COMMONWEALTH Games hopeful James Hickman swapped his swimming
trunks for a bus conductor's cap to encourage east Manchester
residents to take a dip. The swimming star, sponsored by the M.E.N,
joined them on the Activity Bus, a free service which runs from
Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Newton Heath and Miles Platting every
Monday and Saturday to the Aquatics Centre on Oxford Road. East
Manchester residents used to have to take two buses to get to the
stunning centre, where James is going for gold in 99 days time. But
now the centre is just one, free journey away for health-conscious
swimmers. James said: "It's a fantastic opportunity for people who
found it a bit hard to get to the centre. I think it's brilliant
and the more people in Manchester are encouraged to use the
Aquatics Centre, the better. "It is one of the best sporting
facilities in the city and certainly one of the best pools in the
country. There aren't a lot of pools to this standard in the UK and
it is great that it is in Manchester and that it is so accessible.
"The Activity Bus makes it even more accessible and is a superb
thing for the people of east Manchester to have. I suppose I might
be a bit biased, but swimming is a great sport for keeping fit -
it's non contact and uses the whole body. Anything that encourages
people to swim more has to be a good thing." The pilot scheme was
set up with the support of New Deal for Communities, Health
Promotion, Healthy Cities Initiative, Sport Action Zone and the
Aquatics Centre. New Deal's Roger Bysouth said: "The Activity Bus
is an excellent idea to help local residents get active." The bus
also travels to Heaton Park on Fridays. For more information
contact Activity Bus co-ordinator Richard Holford on 0161 203 4101
