Day: July 28, 2022

Springboard into diving

Diving taster sessions at the Royal Commonwealth Pool

With Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games kicking off today, with diver James Heatly who trains at the Royal Commonwealth Pool with coach Jen Leeming, taking part, Edinburgh Leisure is on the hunt for the next generation of divers.

For those who have been inspired by divers such as James Heatly, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (daughter of Fred!), Tom Daley and Matty Lee, Edinburgh Leisure is offering the opportunity for children to come and try diving with their Performance Diving Coaches at the Royal Commonwealth Pool to see if they have a talent for the sport.

Children should be between 5 and 16 years old, able to swim 10 metres unaided, confident in deep water and submerge in water without googles.  No experience in necessary as they will be learning basic skills but those interested in gymnastics, trampolining, acrobatics or similar sports might enjoy this opportunity to try a new sport.

The diving taster sessions cost £3 at the Royal Commonwealth Pool are offered on:

Monday, 8th – Friday, 12 August at 15.00 – 15.25 and 15.30 – 15.55.

To secure a place, interested people should click visit the Edinburgh Leisure website to book:  

https://edinburghleisure.bookinglive.com/home/holiday-dive-coaching

Edinburgh Leisure offers a world class diving programme at their diving pool at the Royal Commonwealth Pool, complete with a dedicated Dry Dive Area with trampolines and harnesses, which enables more experienced divers to practice the twists and turns before trying them out on the boards. Their diving programme follows the National Diving Award Scheme right through to competitive level.

Athletes training at the Royal Commonwealth Pool include local Edinburgh boy, James Heatly (GB) and Yona Knight-Wisdom (Jamaica). Grace Reid, who grew up in the capital, previously trained at the Commie.

For more information:   https://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/activities/dive

Environmental campaigners call for action this Earth Overshoot Day

Today (28 July) marks Earth Overshoot Day – the day when humanity’s demand for ecological resources exceeds what the Earth can generate that year. In Scotland, our consumption of materials is more than double our fair share of the Earth’s resources.

Scotland’s material footprint is 18 tonnes per person. Experts suggest that we can live sustainable, high quality lives with eight tonnes per person, by moving to a circular economy where materials are reused and recycled as much as possible.

The Scottish Government is currently planning a law to support the creation of a circular economy in Scotland, where materials are properly valued and cycled around our economy for longer by increasing recycling, reusing and repairing.

Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It’s shocking and distressing that we’ve reached Earth Overshoot Day so early in the year. Scotland is not doing nearly enough to reduce our use of materials to sustainable levels. We need to make significant changes to the way we use materials – and fast.

“Right now, we have the opportunity to create a  future within planetary limits with the introduction of a new circular economy law. Targets to reduce our consumption to sustainable levels must be at the heart of the new law. The Scottish Government must be bold and embed circularity throughout all of Scotland’s  economic sectors and every level of government.”

Find out more about what Friends of the Earth Scotland wants to see in the circular economy law and share your views at www.act.foe.scot/circulareconomy