great way to maximise assets we already have and also promote engagement between schools and local sporting groups, giving students more opportunities to get involved in sport.

“Schools gymnasiums are often the perfect venues for training activities, and it is great that with just a few simple modifications we are able to make these venues available to groups who are struggling to find space to train.

“Schools are often the community hubs for many of Canberra’s suburbs, and connections like these can further develop the great sense of community we have across Canberra.”

The ACT Government allocated $100,000 in 2016 to improve community access to government school facilities, including upgrades to security systems, lighting and storage improvements.

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