IMPROVING ACCESS FOR ALL ACROSS LINCOLNSHIRE!

Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, NHS Lincolnshire and Active Nation have been working with the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) to improve and increase the provision of inclusive fitness, sports and physical activity opportunities for disabled people in Lincolnshire.

The exciting project is the largest county based disability inclusion project in the UK and has increased 3 inclusive fitness facilities in Lincolnshire to 18 and an additional specialist toilet which meets Changing Places requirements. There are currently 39 Inclusive Fitness Facilities in the East Midlands, with 18 of those in Lincolnshire.

The project has ensured that everyone in Lincolnshire is approximately 30 minutes away from a fully inclusive fitness facility and no-one has felt the benefits more than LEAP Level 4 Athlete Richard Sargent.

Richard was accepted on to the Lincolnshire Elite Athlete Programme (LEAP) this year and is competing at an international level in wheelchair basketball. He is currently a member of the Great Britain Under 23’s squad.

Richard says that the Inclusive Fitness project across Lincolnshire has changed his life:

“Last year, I spent £5000 on training including £3000 on travelling to Nottingham; which was the nearest fully inclusive site with facilities for wheelchair basketball to me.”

“Last year, I had to take my brother to training with me; he would help me change and workout. Having fully inclusive sites in Lincolnshire now means I can be more independent and not have to rely on my brother, or anyone else to take me to training.”

In conjunction with this project for the county, disabled people have benefited from additional investment from the Short Breaks Programme, seeing a Changing Places toilet installed into eight of the additional 15 inclusive fitness facilities, providing further opportunities for disabled people who have more complex health needs.

The launch of these 15 inclusive fitness facilities in Lincolnshire is an enormous achievement for disability sport and physical activity in Lincolnshire. Gillian Merron MP passed on her congratulations to the team and all the partners involved in making this possible. She provided the following statement as Minister of Health:

“This is the first time in the history of the Inclusive Fitness Industry that health, sport and fitness sectors have come together to deliver a county-wide project for disabled people.”

PERFECT PARTNERS - DC Leisure’s Contract with The Royal Borough of Kingston Goes From Strength to Strength

DC Leisure works very hard to develop and cultivate positive relationships with its clients and is very proud of its partnership arrangements. None more so than its highly regarded and successful partnership with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK).

Having already worked in partnership with RBK for ten years, DC Leisure’s contract was re-awarded in 2006 for a further 15 year term. The company manages four facilities on the Council’s behalf – Kingfisher Leisure Centre, Kingsmeadow Fitness and Athletic Centre, Tolworth Recreation Centre and the Malden Centre.

So, what makes this partnership such a resounding success?

• The Partnership Board – Chaired by the RBK Portfolio Holder and attended by senior directors and staff from both organisations meets at least three times a year to review and develop the leisure strategy within the Kingston contract. It looks at financial and non-financial performance and the associated Key Performance Indicators, as well as the aspirations of DC Leisure and the Council. The Partnership Board is a highly effective way of cementing relations between both parties and other stakeholders, thus allowing both organisations to concentrate on the most important factor, providing high quality and inclusive leisure services to the communities within RBK.
• Partnership Manager – in 2006, Fiona Nugent was appointed to the unique role of Partnership Manager with a remit to promote and encourage participation. During this time, she has generated over £50,000 of external funding to develop community outreach initiatives and as a result, over 45,000 people have taken advantage of the wide variety of healthy living projects available. This has lead to far greater involvement from a wide variety of stakeholder organisations not normally associated with the provision of leisure services.
• Increased participation – results from Sport England’s 2007/08 Active People Survey put participation rates within the borough at 18.4%. The most recent study, conducted for 2008/09, shows that participation has increased by 9% across all activities and now put levels within RBK at 27% and way above the national average of 21.6%.
• Swim4Life – RBK, DC Leisure and Kingston PCT have worked together to support the Government’s free swimming campaign. Under 16s and adults over 60 are eligible to swim for free at either of the two council pools. To date, over 15,000 people have registered to benefit from the scheme.
• Continuous Improvement – all four sites achieved initial Quest accreditation in 2007 and attained improved scores when re-assessed in 2009
• Investment in facilities – RBK & DC Leisure have provided capital investment to improve and upgrade the facilities. This includes refurbishing the pool plant, new equipment in the gyms and new pool inflatables. Both parties have an excellent track record in investing in the leisure services and facilities provided.

Cllr. Simon James, Chair of the Partnership Board, comments: “Long term partnerships such as the one we have with DC Leisure provide the environment for both parties to work as one. Gone are the days of client and contractor - our partnership is about engaging with local people and delivering quality services together, to ensure we best meet the needs of our communities.”

DC Leisure’s Contract Manager for Kingston upon Thames, Mark Learnihan, adds: “We are delighted that the contract continues to go from strength to strength. Both the Council and ourselves are forward thinking and committed to providing the highest quality facilities, service and opportunities for the local community.”

Nick Balchin, Strategic Manager for leisure partnerships for the Royal Borough, says: “The Partnership has worked very well for Kingston delivering quality leisure services to residents and stakeholders – the working relationship with DC Leisure is excellent as it is truly based on shared objectives, goals and a real desire to continually improve and develop what is offered.’’

The Basingstoke Golf Centre

Serco Leisure’s contract to manage and operate the Basingstoke Golf Centre, on behalf of the Basingstoke & Deane Community Leisure Trust, started on 3rd May. The golf centre is an addition to the Serco Leisure portfolio following the successful re-bid of the Basingstoke & Deane contract last year, which includes the Basingstoke Aquadrome and Tadley Swimming Pool.

The Golf Centre sits in an attractive setting adjacent to the Basingstoke Leisure Park. The facilities comprise:

• 9 hole par 3 course
• 24 bay floodlit driving range
• 1 x Target green
• 1 x Putting green
• 1 x Chipping green
• Pro shop including reception; relaxation/
• refreshments area and small office
• Free parking on site

Lincolnshire District Disability Games

On Sunday 25th April, Active Nation (Lincoln) hosted the Lincolnshire District Disability Games. An annual one day event which attracts over 380 young people to compete in a variety of sports.

The aim of the games is to engage young disabled people in a variety of sporting challenges.

The games include Shooting, Archery, Boccia, Darts, Swimming, Table Tennis, Weight lifting and three specialised wheelchair race events.

The games are organised by four Lincoln based Rotary Clubs, with proceeds from the event being reinvested back into local community projects.

Steve Bartle, from the Lindum Rotary Club said “The importance of the games cannot be understated, they give a unique opportunity for young people who have disabilities to partake in a whole range of sports attracting competitors from all over the region.”

Swimathon 2010

Fundraisers at Harborough Leisure Centre, Leicestershire made a splash in April by taking part in Swimathon 2010, the World's largest swimming fundraising event, supporting Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swimathon Foundation.

Karl James, Duty Manager and Richard Loveday, Senior recreation Assistant organised the event at Market Harborough, which ran from Friday 16 April – Sunday 18 April. 36 people took up the challenge of swimming 1.5k, 2.5k or 5k alone, or completed the 5k team challenge, and raised over £3,000.

Across Serco Leisure 16 pools participated in Swimathon 2010 and raised over £27,000, with Maidstone Leisure Centre the top fund raisers with over £5,000.

XCEL LEISURE COMPLEX GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex, built and operated by DC Leisure in partnership with Elmbridge Borough Council, has been recognised at the Annual National Benchmarking Service Conference and Awards, as one of the top performing sites in the country.

The National Benchmarking Service (NBS) provides critical data on the performance of leisure facilities. It brings together the expertise of the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University, Ipsos MORI and pmp genesis to work on behalf of Sport England, and provides a seamless, rigorous and valuable collection and analysis of participation, financial and customer satisfaction data.

Peter Taylor, Professor of Sports Economics and NBS Technical Consultant, said of the result: “The National Benchmarking Service for sports and leisure centres measures the performance of sites across an array of different dimensions. Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex has been identified as one of the top performers for their financial achievements. This is in recognition of consistently strong financial performance across the13 financial indicators measured by the NBS.”

Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex, based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, was also recently named as one of the top performing leisure facilities in the country when it received the highest possible rating in Quest, the industry's in-depth quality assurance accreditation, which assesses a variety of management systems and customer service standards. Xcel's score placed it in the top 1% of all facilities in the country.

Kamran Tirmizey, General Manager at Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex, added: "This is further recognition of the team's commitment to optimising our service delivery and maximising throughput. We are very proud to accept this award from the NBS."

“The centre at Elmbridge continues to go from strength to strength,” said Richard Millard, Client Relations Director of DC Leisure. “Kamran and his team are doing a fantastic job of operating a successful business and at the same time maintaining excellent levels of service delivery and meeting the needs of the local community.”

Elmbridge Xcel has a wide range of activities for all the family to enjoy, as well as some fantastic membership offers, for further information call Xcel on 01932 260300 or visit www.elmbridgexcelleisurecomplex.co.uk.

ALFRETON LEISURE CENTRE IS TOP OF THE CLASS

Alfreton Leisure Centre has been awarded 90% in its first Quest assessment, ranking it fifth in the country and the highest Quest score in DC Leisure. The two other facilities operated by the Company on behalf of Amber Valley Borough Council also performed very highly with William Gregg VC Leisure Centre achieving 87% and Ripley Leisure Centre scoring 85% to place all of them in the ‘excellent’ category and make this the highest scoring contract within the Company. Opened in 2008, these new centres were created as part of a £22m PFI project, which included the demolition and rebuilding of each site.

Councillor C. M. Short, Cabinet Member with Portfolio responsibility for Healthier Communities from Amber Valley Borough Council, said: “We are extremely proud of the high quality leisure facilities and excellent standards of service that are available within Amber Valley. Through our partnership with D C Leisure, our centres are among the top performing sites in the Country, with consistently high scores at each of them. What better way to provide our community with the opportunity to become healthier and fitter in style.”

Following publication of his report, Quest Assessor, Dave Monkhouse, who evaluated each of the centres, commented: “The contract, the team, the SPV, the attention to detail, the passion to deliver service and outperform budgets is outstanding. The management team should be congratulated and very proud of what has been achieved on this contract. It’s a great example of not only surviving the recession by remaining focused on quality, but also proving what DC Leisure is capable of achieving. I was particularly impressed by the examples of partnership working and representation within the community as a means of driving participation.”

Jackie Goacher, Contract Manager for DC Leisure, added: “Quest has been an invaluable tool for us. It has helped us to examine every part of our business and provides a focus to ensure that everything we do either benefits the company or adds value to the customer experience. It’s also very practical and whilst it evaluates systems and procedures, it is essential that the staff know, understand and are able to deliver what has been outlined. We took a contract wide approach and created teams of staff from all levels to take responsibility for the different areas of the scheme, which has worked really well and has definitely contributed to our success.”

Jackie continued: “Having all the centres achieve such a high standard on their first Quest assessment is fantastic. It was truly a team effort from top to bottom and I am extremely pleased and proud of each of them. For me, the most important thing was the Assessor’s feedback and the recognition of the strength of our team at all levels. It’s very reassuring to know that everyone working with you has such a high level of commitment to our business - we are all so passionate about what we do every day."

Quest is the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure delivered in partnership with Sport England. The assessment is carried out over several days including mystery visits, phone calls and a two-day on-site audit. With well over 1,000 leisure centres having been assessed to date, many on multiple occasions, the average score nationally is 73%. DC Leisure is currently the top performing leisure management contractor, with an average Quest score of 77%.