Gwangju Nam-gu to Open Bandabi Sports Center from Next Month 1st

The Bandabi Sports Center in Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, is set to welcome facility users starting from the 1st of next month, and even before its official opening, applications for monthly memberships have been lining up, signaling a happy start.

Nam-gu, Gwangju, announced on the 27th, "We are conducting final inspections to provide the best service to Bandabi Sports Center users," adding, "Since it was built as the finest facility in South Korea, we are thoroughly preparing for the opening to ensure the highest satisfaction among facility users."

Nam-gu has been meticulously conducting a three-week temporary operation test of the entire facility since the 11th, ahead of the official opening.

So far, in terms of hardware operation of the facilities, including the swimming pool, fitness center, gymnasium for badminton, table tennis, and boccia, as well as the multipurpose room, users have given passing marks.

Notably, from the 11th to the 22nd, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, a total of 3,881 residents visited the sports center.

On average, about 388 people have been steadily visiting daily, with a high proportion using the swimming pool and fitness center.

After the opening, the Bandabi Sports Center is expected to be even more crowded.

Recruitment for sports categories, health lectures, and hobby programs began on the 20th, and some sports categories have been so active that they exceeded capacity within three days of registration.

At Bandabi Sports Center, sports activities can be used in two forms: daily and monthly memberships.

There are six sports: swimming, aqua aerobics, fitness, badminton, table tennis, and boccia. Classes such as early morning basic swimming, office worker basic swimming, aqua aerobics, and swimming classes for disabled elementary, middle, and high school students have already reached full capacity.

Additionally, to promote exercise for the disabled, specialized swimming classes have been established, with early closures noted for the severe rehabilitation class, adult special class, and children’s special class, which is also noteworthy.

Various programs conducted for adults and disabled persons in the health lecture room and hobby room operate on a monthly membership basis.

They offer 12 programs including diet dance, Zumba, yoga, Pilates, adult ballet, rattan craft, calligraphy, hand-drip coffee, hanji craft, fabric art, kids ballet + swimming, and musical jump rope + swimming.

It has been identified that 608 residents applied for monthly memberships from the 20th to the 25th to use sports categories and various programs.

A Nam-gu official stated, "Bandabi Sports Center will be a symbolic place not only for promoting disabled sports but also for uniting disabled and non-disabled people," adding, "We will do our best to operate the Bandabi Sports Center to ensure no inconvenience to facility users."