General Manager of theTadworth Leisure Centre

Gareth Spencer leads the team at the Tadworth Leisure Centre, one of the largest of the 258 sports centres operated by Better, the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering leisure, health and community services.

As a student he started his leisure career as a part-time lifeguard at the Dorking Sports Centre and also worked at Leatherhead Leisure Centre. He joined Better in 2005 and has worked as Assistant Centre Manager at The Rainbow Leisure Centre in Epsom and General Manager at The Phoenix Fitness Centre and Janet Adegoke Swimming Pool in White City, Shepherds Bush.

He moved to Tadworth in 2018 and worked with John Webb (who has now retired), who was the manager of the old leisure centre and coordinated the transfer to the new building which opened in 2015.

Gareth is 41 and lives in Ashtead with his five-year-old daughter. As would be expected, he is a keen sportsman. Whenever he can spare the time, he can be found on the golf course. In his youth he was a competitive dingy sailor, competing Nationally and Internationally for Great Britain.

He is proud of his team and the service they provide to the local community. They have 2,500 prepaid members and 1,500 children attend the swim school. Although the last two years have been difficult with the centre being closed during the lock-down periods, it is now back to normal and as busy as ever.

He is particularly keen to promote his new “Spin Studio,” stationary bikes considered one of the best ways to improve cardio fitness. He says, “We have recently installed 15 bikes and they have been an instant success. We hope to increase the number soon.” He also plans to introduce “Taster Sessions” to increase the awareness and value of this type of exercise.

Working with the community is also important to him and his team. “We’ve organised free access to our football pitches to the under 16s on Monday and Wednesday evenings supervised by a professional coach”.

Gareth is clearly leading a great team and a successful leisure centre. Find out more here or call in – there’s also a nice café for a cup of coffee whilst you are there.