Blacktown Lesiure Centre

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Despite its name this amazing leisure centre is located in Stanhope Gardens. This is a very pretty suburb with very pretty houses and parks. Directly across the Road from Stanhope Shopping Village which has a Coles, Kmart, Terry White Chemist, a post office and other speciality shops is this centre that has everything you could wish for and more.


This centre contains a pool, a swim school, a sauna, a spa, a physiotherapist, a gym, a crèche, meetings rooms, Vacation care, courts to hire, function room, kid's parties, dancing lessons and wait for it, even a library. So let me explain the different aspects of this fantastic place that really does have something for everyone.



Dennis Johnson Library:

This cute library may be small but it still has great books, computers and meeting rooms. This library is unique, it is not your normal library. This is the only library that I have been to that has people in wet swimming costumes. Yes, dripping, towels, the whole bit. This may sound strange but it is in the same building as the swimming pool, so not so strange after all.

I remember being in this library once and my mobile rang. I was so embarrassed thinking how rude it was because I was in a library. So I quickly put it onto silent and ignored the call. As I went to put the phone back in my bag a staff member said that he loved my ringtone. I thought he was being sarcastic so I apologised for my rudeness. When I went to check out my books I apologised to him again and he laughed and told me 'don't worry, it's not that type of library'. I looked around at school kids lounging on armchairs eating hot chips and other kids dripping wet and I could see what he meant. But that is part of the reason this place is so good.

The library has your normal computers, self check out, books and DVD's but it also has a youth hub, meeting rooms that can be hired, baby rhyme time sessions, a toy library, courses and competitions, a photocopier and even a drive through book drop off. I have been to the rhyme times, they are held in one of the meeting rooms and they are really good. They read a story, sing songs with actions and even let the children use musical instruments. It does get really packed though so you need to get there early.

The Youth Hub has comfy arm chairs and ottomans, computers and games. There is a small section where you can sit and study and they have 18 computers available for you to use and you can book one to ensure you get it. The staff are very nice and really helpful. The library has a large display window that can be seen from outside the centre. They change this regularly and it's fun to see what they will put up next. I remember one time last year they had a display of things people had made out of cardboard. It was truly amazing. They had houses, boats, temples and even castles made from cardboard. They looked like sand sculptures almost, they were that good.

The best part of this library has to be the drive-through book drop off. Yes, they have a separate driveway where you can drive your car right up to the slot to take back your borrowed books, slide them in and drive off. This means avoiding the roundabout that leads into the centre car park and not having to find a parking spot or even walk in. It's great, especially if you have kids in the car.





The Fitness Studio and sports centre:

They have a fully equipped gym named the Fitness Studio. It has heaps of machines and TVs. You can work out on your own or in a class. All members will get a personalised assessment and their fitness consultants are friendly and on hand to give you any help or advice. As you walk out though you are in full view of everyone walking past to go to sports rooms and the pool. Just past the fitness centre are courts you can hire to play basketball, netball, etc.

The pool:

This swimming centre is modern, has lots of parking, lots of different pools and it's all indoors and heated. Heated means swimming all year round, rain, hail shine. No need for hats or sunscreen, it's perfect for the family. It has one 25 metre pool, one slightly smaller pool, one round medium pool with a sprinkler in the centre for toddlers and preschoolers, two little baby pools, and another two fountains/ sprinklers in the wave pool. Yes, they have a wave generator for an indoor pool, how cool is that? It is the only indoor wave pool in Sydney.

Huge speakers from the ceiling sometimes play music and a cool horn sounds with a funky tune to indicate that it is wave time and all the kids come running like crazy. This makes this pool extremely popular. There are lap lanes with a walking lane, a slow swimming lane and a fast swimming lane. They also have heaps of lockers, an outdoor picnic area, family change rooms, full disability access, a spa, a sauna, a cafe, a creche and even a physio. The deepest pool is only 1.5 metres so it is not suitable for diving and unfortunately there is no 50 metre pool. At times the cafe could have more people serving as you see the same couple of people run to two different counters but these are the only negatives.


The staff are all very well trained and they do observe but as they indicate throughout the centre children must be supervised by their caregiver at all times. They have a First aid room and once when I was there I saw a child with a bleeding toe, a staff member took him to his mum and got help straight away.

Surfees Swim School:
This swim school really is one of the very best. They won swim school of the year in 2004, 2007 and 2008, and they also won swim teacher awards in 2009, 2010 and 2012. The teachers are friendly and enthusiastic, even when singing the same songs and doing the same routine for hours. I applaud their patience. You can really tell that they are passionate about what they do and are really well trained. They have individual lessons for any age or group swimming lessons which are cheaper and fun. The cost of group swimming lessons is about $110 for a school term and they break for school holidays.


For all types of sports, swimming, relaxation, books and fun this place has it all. There is something for literally everyone. Come for a full day out, bring the whole family, even the adults enjoy the waves. This centre really is amazing. You must see it. As you can probably imagine it is super busy in the school holidays. No guesses why.


Come and have a visit, a swim, some lunch, a workout and a look at some books all under the one roof.

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