More ‘wired’ and more ‘tired’

Media Release
10 August 2001

More ‘wired’ and more ‘tired’

Recent research and insights from the NZ Hillary Commission is suggesting that the pace of life is increasing dramatically and ‘pause time’ has shrunk. Overall the time available for leisure is under stress - we are “more wired and tired”.

Family life is also increasingly under pressure as the demands of a seven day work week is intruding more into family time. With our growing consumer society we are beginning to expect service around the clock. This further adds to family stress if a parent is a shift worker, fighting the biological clock to work into the late hours of the evening or the early morning.

It becomes very easy for our energy levels to drop and relaxation and leisure to become something that is done from the couch by the remote control.

Add to that the increasing traffic congestion and urbanisation which means more and more people are looking for leisure activities close to home.

Manukau City Council’s leisure staff are aware of these trends and over the past few years have been adapting their services and facilities to meet peoples’ leisure needs.

Operations Manager, Brett Jude, says, “Our leisure facilities now are open extended hours into the evenings and weekends. Childcare services are an integral part of many of our centres and before and after school programmes operate from most centres.

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“Over the last decade we’ve combined separate pool and recreation centres to create ‘leisure centres’ where families can come and combine swimming, court and fitness activities at the same time and place.”

However Council is concerned that despite all these initiatives there is still a large proportion of the population that is not taking the opportunity to keep fit and keep healthier lifestyles.

Mr Jude says, “This month Council’s leisure centres are running a special promotion targeting shift workers, senior citizens, families and on ”green-prescriptions’ or needing to rehabilitate from an injury.

“New off-peak members (using the centres only between 11am- 3pm) are in a draw to win a weekend rental of a BMW Z3 roadster or one of 12 ‘all-day adventures’ with Manukau on the Move, Council’s outdoor recreation team.

“This promotion lasts until the end of August. We hope that the public will take advantage of a membership which can cost as little as a dollar a day. Council believes that the health and wellbeing of our residents is vital to a vibrant city with a high level of social wellbeing.”

There can no longer be “no ifs or butts” when it comes to exercising - look for the bright blue posters at Manukau City Council facilities – or contact your nearest leisure centre for details.

ENDS

Media Contact:
Gabrielle Hinton
Media Liaison
Corporate Communications
Manukau City Council
Phone : (09) 2628900 x 8650
Fax: (09) 2625759
Email: ghinton@manukau.govt.nz

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