Frequently Asked Questions

If you can not activate your account after following our online joining process, this may be due to one of the following reasons;

Your personal details are incorrect or your email address is not registered on our system, this will happen if;

• We have not received confirmation of your enrolment from the University
• You have previously changed your email address which differs to the email address you are trying to re-set your password with
• You did a different course at the University previously, as your original student email address will remain on our system
• You are a Loughborough College Student

Please contact the sport memberships team and provide the following information for us to locate your account and assist;

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Mobile Number
• Student/Staff ID
• University/College Email address

All new members will need to sign up for an account. To use our facilities on a casual basis please join as a Pay as You Go member for free. If you believe you have a registered account but can not activate this, please contact sportmemberships@lboro.ac.uk and provide the following information for us to locate your account and provide assistance;

• Full name
• Date of Birth
• Mobile number

If you fall under our affiliate category, please ensure that you also send us proof of eligibility to reactivate your discount price.

To gain access through the barriers using your phone on our Check In tiles at Holywell, Powerbase, the Swimming Pool and HiPAC, please ensure that you have done the following;

• Booked a session in the facility, the gates will not open unless a valid booking is present.
• Logged into the Lboro Sport app with your credentials.
• Update the Lboro Sport app to the latest version in the App Store and Google Play. Please note the minimum iOS requirement as of December 2023 is version 15. 

If the app is charging you have an activity, please check the following;

• Your membership includes access to the activity you are trying to book at no additional charge
• You are logged into the Lboro Sport app with your credentials.
• Update the Lboro Sport app to the latest version in the App Store and Google Play.

*Recent app updates now allow for members to book guests into classes. You will now see the guest price displayed on the booking page, however, if you are booking for yourself and hold a membership which includes classes this price will change to £0 once you add it to the basket and check out. 

If you do not receive an email within 5 minutes of submitting the password request form, the following may apply;

Your email address is not registered on our system, this will happen if;

• We have not received confirmation of your enrolment from the University
• You have previously changed your email address to the email address you are trying to re-set your password with
• You did a different course at the University previously, as your original student email address will remain on our system

This message will display when an attempt to purchase has been made but payment was not taken.

To pay;

• Go to the homescreen of the Lboro Sports app
• Select the tile titled My Account
• Select the tile titled Bills & Payments
• Log in if required 
• The unpaid membership subscription will display in the Bills section
• Select the outstanding membership and follow the on screen instructions to proceed to payment

You can join Powerbase by purchasing the Gold membership option online or via the Loughborough Sport App. If you are yet to download the app, please do, as all activities, including gym and pool sessions, are bookable through the app.

Those who can access Powerbase are:

• current Loughborough University students
• current Loughborough College students
• alumni of Loughborough University
• current Loughborough University staff
• Key affiliates to Loughborough Sport

Unfortunately if you do not qualify through one of these groups, it is not possible to join Powerbase at a Gold member, but you can join Holywell Fitness Centre by purchasing a Silver membership which is open to everyone in the community.

Complete access to our wide ranging fitness class programme is included with your gold membership. Members can sign up to classes in our studios at both the Sir David Wallace sports hall and Holywell Fitness Centre. You will need to book classes in advance to secure your place on all sessions.

Powerbase is a recognised Elite Training Centre, home to many of the country's leading athletes including current and future Olympians and Paralympians. This means you get access to the same world-class gym used by these athletes, however, to facilitate their training, other members cannot access the same side(alternating between Power and Base) from 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-15:30 Monday to Friday and will have the option to only book on the other side (either Power or Base) or alternatively can use Holywell Fitness Centre during these times.

A multi-million pound extension opened in 2023 creates a new combined space of 3,200m², making it one of the world's largest elite strength and conditioning environments.  There are now two sides, POWER and BASE. You must book into one side or the other and train within the side you have booked. When entering Powerbase you will find POWER through the left turnstiles and BASE through the far right turnstiles. 

Holywell Fitness Centre is open to everyone!

You can join Holywell by purchasing the Silver membership option online or via the Loughborough Sport App. If you are yet to download the app, please do, as all activities, including gym and pool sessions are bookable through the app. You can also attend Holywell on a pay as you go basis. 

Your Silver membership does not give you access to Powerbase, you would need to upgrade to a Gold membership, however please note that you must be eligible to obtain a Gold membership.

Complete access to our wide ranging fitness class programme is included with your Holywell membership. Members can sign up to classes in our studios at both the Holywell Fitness Centre and Sir David Wallace sports hall. You will need to book classes in advance to secure your place on all sessions.

Access to our gym floor class programme (including Myzone) is included with your Holywell membership. You will need to book classes in advance to secure your place on all sessions.

No, your Silver membership allows you to access Loughborough University Swimming Pool during public swim sessions.

Face coverings are no longer mandatory, however please be respectful and mindful of those users who wish to continue to wear a face covering.

We will continue to limit the number of people in our gyms at the same time, but capacities have been significantly expanded from 2020/21 to give members more opportunities to train. You can check the app to see how many places are available and how many people are currently there / plan to be there.

We have also increased the number of places available across all lanes in public swim times, either lane or recreational swims, to 60.

Across other sports facilities, capacities are back to the operational limits dependent on the space and activity.

Yes, you must book all sports facilities in advance. The easiest way to do this is through our Loughborough Sport app or online through our web portal. 

Please do not overstay the time of your allocated training slot. This is very important to ensure your safety, however, back-to-back bookings can now be made if it looks like your training will run over and there are available spaces. Action will be taken against repeat offenders who are in the gym and haven't booked a space.

Please cancel your gym or pool training session in the app if you can’t attend. You must cancel a minimum of 1 hour before the start time. Again actions, including fines, will be taken against repeat offenders as late cancellations and no shows deprive other members of the opportunity to train.

For organised student activity across all other sports facilities, you will also need to book your session via the Loughborough Sport app, and are generally available to book 24 hours in advance. This includes sessions for AU Clubs, Performance Programmes, IMS and My Lifestyle.

Members will book into a session for a defined period, however, back-to-back bookings can be made to extend training times up to 2 hours. Members can also make multiple bookings at 2 separate times across the day. This hopefully allows every member the opportunity to meet their training needs but also provide the opportunity for all members to train every day.

Gyms will be accessible as normal via the turnstiles, however, members will only be granted access to the gym if they have booked their slot on the Loughborough Sport app. The app has a Check in / out feature which you can use at the turnstiles, or a membership card can be used for access should you not wish to use your mobile device. 

From September 1st, 2023 access to our Athletics Centre will only be available with a Gold membership or on a Pay-As-You-Go basis. 

• If you have a current fixed term Silver or Bronze Membership (3 or 12 months), you will continue to be able to access on the terms of the membership you purchased up until the end date; however, upon the end of your current membership in 2023/24, you will need to upgrade to a Gold Membership for continued access.

• If you have a monthly Silver or Bronze Membership paid by direct debit, you will be able to access until 31 August 2023 but the terms of your membership will change from 1 September.  To access the Athletics Centre from this point you will need to upgrade to a monthly Gold Membership.

• If you are a member of the community who is not eligible for a Gold Membership or Loughborough Sport Athletics Partner status, access to Open Public Sessions will continue to be available on a PAYG basis at £4.50 a session with discounts available for Loughborough Sport Purple, Bronze and Silver Members.

• If you have a current Gold Membership, either fixed term or pay by monthly direct debit, please note you will need to be in the AU Athletics Club or granted Loughborough Sport Athletics Partner status to access outside of Open Public Sessions.

Refunds for memberships cannot be made within facilities. All refund requests need to be placed in writing by the membership holder. This can be done by completing the online cancellation request form HERE or by emailing sportmemberships@lboro.ac.uk.

Please allow up to 7 working days to receive a response, to allow us time to review your request and assess eligibility.

Note - Reinbursements will not be refunded to members who are eligible for a discount as an Affiliate to Loughborough Sport after purchasing a membership prior to having their account status updated from community.

No.

If you can no longer use the gym, refunds will only be granted for medical conditions supported by a doctor’s letter or a leave of absence form from the University.

To be eligible for a refund for a membership paid upfront, the below criteria must be met:

• The membership was purchased within 14 days of the cancellation request being submitted.
• You are withdrawing from your studies or employment at Loughborough University - a signed and confirmed leave of absence letter from the University will be required to support the refund request.
• You are currently unable to exercise due to medical reasons - a signed doctor's letter will be required to support the refund request, stating your name and a full explanation of why you are not able to train; we cannot except letters that are dated prior to the date your membership was purchased.

Those that are eligible to receive a refund, will be informed of the amount they are entitled to receive, after administration and usage fees are deducted.

If the cancellation request has been made within 14 days of the date of purchase and no service has been used in relation to that membership, no additional fees will be applied to the refund.

If a service has been used, members will be charged on a pay as you go basis for each gym, track, pool and / or class use. This will be capped at the monthly fee for that membership (e.g a Silver gym membership of £30 per month or Gold gym membership of £40 per month).  This total charge will be subtracted from the price paid.

All refunds granted 14 days after the date of purchase, will incur a £20 administration fee plus a usage fee. For annual / academic year memberships deductions will be calculated through applying the monthly fee for that membership (e.g. Silver membership of £30 per month or Gold membership of £40 per month) to the period of membership used and subtracting from the price paid.

Please be aware that refunds may take up to 6 - 8 weeks during peak times University admission periods, August - October and January.

Online and in person card payments usually take up to 7 working days during non-peak periods and payment will be refunded back to the card that was used to make the initial payment.

Direct debit payments can be cancelled at any time by providing a full calendar month's notice in writing. At every opportunity we will try and cancel your membership as soon as possible. However, due to bank deadlines a payment may still be deducted after we receive your cancellation request.

For example, if we receive your cancellation request on the 20 March, a gym payment will still be requested on the 1st or the next working day of April to pay for Aprils membership, meaning your membership won't expire until the 30 April.

If you have a Silver membership you can upgrade to Gold which will allow access to Powerbase gym. This can be done online or in the Loughborough Sport app by selecting the upgrade option or you can email sportmemberships@lboro.ac.uk to request an upgrade.

Gold membership includes access to both Holywell fitness centre and Powerbase gym.

All sessions must be booked in advanced, either online, via the Loughborough Sport app or over the telephone (01509 226200).

From September 1st, 2023 bookings for public swim sessions can be made up to two weeks in advance. Bookings for Performance Programme and AU Club sessions can be made up to 7 days in advance.

Without a valid booking you won't be able to access through the turnstiles to the reception and onto the pool, even if you have a valid membership.

Children aged 12 years and above are welcome to book a lane swim but must be a competent swimmer and be able to swim continuous lengths.

No, if you have purchased either a Gold, Silver or Bronze membership, all levels allow you to access Loughborough University Swimming Pool during public swim sessions at no additional charge. 

Purple members will benefit by a 10% discount off the pay as you go price.