April is shaping up to be a busy month for us at Oriam and for our communities, with celebrations, holidays and spring activities around Edinburgh. We wish a Happy Easter and Eid Mubarak to all of you celebrating Easter or Eid-al-fitr with family and friends this month. We have plenty of classes and activities available for you to enjoy with friends. April is also Stress Awareness Month, for many, this time of year can be stressful with exam season fast approaching, work deadlines and Edinburgh school holidays. Remember to take time for yourself to breathe, relax and reset your goals. Read on for more details on our highlights for this month to help you make the most of your free time.
Stress Awareness Month
Tips and support for your wellbeing
April marks the start of exam season for both school and university students, often a stressful time for them and their friends and families. This month is Stress Awareness Month so we have asked the Heriot-Watt Active Wellbeing team about their top tips to help manage stress. These are useful daily skills for both work and studies, read the full article here.
If you do need some extra support during a stressful time, there are many resources out there for mental health support. You can visit our charity partners at Back Onside with mental health resources and emergency support.
Tennis Programme is Growing!
Our Tennis Programme is continuing throughout the Edinburgh and Lothians April Holidays and we have some exciting new developments arriving for the programme this month. Our Tennis Classes have been very popular since launching at the start of the year, so our class options are now expanding: introducing colour group levels one and two, with extra classes added too! This is so our coaches can ensure every class can continue to be tailored to the players age and ability and maintain the small class sizes, maximising coaching time for each participant.
Existing class participants will be informed of any movement between classes and there are spaces available for new starters too! Go to our Minis and Juniors Tennis page for more class details.
Oriam Youth Development Programme
Applications now open for aspiring young athletes
Our Youth Development Programme has been growing from strength to strength and applications are now open for the next block. This is a fantastic programme designed for young aspiring athletes aged 12 - 15, in each session participants will learn new strength and resistance training skills within the gym alongside theory and developing their own personal training programme all with expert guidance from our Sports Scientist, Vicky.
Clinic Hip and Knee Support
Are you due to undergo surgery or treatment for your hips or knees? Our Clinic team are now offering a comprehensive package for post surgery rehabilitation and recovery for hips and knees. This is a unique package which includes an initial post-op home visit and a full recovery programme including, clinic based physio treatments, group gym sessions held in our strength and conditioning gym and hydrotherapy sessions in our onsite hydro-pool. Find out more about our Clinic services on our Clinic webpage.
Sports Union head to the finals
As the end of semester approaches, the Sports Union competition season is wrapping up with some exhilarating final matches.
Let's start with the big Watt Cup on Wednesday March 27th where our Sports Union Clubs go head to head as Yellow vs Blue. There will be a showcase of great sport across our facilities for the full day and spectators are encouraged to pick a colour and cheer your team on.
The Heriot-Watt Squash team made it to the Big BUCS Final in Loughborough on 20th March, making history as the first team to ever make the BUCS National Finals for Heriot-Watt University. They missed out on the win but a massive achievement just to be there. Our Heriot-Watt Men's Football team are heading for the Semi-Finals in their league and several players have been called up to the Scottish Universities National Football Team.
Easter Holiday Activities
Extra Inflatable Fun sessions this April
April School Holidays are fast approaching! Looking for something to keep the kids active? We have added extra Inflatable sessions throughout the school break.
Book your child's space on our Oriam App, Online or at Reception.
Tennis Classes will be continuing as normal throughout the holidays however the Mini Multi-Sports and Multi Rackets will be taking a two week break from 1st - 12th April (inclusive)
Let's Play Pickleball
Pay as you Play Pickleball now available at Oriam
In case you missed it, we have added Pickleball to our Pay as You Play options. This is a fun and accessible racquet sport which is rapidly growing in popularity across the world. At Oriam you will be able to play Pickleball on our badminton courts in Sports Hall One and racquets and balls are available to hire at Reception for a small fee.
Head to our Instagram page to get some top tips from Jack on how to get started on pickleball.
Summary
Here's a round-up of everything we have planned at Oriam for April. New Classes, activities and more coming for spring 2024.