Climbing towers, giant ball pits and rope bridges laden with lasers – could this be the future of gym fitness?

TAGactive, a tech-driven indoor arena, recently opened as part of the rebuild of White Oak Leisure Centre in Swanley last month.

Our reporter takes on new tech-driven obstacle course TAGactive

It's been billed as an immersive 'gamified' attraction designed to test strategy, speed, agility and awareness.

Think Ninja warrior and Wipeout meets laser tag and you'll be along the right lines – just without the water and the cheesy commentary.

During its opening launch, it was given a trial run by former track athlete Colin Jackson and Britain's Got Talent football freestyler Jamie Knight.

Fresh off the back of his first foray into Olympic fitness attempting weightlifting at a gym in Dartford, our reporter Sean Delaney popped along to see what all the fuss was about.

The arena itself is split into separate zones and each contains different challenges.

Inside, players must crawl, climb, jump and run to reach hidden transponder boxes.

Once found, the box is "tagged" using a sensor on a wristband and each time a player tags a box points are awarded.

A player’s score appears on an electronic scoreboard where competitors can check to see if they've set a high score or beaten their rivals.

My first challenge sees me spinning around on ropes in an effort to reach different boxes whilst attempting not to plummet towards the soft mats and instant failure below.

I barely touch two of the targets before I call it quits and head to the next zone which consists of multiple stairwells and a rope ladder.

There's an abundance of choice and one minute I'm crawling through a see-through cylinder suspended in mid-air muttering "don't look down" and the next attempting to traipse past a series of inflatable posts without getting hit in the face.

My final task, the quarter pipe, evokes childhood memories of 90s' TV series Gladiator and the infamous travelator.

It consists of a steep, vertical ramp dotted like an airstrip with illuminated targets to reach and "tag".

Thankfully there isn't any resistance or the "Wolf" waiting for me as I huff and puff my way half way to the top to collect a meagre five points.

I round off my experience and head for the exit to bank my points before my allotted 10-minute timeslot elapses.

My first thoughts are it's certainly not for the faint-hearted with a range of obstacles taking players over a number of levels from floor to ceiling.

As I look up at the giant scoreboard I'm not surprised to learn I've fallen considerably short of the top marks.

But what I didn't know until later debriefed is the top score belongs to a nine-year-old girl who set the highest score on the opening weekend.

I can't help but feel if I had brought a few mates along ribbing me on my lack of athletic prowess I'd have set a more competitive score.

"Part of the reason it's in the centre is to try and attract those people who wouldn't typically visit a leisure centre and get them involved in sport."

I'd like to consider myself fairly active but just five minutes into my session I was thoroughly knackered and thinking this could well give Joe Wicks a run for his money in the HIIT ranks.

But excuses aside, TAGactive is a lot of fun and there were lots of challenges I didn't manage to fit in.

At £10 a pop for three goes, each lasting 10 minutes a time, there is plenty of scope to beat your score or do more exploring.

I'm told repeat attempts are part of the appeal and the opportunity to better your score – or a fellow competitor's – is intended to draw crowds back.

In need of a sit down, I seek out the cafe which is strategically placed opposite where I meet up with White Oak sports development manager, Robert Hutton, who has been tasked with promoting TAGactive and getting more people involved.

He tells me last month's opening weekend saw thousands of people flood through the turnstiles to take part in a range of activities on offer.

"The TAGactive itself was fully booked throughout the weekend and we had over 10,000 games," Rob said.

"We had all age ranges from seven to eight all the way through to 60-plus. We had grandparents taking their grandchildren on. Dad's competing against their children to see who could get the highest score."

He added: "We had one young girl, Isabelle, who set the highest score on Saturday, she came back on Sunday as she had seen on social media her score had already been beaten so she came back to try and reclaim her crown."

The innovative activity is the first TAGactive to be unveiled at any of Everyone Active’s sites in the South East.

It forms part of a £20 million overhaul in sports facilities in Swanley based at the new White Oak Leisure Centre and is being managed in partnership with Sevenoaks council.

The model for TAGactivity follows a recent boom in online gaming’s popularity with permanent eSports destinations fast becoming hot property.

A recent Ofcom report entitled 'Online Nation' revealed 62% of adults and 92% of 16 to 24-year-olds played online games on an electronic device, while smartphones were used for gaming by 39% of UK adults.

And while it is aimed at all ages and interests, Everyone Active hopes its hybrid approach to activity and technology will encourage more gamers to get more active.

It's envisaged the activity will serve as a "gateway" for people who don't typically use gyms to do other sports.

Rob adds: "Part of the reason it's in the centre is to try and attract those people who wouldn't typically visit a leisure centre and get them involved in sport.

"So the idea is to get them through the door and then hopefully by exploring TAGactive they will take part in the other activities we've got available to them, from the swimming pool to the sports classes that we run and the clubs that use the centre as well."

After running around frantically I can say a dip in a brand spanking new swimming spool is a very much welcome prospect.

TAGactive sessions are bookable via the Everyone Active app and website by clicking here.