News

After three months operating in the heart of Christchurch, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre has racked up over 360,000 visits.

It’s time to paw-ty once again – the Pooch Pool Party is back for one day only this month.

Parakiore is officially the new home of the Canterbury Rams and Mainland Pouākai basketball teams.

The start of the school year is the perfect time to learn to swim – whether you are a child or an adult that never had the opportunity.

Whizz down a hydroslide, shoot some hoops or relax in the sauna – from 5.30am on Wednesday 17 December, people will be able to do it all (and more) at New Zealand’s largest indoor sport and recreation venue. 

Lyttelton Primary will be the first school to take on the hydroslides at Parakiore.

Christchurch City Council is kickstarting the summer season this weekend with the opening of its five outdoor summer pools and eight paddling pools.

Get amongst the fun and join our manu competition this summer to win prizes and become the Christchurch City Council manu champion!

Grab your friends and whānau, and pack your togs, towel and sunscreen - our summer pool parties are back, and you're in for a treat!

Construction of New Zealand’s largest indoor sport and recreation centre is complete.

Weddings, kids’ birthdays, meetings, sports practices – Christchurch City Council’s 272 bookable spaces and places can host them all, and booking is now easier than ever.

With the doors of New Zealand’s largest indoor sport and recreation venue set to open before the end of the year, the 2026 calendar is already filling up with national competitions and events.

A key part of Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre’s leisure water area has come to life with water flowing through the huge water adventure playground for the first time.

Customers of Christchurch City Council’s recreation and sport services will see changes to some fees and charges next month.

The centre will close temporarily from Tuesday 7 April.

Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre is edging closer to completion, with two major milestones now ticked off—the installation of the Show Courts and the filling of the competition and dive pools.

Exercise is an antidote to aging - That’s the motto of Paula Barrett who at 80 years old teaches three fitness classes a week at Christchurch City Council’s Pioneer Sport and Recreation Centre.

Sinks are being sliced, custom-made hand pumps are being cast, and bubbling tubes are being illuminated as bespoke features for New Zealand’s first Aquatic Sensory Experience take shape in Christchurch.

They grow up so fast – Matatiki Hornby Centre celebrated its first birthday last week, and the figures show it’s had a bumper year.

Kristina Wischnowsky isn’t your regular personal trainer. She’s a coach, a counsellor, a cheerleader, and offers a safe space for people on their fitness journey.

Learn to Swim pool, gym, group fitness, customer experience and Southern Centre will all reopen from Monday 3 February.

If you were in the UK in the early 1990s you might know Rob Bone from the BBC’s Good Morning Show.

Read about Personal Trainer, Stu Dallow's, health and wellness journey.

Thousands of Special Olympics athletes, coaches, families and fans will be taking over Christchurch during the National Summer Games one year from today.

Aroha, passion and ‘just really good at what he does’ are some of the terms used to describe Christchurch City Council’s Ben Rzoska.

Swimming veteran Noel Saxton swims to keep fit, stay social and break records.

Soak up the sun and cool off this summer at Christchurch’s outdoor pools.

New Zealand divers will soon be on a level playing field with their international counterparts, as the assembly of the state-of-the-art dive pool and tower is now underway at Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.

Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre will undergo a multi-staged closure so that scheduled maintenance and refurbishment work can be carried out.

Around $90,000 in annual savings will be generated by new solar panels at Matatiki Hornby Centre.

Work on one of New Zealand’s most versatile indoor court spaces is nearing completion, with 3500 metres of line markings now painted on the floor at Christchurch’s under construction Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.

Rush, jump, slip, slide, biff and bash your way through our inflatable obstacle course during the school holidays!

A significant milestone for aquatics infrastructure in the South Island has been reached, with construction of the 50-metre competition pool now underway at Christchurch’s Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.

If you saw the Olympics recently, you might’ve seen thrusts, spins and flexibility moves gracing the pool, perfectly in time to music.

When 70-year-old Barb Henderson moved to Christchurch a year ago to be closer to family, she wasn’t planning on becoming the city’s oldest lifeguard.

There’s a new, sensory play space on the block at Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre.

How the hundreds of play spaces in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula are used and what people want for their future will be uncovered through a new network plan.

The Olympic Games may be underway in Paris, but in Christchurch court flooring of the same calibre is being installed at Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.

Christchurch teenager Gaby Smith dipped her toes into the water for the first time at three months old.

One of the largest planting projects in central Christchurch is underway.

Save the date! Christchurch’s newest pool, library and service centre is set to open for use from 3pm on Friday 19 April.

The Hornby Residents' Association and Hornby Rotary have pulled out all the stops this year in their mission to raise $1.4million for the Matatiki hydrotherapy pool.

It's been another big year at Matatiki Hornby Centre. The final push is on for the year as we round the corner on the final stretch of the construction phase of project.

Recruitment for around 50 roles at the new Matatiki Hornby Centre is in full swing.

Jen Baen-Price started lifeguarding in 2008, with her first season at Waltham Pool.

Yoga and Pilates is getting an overhaul. With our new booking system in place, we've made a few changes to our Yoga and Pilates courses and Stretch & Release class to make things simpler and to offer better value.

Revl Everest is a 35-minute, high intensity group training class which offers circuit-style, full-body strength and conditioning workouts to upbeat, uplifting and motivational music.

The Christchurch City Council Swim Education team have become the first organisation in New Zealand to achieve accreditation as a Water Skills for Life provider, for their Swimsafe programme.

Community groups raising funds for a new hydrotherapy pool for the Hornby community have received a $400,000 grant from New Zealand Community Trust.

The realisation of a new major movement arts centre in Christchurch – called the MOVE centre – is a step closer, with local organisation Human Performance Incorporated announced as the operator of the new Parakiore studios.

There are many benefits to be gained from regular stretching. For best results, it’s good to have an understanding of the two types of stretching.

We've all been told before how important our core muscles are to our health - better posture and reduced back pain. The good news is it's never too late to start improving your core strength.

Local rūnanga Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri has gifted a special name – Parakiore – to the Metro Sports Facility.

Five eel-inspired hydroslides have begun to reveal themselves at Christchurch’s Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, with installation work now under way.

The new Matatiki: Hornby Centre currently under construction in the city’s south-west will continue to be delivered to scope in spite of challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues.

Ngāi Tūāhuriri has gifted a special name – Matatiki – for the $39.9 million community facility that Christchurch City Council is building in Hornby.

Christchurch City Council is looking for an operator to lease the new cafe within the Matatiki: Hornby Centre, which is currently under construction in Kyle Park.

Swimming is a great skill and activity for people of all ages, it is never to late to learn or to get back into it.

Passionate about swimming and the water? There are plenty of sports or groups you can get involved in if you love the water.

The earlier a child is introduced to water the more likely they are of becoming water confident. Introduce your child to water in the familiar surroundings of their own home or local pool.

Drowning is more likely to occur when a child is out of reach or sight of a parent or caregiver, therefore constant supervision is the only real way of ensuring a child’s safety.

Misconceptions about weight lifting are common. The truth is that everyone could benefit from adding weight training into their exercise routine.

Check out some simple tips to keep fit and overcome low motivation levels.

Gym and Gym & Pool members are entitled to a free personal fitness programme.

The benefits in the short and long term are worth you finding the 30-60 minutes of exercise a day.

Here are some tips on how you can kickstart your fitness journey.

Participating in group fitness helps to motivate and push you further than exercising alone - here's why.

Starting out on your fitness journey can be daunting but don't forget everyone was a beginner once.

If you are starting to run outside or in the gym here are a few vital tips to help your performance.

Getting involved in Surf Life Saving is the best way of getting to know the risks so you and your family can enjoy the sun, sea and surf safely.

Aqua fitness is a highly effective total body workout with the benefit of being low impact.

Your whole whānau can enjoy these fun sensory activities with simple items you have around home.

Your whole whānau can enjoy these fun sensory activities with simple items you have around home.

Your whole whānau can enjoy these fun sensory activities with simple items you have around home.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

Interactive equipment and a relaxed pace of play is what makes the Southern Centre's multi-sensory experience so special.

What's better? In short, the answer is that a combination is best.

Movement is essential in the first five years of our lives for building critical pathways in the brain. We’ve created a collection of fun activities you can do at home to support this development.

It's easy for the stresses of everyday life to impact your mood. Find out which methods work for you in this wellbeing article series.