Aberdeen City Council’s free Summer in the City 2022 programme delivered a wide variety of activities across the city for children and young people to participate in and have fun.        

Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen was a key delivery partner, providing 8,180 sessions overall at various venues throughout the city. Some of the activities included family swimming, ice skating, sand sledging, dodgeball, tennis and much more.

Of the 8,180 sessions provided, 393 spaces were specifically allocated to Afghan and Ukrainian refugees to be supported through the programme.  

Sport Aberdeen and WeToo! further strengthened their partnership this year by ensuring an exciting programme of sport and leisure activities were made available to individuals with additional support needs.

The partnership was so successful in 2021 that Sport Aberdeen and WeToo! scooped the Team of the Year accolade at the 2022 Celebrate Aberdeen Awards on Saturday 17 September.

This year, Sport Aberdeen also established a partnership with registered local charity Cfine – it provided more than 300 packed lunches for children taking part in full day activities throughout the summer.          

Any family living in Aberdeen or child attending a city school is eligible for the Summer in the City programme, however spaces for priority families most in need, as identified by Aberdeen City Council (ACC), are allocated first.

The feedback received from Sport Aberdeen’s activities was immensely positive.

A parent commented: “My daughter highly enjoyed the week and she spoke highly of the helpers. I would definitely recommend.”

Another commented: “My daughter had so much fun, won’t stop talking about it. Her favourite part was the sand sledging and going on the bus. She said the leaders were really friendly. Thank you!”

Another said: “My son really enjoyed the week-long sports camp at Get active @ Beach Leisure Centre. I will definitely be booking him in again next summer.”

Aberdeen City Council Education Convener Councillor Martin Greig said: “This has been a great example of working together for the benefit of young people. It is clear that much more can be achieved by joining forces in offering sport and other activities to individuals and families.

“The Council and Sport Aberdeen are already cooperating well and we should continue to build on the relationship and expand our partnership approach.”

“It is great to be able to offer children and families the opportunity to take part in a variety of free activities and have lots of fun whilst doing so.

“Along with our partners Aberdeen City Council, we value the importance of positively impacting the lives of our local young people through sport and physical activity, and the positive feedback received from families demonstrates exactly this.

“We also really look forward to continuing our successful collaborative work with WeToo!”

Graeme Dale, Head of Sport and Active Communities

Phionna McInnes, CEO at WeToo! said: “We are thrilled to have our work and continued partnership with Sport Aberdeen recognised with our Team of The Year award win at this year’s Celebrate Aberdeen Awards. 

“Embedding relaxed sessions within the community to widen accessibility to as many participants as possible sits very much within the ethos and values of both WeToo! and Sport Aberdeen as we learn, grow and develop the sessions together.”

With the October holidays fast approaching, there are loads of opportunities for children, young people and families to get active through the Autumn in the City programme. Sport Aberdeen has 2,306 sessions planned for Autumn in the City – 366 of these will be relaxed sessions designed for individuals with additional support needs, working in partnership with WeToo!

Find out more on Aberdeen City Council’s website here or on Sport Aberdeen’s website here.