Who are Leanne and Chloe?

Leanne in her twenties, living with her parents and her daughter Carly in a small terraced house. She is studying beauty therapy part-time at college, and does the odd cleaning job when her mum can look after Carly. Unsurprisingly, Leanne doesn’t get much time to herself. Juggling Carly, college and her cleaning shifts is demanding and childcare is expensive. That said, a couple of times a week Leanne treats herself to a night out with the girls, at bingo or sometimes heads to the local pub.

Leanne relies on her mum and girlfriends helping her out. Her mates often come with her to the swimming pool at the weekend and are really good with Carly.

One of Leanne’s best friends is Chloe. Chloe is also in her twenties and works in HR for a large firm. She shares a house with friends. Without the pressures of family or a mortgage, Chloe likes to spend her income on clothes, nights out and holidays with friends.

Chloe attends fitness classes a couple of times a week and likes to swim with Leanne and Carly. At weekends, Chloe likes to go for a big night out, including a nice meal and a few drinks with her friends.

Chloe is reasonably health conscious, watching what she eats and exercising to stay trim. She is always pestering Leanne to come to exercise classes with her.

How did they hear about Ball Again?

Just after Easter, Leanne received a direct mail out from her local leisure centre describing the programme of activities on offer over the spring/summer period. She normally just had a quick look at the pool opening times but a bright pink logo caught her eye and she read about a new basketball programme, for women only, starting at the leisure centre.

Why Ball Again?

Leanne’s mum was always at home at the time of week Ball Again was scheduled for and she was able to make it in time after her cleaning shift. Exercising did not generally appeal to Leanne but the way the sessions were described sounded more like a night out with the girls. Despite having never played basketball before, mindful of Chloe’s constant nagging, she picked up the phone and suggested they go. Chloe had always been pretty good at a variety of sports and, although like Leanne she’d never played before, she was willing to give anything a try and thought that her participation would encourage her friend.

What have they particularly enjoyed about Ball Again?

Chloe is simply pleased that something has motivated Leanne to get some exercise! Leanne herself has found that not only has she begun to feel more confident about the way she looks as a result of taking regular exercise but she was actually enjoying it – as much for the fact that she was socialising with similar women as for the basketball itself. Even better, on those rare occasions when Leanne’s mum was busy, the centre provided an excellent crèche and, due to her involvement in Ball Again, she got a huge discount on the already reasonable cost. As well as attending Ball Again sessions, Chloe has now joined a local club.