Funding boost helps Middleton-in-Teesdale gym power ahead

POWERLIFTERS of the upper dale will be able to flex their muscles thanks to a grant-funded weights set.
Middleton-in-Teesdale Community Fitness Suite is now home to a bench press kit and a dozen dumbbells after the County Durham Foundation weighed in with £2,000.
Gym-goers were faced with long queues for the club’s only piece of equipment dedicated to weight training.
But six years on from its opening, Middleton Gym organisers have reinforced the floor in the weights room and given the décor a spruce up.
Committee member Malcolm Weet said: “We needed it. We bought it and we put it in. Everyone gave up their own time to do it – that’s what villages are about.”
Fitness suite organisers negotiated with Middleton Sport and Social Club to take over an additional room last year.
A new yoga suite has also received special treatment with fresh coats of paint and new carpets.
Mr Weet added: “It was just a side room in the past – in the past year we’ve come a long way. We’ve done the yoga room from our own resources.”
Qualified instructors are on hand at the gym with several volunteers trained in recent years.
Numbers of the gym committee are also strong for the time being but Mr Weet admitted volunteers for the adjoining Sport and Social Club were short on the ground.
He said: “We’ve got money in the bank but we need committee members. There are so many things that run on volunteers in the village and there are only so many people.”
Nevertheless, new equipment, projects and grants are in the pipeline. He added: “We’re using the concert room for circuit training – we’ve got a lot of equipment for that.
“We’re going to get another bit of equipment for in here and we’re also seeking funding to get access to the gym for disabled people.
“We’ve also had a grant from the village bookshop to decorate the concert room.”
The gym room will be officially opened to coincide with the club’s six year anniversary next month.
Mr Weet is also looking to source clay for the club’s would-be quoits pitch.
If anyone can help with the quoits pitch, call Mr Weet on 01833 640109.