Welcome to the latest edition of At Your Leisure, your connection to leisure, recreation, venues and entertainment in the Southern Lakes.

Busy times are ahead at the Queenstown Events Centre! The ANZA Trade Show is coming to town at the end of February and a marquee will be set up in the main car park to accommodate them with extra space. This is Australasia’s largest trade show for buyers & sellers of education, work, youth and student travel so having them here is a fantastic win for Queenstown all round.

Once the trade show finishes, the car park will be closed for a further two weeks as the final phase of its upgrade takes place. The new car park design will incorporate the community’s requests for more pedestrian crossings, footpaths, lighting and other added safety features. We’re also sad to say goodbye to the poplars which have been deemed unsafe due to rot, and the pin oaks which need to be removed to make way for the new footpaths, but some lovely new trees will be planted in similar locations to help replace them.

You’ll be pleased to know that the outer field toilets will be up and running in time for cricket matches on the last weekend in February! The building of the new RPM Mezzanine Studio is coming along nicely – click here to read more about it. It’s going to be awesome!

As always there’s heaps going in the Southern Lakes events calendar so check out what’s on, get out there and get amongst it.

Cheers,

Fiona & the Lakes Leisure crew

SLIDE FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A NEW BIKE!
Don’t forget that our Slide & Ride competition to win a new Element Avanti Plus bicycle is still on for the month of February. Congratulations to Juliana Souza 28yrs from Queenstown and James Muir 4yrs from Hawea Flat for winning the first two bikes in the January draw. For your chance to win one adult's or one child's bike just ride the slide, then write your name, age, email and phone number on your wrist band. For further details, click here.

ARROWTOWN OUTDOOR POOL – TWO MORE WEEKS!
The 33m outdoor Arrowtown Memorial Pool is open for just two more weeks so enjoy it while you still can. It’s open from 11-1pm for lap swimming and 1pm-6pm for free time play. There’s also a grass area and covered BBQ that’s available to all pool users. Entry is free for Alpine Health & Fitness and Alpine Aqualand members. Day passes are available for $1.50/Child or $3/Adult – cash only. For further details click here.

QUEENSTOWN WATER POLO SESSIONS
Water Polo is back at Alpine Aqualand on Friday & Sunday nights until the end of March. Juniors Fridays 7.00-8.30pm & Seniors 7.45-9.00pm. Sunday Night Social Game 7.00-8.00pm for all ages. Entry is $10 night + $8/Adult or $3/ Child pool entry. For more details go to www.facebook.com/queenstownwaterpolo. Please note that during these times the lap pool is closed to other users – thanks for your patience and understanding.

LEARN TO SWIM CLASSES (Babies, Kids & Adults)
Swim Lessons are up and running at Alpine Aqualand and Wanaka Community Pool. Enrol your child in Term 1 lessons now and give them a skill for life! With drowning in New Zealand increasing by 41% during 2011 we can’t emphasise enough how important this skill is. Luckily, our school term swim classes have just started so it’s not too late! We cater to a wide range of abilities and age levels from babies and preschoolers through to school age kids and adults in both group and private lessons. To read more about the different classes and our free swim ability assessments, click here. Prices start at just $9.50 per child per lesson.

WANAKA POOL LANE AVAILABILITY
Lane swimming is closed to the public Monday to Friday from 3.30pm - 5.30pm until early April. This is due to five lane bookings by the Wanaka Swim Academy & Wanaka Community Swim School and the remaining lane space will be available for general usage. This is a trial arrangement for Term 1 and the situation will be reviewed prior to Term 2. Thank you to those that have provided us with feedback on this arrangement – we appreciate you taking the time to write to us to ensure we’re aware of all opinions.If you would like to do so, please click here.

WANAKA POOL AQUAFIT CLASSES
AquaFit class times are back to normal now that the school holiday period is over. The times are Mondays 8.00am-8.45am, Tuesdays 7.00pm-7.45pm, Wednesdays 8.00am-8.45am, Fridays 9.00am-9.45am. Free to members or $5pp non-member including pool entry. Questions? Call 03 443 9334

QUEENSTOWN KIDS’ TERM SPORT OPTIONS
All Sorts Sports - Designed to get 3-6 year old kids ready for team and individual sports by helping them develop fundamental motor skills, coordination and confidence through exciting and fun games. Term one covers eight different sports from touch rugby, athletics and tennis and focuses on skills such as passing, hitting, dribbling, running, catching, and jumping. $6 per session. Click here for details.
Kids Rock Climbing – Our fantastic instructors – Guillaume, Niall & Beth - are raring to teach your kids to climb! We’ve got five different lesson times available for 8+ year olds, including a new advanced kids climbing class. $10 per lesson. Click here for details.
To register email jendi@lakesleisure.co.nz  or call 03 450 9103.
Term bookings are preferred for the management of staff/student ratios.

SPARTAN CROSS TRAINING PROGRAMME
Want to increase your stamina, speed, power and agility and burn fat fast? Our next Spartan CrossTraining programme starts on Monday 27 February and 3 sessions per week for 5 weeks is guaranteed to get results! Our specific strength and conditioning program combines a variety of training techniques from weightlifting, sprinting and tractor tyres to battling ropes, polymeric and kettle bell training. $329 per person or $249 for Alpine Health & Fitness members. Want to achieve a higher level of fitness? Register for the next programme now!

CUT OUT FOR THRILLER IN THE CHILLER?
We are now calling for applicants for this winter’s Thriller in the Chiller event – a spectacular boxing event where 20 local people, chosen from a pool of 40, will step into the ring in front 1,500 people and put their chins on the line for a great local charity. Anyone can apply no matter how fit you are - girl or guy, boxer or novice. What matters is your commitment, your attitude and the spirit in which you are putting yourself forward. If you think you’ve got what it takes click here to download an application pack and come along to the info night on Sunday 6 March at 4.00pm at the Events Centre. Applications close Thursday 9 March at 5pm.

STEP UP KIDS & FAMILIIES DESERVE A PAT ON THE BACK
We’re very proud to say that nine local children aged between 9 and 14 have just stepped onto a new path towards a healthier lifestyle through a 12-week fully sponsored fitness, health and educational programme. These kids and their families all deserve a pat on the back for taking such an important step and we wish them all the best over the coming few months. You can do it kids! Lakes Leisure, NZSki and a host of Queenstown professionals are looking forward to giving these children and their parents a helping hand through this exciting new programme.

RPM STUDIO UPDATE
As you may have noticed, construction is now underway on our new RPM studio! It’s being built as a mezzanine floor above the free weights area at the gym’s far end and should ideally be completed by Easter/early April. It will be fitted out in a tiered movie theatre style, have 30 bikes permanently fitted and have an RPM specific sound system & light show! Once it’s complete we’ll have two group fitness timetables – one for each studio – and classes will still be free with your gym membership. Thanks for your patience & apologies for any inconvenience during the construction period – we’re trying to keep it to a minimum! If you’d like to view the visual concept designs you can do so here.

CHALLENGE WANAKA, COAST TO COAST & MASTERS GAMES
Congratulations to all the locals who competed at Challenge Wanaka, Coast to Coast & the Master Games recently. Special mentions must go to the following individuals:
- Andrea Lowry - Andie, who trains with the Aqualand Tri Squad, entered Challenge Wanaka as her first ironman distance triathlon. She managed to win the Female 20-29 category in 11h36m which is pretty incredible seeing as she considered herself only an average competitor!
- Dougal Allen – Congratulations to Dougal from Lakes Leisure’s Wanaka Pool for coming second in the Open Male category of the Coast to Coast Longest Day for the third year in a row. Despite feeling his best ever before the race, Dougal’s boat leaked mid-race which would have slowed him down considerably, poor bugger!
- Wynne Christie – Congrats to Wynne, aged 81 of Frankton, who won three gold medals in the Indoor Rowing event in the Over 80 category – you’re an inspiration to us all, Wynne!

PADDLE BOARDING
Want to give a go? Now you can! Small group lessons are now available every Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Frankton Beach from 7.00am. Sessions will focus on stroke & balance technique, confidence and gradually fitness. Group sizes will be limited to 3 Students : 1 Instructor to ensure you get the most from each session. $40 per person per one hour session - includes all equipment and instruction. For further information, contact Haylee from Southern Fitness on haylee@southernfitness.co.nz.

LAKES LEISURE SUPPORTS LOCAL COMMUNITY RECREATION
Are you a local community group who provides recreation opportunities to the community? If your objectives are consistent with our participation objectives we can offer you a 66% discount off the commercial venue hire rate! For more details, email Kylee Erickson in Queenstown or Hannah Faed in Wanaka to find out whether you’re eligible for these discounts.

VENUE CLOSURES
We have quite a few venue closures coming up at the Queenstown Events Centre between the end of February and mid-March with the Queenstown Home Show and the ANZA Trade Show. For the exact dates and details, click here.

Questions or comments? Reply to this email or comment on our Facebook page.