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December 2009/January/February 2010

Secrets of Free Swimming Success
Leisure Connection welcomes more than 400,000 eligible swimmers into their pools

Six months since the launch of the Government’s free swimming initiative Leisure Connection is reporting huge successes with over 400,000 people who qualify for the scheme swimming in their pools across the UK.

“The scheme has seen fantastic uptake far better that we envisaged – a few of our centres are already nearing the end of their grant allocation and we have only just reached the half way point! We have seen an additional 80,000 visits in the first five months against the same time period last year”, says Kate McKnight, Leisure Connection’s National Product Development Manager.

Leisure Connection has been praised by clients and customers alike for its implementation of the groundbreaking scheme and explains the secrets of their success…

Kate continues: “Planning and organisation with our Local Authority partners has been the key to a successful launch of free swimming. Working together with our clients early on has been extremely important. We spent a great deal of time looking at the scope of the scheme and together we reached sensible conclusions for client and customer alike.”

“We have invested a great deal into local PR and marketing to communicate the initiative and continue to keep the free swim at the forefront of our customer’s minds. We also spent time briefing all site-based employees about how to cope with peaks in demand for sessions and as a result recruited appropriately to reflect larger bather loads. We prepared ourselves for the possibility of a negative reaction but we have been lucky and only received positive feedback.”

The key to getting this initiative right in the future is two-way communication with customers says Leisure Connection. The company is investing a great deal into data management and finding out what their customers like and what they don’t. They believe this will be invaluable.

“We have received fantastic comments from our customers who have now realised that swimming is a great family activity and a really affordable way of beating the credit crunch, some of our older customers have been given the opportunity to take up lessons and develop a life skill that has been missing since childhood; building their confidence in the water has been a fantastic and rewarding experience for our many Aquatic Teachers and Coaches.”

As a result of the initiative Leisure Connection has been able to develop and launch a range of pool based exercise programmes, which are proving extremely popular and have been working with the ASA to offer free swimming lessons.

“Free swimming lessons offered by the ASA are proving extremely popular with the majority of people booking further lessons the following term, which is a win-win situation for all involved.”

POOL OPENING MARKS COMPLETION OF £22 MILLION PROJECT

The opening of Alfreton Swimming Pool last month completed the final phase of a £22m project to upgrade the leisure facilities across Amber Valley.

The impressive new pool complex features a 25m competition standard main pool, separate teaching pool with children’s play area and water fountains, poolside seating for spectators, oversized changing cubicles for families, four group changing rooms for school and club use, two changing rooms specifically designed for disabled swimmers, including one adapted for more severe disabilities that has changing hoists and shower wheelchairs, as well as special teaching facilities to assist people with a disability to learn to swim.

Alfreton Swimming Pool is one of three facilities managed by DC Leisure on behalf of Amber Valley Borough Council. It complements Alfreton’s new Leisure Centre, which has a six-court sports hall, a 60-station kinetika gym, air-conditioned studio, two glass backed exhibition squash courts, sauna, indoor bowls, new changing rooms, café, bar and specialist gymnastics academy. The other two sites, Ripley Leisure Centre and William Gregg VC Leisure Centre in Heanor, were also demolished and rebuilt as part of the rejuvenation programme. Both now have 25m swimming pools, teaching pools, kinetika gyms, studios and four-court sports halls.

Leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, Cllr. Stuart Bradford, says: “We are confident that this facility will be well received by local swimmers and serve the area well for many, many years. We are looking forward to working with the Town Council, along with other groups and organisations to ensure that the pool is well used. We are delighted with the new centres and very pleased to be able to offer such a wider range of high quality, affordable leisure opportunities for the residents of Amber Valley.”

The project to transform the leisure centres is the result of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement funded by Amber Valley Borough Council, DC Leisure and Barclays Bank.

Peter Kirkham, Development and PFI Director of DC Leisure, adds: “We have worked closely with the Borough Council to design, build and operate the three sites. These fantastic new facilities will provide a huge incentive for people to try something new and get more active.”

Leisure Company amongst best businesses in Somerset

Team Members have suspected it for some time, and it has finally been made official - Avalon Leisure is amongst the top businesses in the county.

The Annual Somerset Business Awards 2009 were held on 29th October at the Rural Business Centre, Huntworth, Bridgwater and Avalon Leisure received recognition for the hard work of all Team Members and service to customers by being named as runner up in the Business of the Year (50+ employees) category.

This award follows on from the ‘Highly Commended’ status gained earlier in the year by Frome Leisure Centre following an inspection by Quest - the UK quality scheme for sports and leisure.

All three Centres managed by Avalon Leisure on behalf of Mendip District Council - the others are Wells Leisure Centre and Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre in Street - are now ranked in the top 10% in the UK.

Commenting on the award Operations Director, Rob Taylor, said “This recognition from the Somerset Chamber of Commerce is a great honour and testimony to the hard work and effort put in over the last 18 months, by Team Members at all of our centres”.

Ian Mundy, Client Officer Mendip District Council, said, “It’s great to see Avalon being recognised once again for the excellent service they provide to the Mendip community”

The Big Channel Swim

Five Serco Leisure employees braved strong currents and sea sickness to swim the English Channel in relay to raise money for the John Adams Trust Fund. The ‘Serco Superstars’, Ian Phelps, James Shepherd, Craig Hirst, Sally Minty Gravett & Tracey Huish, undertook the gruelling 21.5 mile swim from Dover to Calais on 21 September and completed it in 13 hours and 56 minutes precisely. The team weren’t short of obstacles – on the way to France they were swept off course and ended up swimming 28 miles! It was worth it as the team raised about £15,000.

Royal Marines Commando Challenge

Team members and members of Strode Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre in Street took part in the annual Royal Marines Commando Challenge on Sun 11th October 2009. The Commando Challenge, which takes place at Woodbury Common, incorporates a 4 miles of hill running and demanding 3 mile assault course. The money raised at the event will go towards the Devon Air Ambulance and The Royal British Legion. Most who took part said they would do it again, although they need a little bit of time to recover first!

Staff at Strode Pool work for Avalon Leisure.

DC LEISURE APPOINTS HR MANAGER

DC Leisure has appointed Clare Hayler to the role of Human Resources Manager. She joined the company in October, having spent six years with the car rental firm, Avis.

Up until now, DC Leisure has outsourced its HR function to an external consultancy. On her appointment, Clare said: “This is the first full time internal HR position at group manager level. It’s a great opportunity to help shape the future direction of HR within DC Leisure and ensure all our policies and procedures are consistent and robust. I’m very excited about the challenge ahead.”

Operations Support Director of DC Leisure, Richard Millard, added: “Our staff are a key asset and crucial to the success of our business. With over 6,500 employees, we are too big not to have an internal HR resource, who has a thorough understanding of the needs of the company.”

One of Clare’s first priorities will be to review and update the HR Quality Management System.

XCEL-LENT

Quest Accreditation puts Leisure Complex in the top 10 Nationally

Staff at the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex are celebrating after obtaining one of the country’s highest audit scores for sports and leisure facilities. The centre was awarded 87% in its recent Quest accreditation assessment for excellent standards of service, management and customer care. Not only does this result place the Complex within the top status band of ‘excellent’, it also means that it is now ranked sixth out of over 1,000 sites that have been assessed and is in the top one percent of all sites in the UK.

Built and operated by DC Leisure in partnership with Elmbridge Borough Council, the Xcel Leisure Complex is one of ten sites within a long-standing partnership contract between the company and the local authority. The Hurst Pool, another of these sites, was also assessed in the recent round of Quest assessments and was awarded an equally impressive 83%, which puts it in the top five percent nationally.

Contract Manager and General Manager of Xcel, Kamran Tirmizey, explained: “To have both sites score so highly in these assessments, demonstrates the commitment and dedication of all the staff in delivering the most positive, memorable experience for our customers. When Xcel opened in 2006, the Mission Statement we created was to be recognised as one of the best leisure complexes in the UK by 2010. We are all very proud of this achievement and now want to build on this success and aim towards even higher standards.”

Councillor Jan Fuller, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Cultural Services at Elmbridge Borough Council said: “Receiving the Quest award is a wonderful achievement and a formal recognition of the highest standards of customer service delivered at the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre and the Hurst Pool. I would like to extend my congratulations to all the staff that work at the two locations and thank them for their on-going commitment to customer service excellence. I would also like to encourage Elmbridge residents to go along to the Xcel Leisure Centre and Hurst Pool to gain first-hand experience of what the facilities have to offer."

Richard Millard, Client Relations Director of DC Leisure, added: “This is a fantastic result and gives Xcel the highest Quest score in DC Leisure. Kamran and his team have done a tremendous job and we look forward to sharing best practice across the company.”

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 three 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%

Maxwell expands with John Adams funding

The Maxwell Swimming Club has been awarded £3,000 in funding from the John Adams Trust Fund. The money will enable the club to expand its Academy Programme at the Swan Pool in Buckingham, paying for some of the cost of coaching the club’s Silver Academy Squad.

Based at the Aqua Vale and Swan Pool Leisure Centres, which Serco Leisure manages on behalf of the Aylesbury Vale Community Trust, the club was established in 1979 and has developed into one of the most successful clubs in the country, producing a number of swimmers representing Great Britain at junior and senior level, national champions and finalists, and district record holders.

Maidstone Environment Award

Thanks to the hard work of the team, the Maidstone Leisure Centre was one of 12 entrants shortlisted for the Kent Environmental Awards out of 44 entrants – a fantastic achievement. Four judges visited us in June and we’ll find out if we’ve won at the awards ceremony in September. “We’ve made big savings in the water and energy we consume by using adjusting settings, installing energy and water-saving equipment and raising awareness,” says Lindsay Connolly, technical coordinator.

Aqua Vale Trust launches

June saw the launch of the Aylesbury Vale Community Trust. The Trust – an independent not-for-profit organisation – has taken on the management of the council’s two leisure centres: Aqua Vale in Aylesbury and Swan Pool in Buckingham. Serco Leisure will be helping with operational and financial support right up until March 2012. Miles Buckinghamshire, the Trust’s chairman, is delighted the transfer has gone ahead. “We have two superb facilities and a good operator, and this move will help ensure that service and development at both facilities will be excellent in the future,” he says.

September/October/November 2009

Mendip Extends Leisure Management Contract

Mendip District Council has extended its Leisure management Contract with Avalon Leisure and Western Community Leisure to 2015. Avalon Leisure manages four centres on behalf of the Council and Western Community Leisure, a leisure trust.

The two-year extension was awarded after the Company came up with a series of operating and financial efficiencies that will significantly reduce the Council’s subsidy payments, without sacrificing the excellent standard of service to customers – the centres run by Avalon Leisure at Strode Swimming Pool, Frome and Wells have all recently been awarded ‘Highly Commended” status by a national benchmarking scheme for leisure centres, putting them in the top third percentile in the country.

This follows a successful capital investment and service improvement strategy completed in 2006 that has seen attendances rise by over 10% per annum for the past three years – considerably above the Sport England target of 1%. Annual customer satisfaction scores for the Council’s leisure facilities have also improved.

Stuart Cave, the Council’s Group Manager for Economy and Community, said: “At a time when many Councils are faced with some tough decisions, extending our contract with Western Community Leisure and Avalon Leisure was an easy one as we get excellent service and value for money – a winning combination”.

LEISURE COMPANY CYCLING DOWN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ROUTE

Avalon Leisure, the company in charge of running Frome Leisure Centre, Wells Leisure Centre and Strode Swimming Pool on behalf of Mendip District Council, are entering into the government ‘Cyclescheme’ initiative for all their employees.

The scheme aims to encourage employees to adopt a healthier approach to travel by cycling to destination (within reason!) rather than using their car. It's a brilliant programme where everyone wins - employees make big savings on new bikes, employers get a healthier and more motivated workforce.

It works by offering tax free savings off all new bikes – the company purchase the bike and claim the VAT back, and then the employees pay for the bike over an agreed period of time with before tax salary sacrifice. Typical saving on a brand new bike of between 30% – 50% means people can afford the peace of mind of having a quality bike that will last for a long time, for minimum price.

Obviously, the benefits don’t stop at just the employers and employees – there’s a greater saving for everybody – the environmental benefits to the planet as more and more people start to choose their bikes over cars are massive. Avalon Leisure opened the scheme to employees last week and has had a very enthusiastic response.

Channel Swimming for the John Adams Trust Fund

Serco Leisure has established The John Adams Trust Fund as a tribute to the work and legacy of John, their former Chairman and as a mechanism to raise funds for good causes.

By raising funds in a variety of ways Serco will be able to support their Local Authority clients and Trust partners in innovative and pro-active projects to the benefit of individuals or local communities. Individuals; organisations and community leisure trusts will have the opportunity to apply to access the monies for identified projects or initiatives.

Serco Leisure staff are fully commited to raising funds for the Trust Fund. One of the major fundraising events this year is the Cross Channel Relay Swim attempt by the A Team. This is due to take place at the end of September, weather permitting. The team consists of Ian Phelps (Director Leisure), Andy King (Community Development Director), James Shepherd (Contract Director), Craig Hirst (Projects Manager), Sally Minty-Gravett (Swim Co-ordinator), Tracy Huish (Swim Teacher).


Each of the team members have got their own sponsorship from friends and family. But in addition to this Serco Leisure has put together the B Team. The B Team have been auctioned off around the business and in return for a fee have done such activities as midnight deep cleans, Aerobics classes, gym shifts, catering assistants, and being a PA for a day.

The following are examples of those who have already been awarded funds from the Trust Fund, thus benefiting from the efforts of our staff:

Funding Dreams
Joe Hoyes applied for funding from the Trust Fund at the end of 2008. Joe used to work as a Fitness Instructor at the Loughborough Leisure Centre, which we manage on behalf of Charnwood Borough Council. Joe is now part of the Great Britain Canoe and Kayak squad and was awarded the sum of £2,000 to enable him to continue his training and work towards his quest to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Joe said: “I’m really grateful for the support of Serco Leisure and the John Adams Trust Fund. This will enable me to concentrate fully on achieving my goal.”

Encouraging Success
Beachfield Swimming Squad was formed over 20 years ago to provide a graduated training programme for the youth on the Isle of Sheppey. The squad was in much need of new equipment and financial support to fund coaches. The award of £3,000 ensures the Club can continue to compete in all levels of competitive swimming, from Club galas to National Age Group galas. Lee Jarmain, Executive Committee Chairman, said: “As a non-profit organisation we are very grateful for any financial assistance. This award will not only assist us in replacing equipment but is a testimony to the time and effort the volunteers make every week for the children of the island and surrounding area”

Other groups that have received funding since the John Adams Trust was set up are:
Tenterden Leisure Trust Bursary who were rewarded £2000.00 for awards to talented young athletes; Halfway Badminton Group (Sheerness) who were awarded £300.00 toward coaching costs; Maxwell Swimming Club (Aylesbury) who were awarded £3000.00 toward their academy programme.

FROME LEISURE CENTRE HIGHLY COMMENDED BY INDUSTRY BENCHMARKING SCHEME

A Mendip leisure centre has been judged among the best in the country.

Frome Leisure Centre, which is run by Avalon Leisure on behalf of Mendip District Council in partnership with Western Community Leisure, a leisure trust, has received a ‘Highly Commended’ assessment from Quest – the UK quality scheme for sports and leisure.

The assessment score was higher than its last inspection in 2007 and the much-prized ‘Highly Commended’ status now places the Frome centre among the top third of Quest registered leisure centres in the UK.

Quest is judged by trained professional leisure assessors. Centres are encouraged to consider how they run their business to meet the needs of its customers, considering service planning and improvement, staff management, customer relations and operational service from the customers’ point of view.

The external assessment also includes a ‘mystery shopper’ visit by the assessors.

Peter Gilpin, managing director of Avalon Leisure which manages the centre, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is down to the hard work of all the staff at Frome Leisure Centre, led by manager Sarah Cruwys.”

Frome centre manager Sarah Cruwys, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved such a great score, which recognises the progress we have made since our last assessment and the continuing improvement since Avalon Leisure took over the reins.”

DC LEISURE ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH URBAN REBOUNDING

DC Leisure is working in partnership with Health2Fitness Ltd, in an agreement which makes the company the exclusive supplier of Urban Rebounding equipment and the accompanying REPs Accredited Instructor Training across the DC Leisure estate. Although Urban Rebounding sessions have been successfully held at The Arena, DC Leisure’s site in Camberley, since 2005, this new agreement formalises the relationship between the two companies and lays the foundation for a UK wide initiative.

Health2Fitness launched Urban Rebounding in this country in 2005. The group exercise class is set to music and performed entirely on a specially designed mini-trampoline with a non-slip surface. The exercise is accomplished by jumping only a few inches off the surface of the rebounder for an effective cardiovascular workout that also strengthens and tones the whole body.

DC Leisure is increasing the availability of Urban Rebounding within its centres as part of the Sport Unlimited scheme. The £36m Sport England programme was launched in 2008 and aims to get more children playing sport outside of school. It specifically targets those aged between five and 19 who are not naturally attracted to sport. The three year project is part of the London 2012 participation legacy and by providing high-quality, exciting new sporting opportunities hopes to demonstrate that sport has something for everyone.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director for DC Leisure, says: “Urban Rebounding has a wide ranging appeal and offers an alternative to mainstream sports. It has been particularly popular in schools and among populations that are not typically attracted to exercise. There are extensive opportunities to incorporate Urban Rebounding in the activity programmes within our centres as it is suitable for juniors from the age of eight, teenagers, adults, over 60 sessions and even GP Referral schemes. It is well placed to help us achieve our client’s objectives, which in turn will help the Councils meet the Government’s health and fitness agenda.”

James Winfield, Director of Health2Fitness and Urban Rebounding Master Trainer, explains: “Urban Rebounding is suitable for exercisers of all ages, abilities and fitness levels. There are over 20 different workouts to keep the programme fresh. Everyone works at their own pace and intensity by controlling how hard they push with their legs, making it a very inclusive workout. The workouts are challenging, but great fun!

“We’re delighted to be working with DC Leisure and feel that there is an excellent synergy between Urban Rebounding and DC Leisure’s aim to get more people, more active, more often,” adds James.

The principle behind rebounding is that by utilising gravity, acceleration and deceleration on the vertical plane, G-Force is created. This increased force activates every single cell in the body, which adapt and become stronger to produce the health benefits. The workout is incredibly low impact as the rebounder absorbs 87% of the shock compared with doing the same exercises on the floor. Research by NASA has proved that rebounding is 68% more effective than jogging, while other scientifically validated projects have shown that it burns more calories, stimulates lymphatic drainage, improves balance and co-ordination, increases cardiovascular fitness and reduces body fat.

Urban Rebounding will be exhibiting for the first time at this year’s Leisure Industry Week on September 22-24. There will be demonstrations both on the Stand and in the Lucozade Sport Fitness Arena. For more information or to see Urban Rebounding in action visit Stand H186 at the show.

DC LEISURE INTRODUCES EFDS ACTIVITY BUDDY SCHEME

DC Leisure is working with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to run an Activity Buddy Scheme, which aims to increase participation of disabled people in sport.

The scheme operates via a volunteer programme, with ‘buddies’ accompanying the disabled person during exercise to provide support and encouragement. The EFDS supplies training for both the Activity Buddy volunteers and the centre’s Activity Buddy co-ordinator, as well as marketing materials and template forms to help ensure the programme’s success.

A pilot project is being launched at Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Hampshire from September. General Manager, Jo Parker, explains: “We already work closely with the Eastleigh Disability Leisure Access Group and are very keen to promote and facilitate usage of the centre by disabled customers. We hope that the Activity Buddy Scheme will make the wide range of activities available even more accessible and enjoyable.”

Sarah Cohen, Project Manager (Advocacy & Activity Buddy Scheme) for the EFDS, adds: “The Activity Buddy scheme has played an important role in engaging more disabled people in sport and physical activity, and has been a major factor in helping participants overcome different barriers to participation. Creating a positive experience around exercise is essential to ensure continued regular involvement and we hope this can be achieved through the volunteer programme.”

“We are delighted to be working with DC Leisure and EFDS in developing this exciting and innovative scheme and believe it will make a real difference to the lives of the residents in the local area,” says: Janine Millard, Sports Development Officer for Eastleigh Borough Council. “The scheme will be particularly welcomed by the Eastleigh Disability Leisure Access Group, as well as Sport Hampshire and Isle Of Wight with whom we work closely on Disability Sport issues. Whilst it is primarily about making sport and physical activity more accessible to disabled people, it is also an opportunity to give something back to the community. The team of volunteers are the vital cog in making this initiative a success.”

DC Leisure is committed to providing inclusive facilities and activities suitable for exercisers of all abilities. In 2008, DC Leisure won the Inclusive Fitness Initiative’s award for Demonstrating Corporate Commitment.

Leisure Connection hosts the launch of the new wave of Government health initiatives

Leisure Connection hosted the year’s biggest government announcements about sport and physical activity at their flagship Willesden Sports Centre on Thursday 13 August.

The great and the good from Parliament, the leisure and sport industry and other VIPs all attended a briefing by Andy Burnham MP, the Secretary of State for Health set out the government's vision for a fitter England.

In his speech, the Health Secretary called on the NHS to make the promotion of active lifestyles “core business and not a peripheral concern”. Health professionals should see improving activity rates and getting their patients moving as central to their work.

In his speech, the Health Secretary also gave an update on up and coming plans for Change4Life – the lifestyle revolution that is helping families to eat well, move more and live longer.

In line with Bike4Life, Sky, the entertainment and communications company, working with British Cycling, has organised a summer series of Skyride mass-participation cycling events across five major cities, plus hundreds of local led rides, to encourage all ages and abilities to get back on their bikes. Sky’s target is to inspire a million more people to ride in the next five years.

A Dance Champions Group featuring stars of Strictly Come Dancing including Arlene Phillips, Lisa Snowdon and Darren Bennett, and Come Dancing star Angela Rippon, will be running a national campaign to boost participation in dance in the run up to 2012.

Swim4Life - around 250 councils have already signed up to the Free Swimming programme. More than 20 million young people and senior citizens are eligible to swim for free, and 4.4 million free swims have been made since the scheme began in April. The Department is now reopening the bidding rounds, with another £1 million pounds on offer for councils who didn’t sign up in the first place. In the coming weeks it will also be looking to see how it can support existing free swimming councils to innovate and extend the free swimming offer.

Fresh efforts to build on Natural England’s Walking for Health campaign to make 200,000 more people active by 2012 through Walking for Health under the Walk4Life brand. The Walk4Life programme already provides a service for 30,000 people every week.

Victoria Branch, Leisure Connection’s Marketing Manager said: “Firstly it was great to welcome Andy Burnham MP and the VIPS and media to Willesden Sports Centre. It’s great to see the government re-committing themselves to boosting sport and physical activity. We are looking forward to working with the Department of Health and the FIA to ensure these initiatives can be delivered locally for the benefit of our communities and the millions of customers we welcome into out centres each year.”

GB WHEELCHAIR RUGBY SQUAD CHOOSES DC SITE FOR 2012 PREPARATIONS

Visitors to Fakenham Sports and Fitness Centre were treated to an awe-inspiring display of sporting excellence last week, when the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby team played two pre-arranged training matches. The DC Leisure site was delighted to host the squad, in the first of a series of fixtures in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Fakenham Centre in Norfolk is located near to where the team stays for training and practice matches. When it opened in 2004, the centre was designed to be inclusive and is therefore very well set up for with car parking, access and changing facilities for disabled users. The four-court sports hall has also had the line markings for wheelchair rugby added especially for the team.

Ten of the 16 man squad training at Fakenham had competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where they came fourth and narrowly missed out on a medal, losing to the eventual winners, the USA. However, the GB team is widely recognised as having some of the best wheelchair rugby players in the world.

The squad has already planned its next training match at the centre in September and will be holding matches on a monthly basis from January as part of the process for selecting the squad for the Olympics. There will be a training week at Fakenham in August next year, when teams from across Europe will be invited to compete against the GB side.

“We see Fakenham Sports and Fitness Centre as an integral part of our training in the run-up to 2010”, says Duncan Tunbridge, Sports Operations Manager from Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby.

Pat Dodd, General Manager of Fakenham Sports and Fitness Centre, adds: “Wheelchair rugby is a wonderful sport to watch and so exciting. We are thrilled to be able to help the squad in its preparations for London 2012. Not only can we provide a first class sports hall, we also have an excellent outside caterer and meeting rooms where they can have coaching or strategy discussions.”

The Fakenham Centre has also just achieved world record status for archery. Pat continues: “We have worked with the Fakenham Bowmen, a local archery team, for 18 months now and held two annual tournaments during that time. The feedback is always very positive about the excellent facilities, particularly the lighting in the sports hall. After we achieved national record status, it made sense to try to attain world record status. We are now hoping to be named as a Centre of Excellence for archery next year too.”

Harpers Fitness at Harpenden Leisure Centre undergoes refurbishment

Harpers Fitness at Harpenden Leisure Centre is to undergo a refurbishment this week to transform and update the gym in a bid to encourage even more people from St Albans to adopt a more active lifestyle.

Harpers Fitness, which works in partnership with St Albans City and District Council, is working hard to change the perception of public access leisure provision and as a result will be delivering a state of the art gym in Harpenden.

The gym will been split into specific zones for different exercises. There is will be a personal training zone, a CV zone, a weights zone and cardio zone and the whole gym will be re decorated.

There will also be considerable ongoing investment into improving the communal areas throughout the centre and updating the existing colour scheme.

The refurbishment programme starts on Monday 3rd August. It has been designed to cause little disruption to gym users. Group training classes will be temporarily moved downstairs but it is expected that the gym will only close for one day.

Charles Smith, centre manager for Harpenden Leisure Centre said: “The investment is great news for current members and new members alike. The investment will transform the gym and offer a fantastic local community for the Harpenden community.”

Leisure Connection see its membership grow by 8% despite recession

Leisure Connection, the national operator of 70 plus leisure and sports centres has seen a like for like growth of 8% in the past 12 months.

Mark Botha, Sales and Marketing Director for Leisure Connection says of the growth: “It’s fantastic to see more people enjoying exercise as part of their everyday lifestyle and testament to the impact the industry as a whole has had on the public. Fitness is no longer seen as a luxury item – it’s a necessity and seen as an important part of our daily routine. Having said that consumers are far more savvy and as a result are shopping around for the best gym deals – something we strive to deliver.”

Leisure Connection has had a positive year with a successful implementation of free swimming, hosting the prestigious ‘Bike 4 Life’ announcement by Andy Burnham MP and winning the FIA’s Future of the Flame award with Kevin Yates.

Mark continues: “Our success comes from staying true to our values of connecting our communities with leisure and delivering a private sector experience within a public sector environment. We have also invested heavily in our 3500 employees. Ongoing training and development is a given if you have a career with Leisure Connection, with customer service featuring highly on this list of training – ensuring the customer experience is the highest it can be.”

“We have also been very deliberate in the packages we have launched and developed – such as the Harpers Experience, which is an affordable PT package and as a result sales in this area have grown 465%.”

Leisure Connection continues on its plan of revamping and re-launching its Harpers Fitness gyms across the UK with several more re-launches planned for 2010.

DC LEISURE APPOINTS REGIONAL FITNESS TEAM

Following Sarah Leonie’s promotion to the role of Group Fitness Manager, DC Leisure has restructured its fitness team and appointed three new Regional Fitness Managers.

As a competitive swimmer, Allan Reid has always had an interest in sport and physical activity. He holds a degree in Business and Sport from Southampton Institute and a second degree in Health and Fitness from Southampton Solent University. Allan joined DC Leisure in 2002, initially as a relief Receptionist, he then became a Fitness Instructor, progressed to Fitness Manager and until recently was Operations Manager at Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Hampshire. On his new role, Allan says: “The operational experience I’ve gained in different areas of the business has been invaluable and gives me a true understanding of some of the challenges facing the sites. Fitness is my real passion and I’m delighted to start this new position as part of the new team.” Allan will be looking after the Southern region for the company.

Before joining DC Leisure, Mark Knight was involved with Professional Rugby League both as a player and a coach. He joined the company three years ago and was previously Fitness Manager at the sites in Widnes and Runcorn that form the Halton Borough Council contract.

Mark, who will be covering the Northern and Western parts of the country, explains: “I hope to be able to help our centres develop links and create partnerships with external agencies such as local schools and Primary Care Trusts to increase their appeal and strengthen their positions within the community.”

Tim Burrow has also been appointed to the Regional Fitness Team. He joins the company from Freedom Leisure and will be overseeing the London and East Anglia region. Tim has 12 years experience in the Leisure Industry, which started as a part time lifeguard during the holidays. He has worked his way up through the ranks to General Manager and immediately prior to taking up his new post, was Fitness Manager at the K2 site in Crawley. Tim has recently been named FitPro Ambassador of the Year, and has also won Fitness Team of the Year and BodyLife Awards. Tim adds: “I have been aspiring to this role for many years and I am really excited about the prospect of working with so many talented fitness professionals, it’s great to finally get this opportunity to make a difference. My aim is to support the sites and help them achieve their goals – meeting targets and adhering to the QMS.” Tim has a background in international athletics and competed for Great Britain at junior level.

DC Leisure’s Chief Executive, Steve Philpott, comments: “We have a tremendous wealth of talented people working within our centres, as these appointments prove. Sarah now has an incredibly strong team in place, who can work with the sites to build on their successes and continue to drive the business forward through training and high levels of customer service. I am very pleased that Allan, Mark and Tim are now in role and wish them every success in their new positions.”

DC LEISURE ENJOYS CONTINUED SUCCESS

DC Leisure can now add the ISPAL Active Health and Physical Activity Programme Award to its list of achievements. Recognised at the ISPAL Annual Conference and Gala Dinner held earlier this month, the award comes hot on the heels of DC Leisure’s recent success at the 2009 FLAME Awards, where the company was named Leisure Centre Operator of the Year for the second year running. It also received the Inclusive Fitness Initiative’s Award for Demonstrating Corporate Commitment in 2008/09.

The ISPAL Health and Physical Activity Programme has been developed to assist improvement and recognises organisations that use activity to enhance the health of local communities. It looks to celebrate achievement as well as provide a platform for continuous improvement. The assessment process uses a random sample of interviews within the organisation and also with key partners.

Wayne Wiggins, Active Scheme Manager of QLM, says: “Over the course of a challenging assessment process, DC Leisure demonstrated excellent examples of good practice in respect of promoting and delivering effective health improvement interventions and working collaboratively with a range of partners. I was particularly impressed by their approaches to partnership working and the seamless manner to which they participate in, and in many cases, lead on innovative projects to benefit the communities they serve using skilled, knowledgeable and highly motivated staff.

DC Leisure submitted a detailed application for this year’s FLAME Awards outlining its suitability and the ways it meets the Award’s criteria. Areas such as managing member relations, health and safety policies and procedures and managing and developing employees were included, as well as DC Leisure’s industry links, partnerships and environmental policies.

Andree Deane, CEO of the FIA, explains: “To be acclaimed to be the best in your business is a great testament for any organisation. To beat off stiff opposition is a credit to every person who works at DC Leisure. There is much we can all learn from this excellent team”.

“Having been named as the first FIA Operator of the Year in 2008, it is an even bigger achievement to have won the award for the second year in a row, and now to be recognised by ISPAL with an Active Health and Physical Activity Programme Award is fantastic. I’m delighted - it’s a true reflection of the commitment and dedication of our staff, demonstrates our culture of continuous improvement and a real desire on the part of everyone in the company to improve for the benefit of our members and customers. We are all very proud that our own industry recognises DC Leisure as an outstanding gym and leisure centre operator,” adds Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure.

Customers Come First in Winchester

DC Leisure has been working in partnership with Winchester City Council to help it achieve the Customer Service Excellence Standard. The company, which has managed River Park Leisure Centre on the Council’s behalf for 18 years, has helped the Council’s Economic & Cultural Services Division achieve the Standard with flying colours at its first attempt. The leisure centre has also recently achieved a Quest Score of 78%, putting it in the highly commended category.

The Customer Service Excellence Standard has replaced the former ‘Charter Mark’ and is the recognised gold standard for customer care approved by the Cabinet Office. Winchester City Council has committed to a three year programme of assessments and to meeting the Standard in every one of its 17 divisions. The first three of these divisions – Customer Service, Landlord Services and Economic & Cultural Services - have already undergone the rigorous process and passed with style.

The Standard explores five key areas which are critical in delivering excellent customer service, ranging from how well the Council knows its customers to the ways it delivers its services. A total of 57 elements of customer service are examined by an independent assessor through a combination of written submissions, desk based research, site visits, customer interviews and stakeholder focus groups.

The assessor was very positive about what he saw in Winchester, commenting on the obvious passion of staff for what they do and the ‘culture of quality’ which existed. He also noted that there is a clear and effective commitment to delivering customer focused services both at a corporate level and by individual staff members.

The City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Performance and Organisational Development, Cllr. Stephen Godfrey, commented: “This is an excellent set of results for the first year of our programme and I congratulate all those staff who have won the Standard so far. As a Council, we’ve talked for some time about offering ‘customer service we’re proud of’ and now we have clear proof that we are doing just that. Progress on this project has been excellent and to schedule, with the accreditation results reflecting the hard work of the staff involved. I am very impressed with the way our staff have committed themselves to this challenging programme.”

The Council’s Head of Customer Service, Paul Wood, added: “We also appreciate that our customers’ expectations are always changing, so we’ve been able to make good use of the assessment process to identify improvements and new ways of working, and to share good practice across the Council.”

Following the assessment for the Customer Service Excellence award, River Park Leisure Centre also underwent Quest accreditation in May. The score of 78% is an improvement of 5% on its previous result. General Manager, Sarah Morgan, explained: “I am delighted with the score, which must be attributed to the hard work put in by the entire team. The centre was complimented on its high standards, particularly of cleanliness and maintenance, as well as the friendliness of the staff. I am very proud of what has been achieved in such a short space of time.”

Castlehill added to Serco Leisure Portfolio

As of 1st September 2009 Serco Leisure officially commenced day-to-day management of the Castlehill Centre in Bolton.

The addition of Castlehill is great organic growth for the Bolton contract increasing it 10 13 sites. The Castlehill Centre is a dryside site comprising a boxing gym, 20 station fitness gym, 1 court sports hall, 2 outside 5-a-side AWP’s, 1 full-size grass football pitch, IT room & relaxation area with pool tables, table tennis etc. The centre is the local youth centre for the area and is predominantly used by local clubs, PCT, youth service etc.

Serco Leisure are responsible for the management of the Centre, which is adjoined by the local library and primary school.

Sovereign Centre Refurbishments

Recently, the latest stage in the £2.5 million redevelopment of Sovereign Centre in Eastbourne was completed. There is now a fresh new reception and retail area. A brand new Changing Village has been built with spacious cubicles, family changing areas and showers. The Health Suite area has also been updated.

The Gala Pool changing areas and the Fun Pool have been redecorated. In July the new flumes, wave machine and Pirate Ship were installed.

Other areas of improvement include new windows, lockers, flooring and lighting.

DC LEISURE HAS NEW RLSS NATIONAL TRAINER ASSESSOR

Jo Talbot, DC Leisure’s Group Lifeguard Manager, has qualified as a Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS) National Trainer Assessor (NTA) and is now able to deliver courses and train Trainer Assessors. In order to become a NTA, Jo has completed an A1 Assessor’s qualification and a Certificate in Teaching Sport to demonstrate her ability as a senior trainer.

Jo’s career as a lifeguard began with a part-time role at the age of sixteen. She consolidated her experience at Parish Wharf Leisure Centre in Somerset, where she also progressed into the position of Duty Manager. Jo qualified as a RLSS Trainer Assessor (TA) in 2000, which enabled her to run National Pool Lifesaving Qualifications (NPLQ) courses to train new lifeguards. She joined DC Leisure when it began managing the Parish Wharf facility on behalf of North Somerset Council in 2004, and was promoted to her current senior group role in April 2007. Jo is responsible for overseeing the lifeguarding requirements at all the DC Leisure sites and co-ordinates First Aid, lifeguard, pool plant and defibrillator training courses.

Jo explains: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our top priority at all times. With 69 swimming pools and over 3,000 lifeguards across the DC Leisure estate, lifeguarding is a key element of our business. There is an ongoing need to ensure our staff hold valid qualifications and that their training is up-to-date with current guidelines and recommendations. By qualifying as a NTA, I am able to train more TAs within the company, who in turn will be able to deliver more NPLQ course.”

New Websites for all Serco Leisure Clients

All websites for Serco Leisure clients will be overhauled, transformed and re-launched late in 2009. One of the main objectives is to better inform the local community about what is happening at their local leisure centres.

The most apparent change to the new websites will be the re-design; simultaneously improving the appearance, navigation and usability as well as showcasing the facilities and activities available and importantly complying with DDA regulations.

The websites will also contain a large amount of new functionality to not only offer customers a wider range of services and transactions online but also to increase the commerciality of the websites and generate additional income for the leisure centres. A secure payment server will be used to ensure customer details are secure.

The implementation of the new websites will also allow Serco Leisure to capture extensive, accurate data such as gender, ethnicity, age, date of birth, etc.

June, July, August 2009
Swimathon Success


Avalon Leisure customers have been raising money for Marie Curie Cancer research by joining in with hundreds of pools across the country doing the annual Swimathon.

Customers and team members at Wells Leisure Centre, Frome Leisure Centre and Strode Swimming Pool took part in the Swimathon that took place Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th April.

The aim was to either do a 1.5, 2.5 or a 5 kilometre swim.

Among the Swimmers that took part at Frome Leisure Centre were James Godwin, Anthony Lockyer, Adam McDermott, Dean Ridley, Cherie Crozier, Rob Ayers, Michael Lockyer, Paul Saunders, Kylie Withers and Leasha Fry.

Lucas Upham, Duty Manager from Frome Leisure Centre said: “It was a great turn out and really nice to see everyone taking part to raise money for charity. Lots of fun was had by all”

“I look forward to next year’s Swimathon and hopefully we can get more people involved and raise more money for charity”

Sponsorship money or donations can be sent by cheque, payable to Swimathon 2009, PO BOX 4500, London W1A 7LF.

DC LEISURE & NHS ROTHERHAM LAUNCH GROUND BREAKING OBESITY STRATEGY

DC Leisure is working in partnership with NHS Rotherham to launch a ground breaking programme designed to reduce obesity levels in the town. The Carnegie Club is an ambitious three year project which will start in May. It aims to help a significant number of children from the local area to change their lifestyles by becoming more active and eating a healthier diet.

The Rotherham programme has been developed by Professor Paul Gately at Carnegie Weight Management based at Leeds Metropolitan University. It is aimed at children aged between eight and 17, who have a body mass index (BMI) indicating overweight or obese on BMI centile charts. DC Leisure has appointed Marie Hepburn as Programme Manager, who will be working with GP surgeries, paediatricians and nurses to increase awareness amongst the medical community. There will also be links with schools, leisure centres, libraries and supermarkets to promote the scheme and encourage people to self-refer on to the programme.

The weekly lifestyle sessions will initially be run at two of the recently opened leisure facilities, managed by DC Leisure on behalf of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council – Rotherham Leisure Complex and Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre. Children will attend with a parent or guardian in the hope of getting the whole family involved. Over the 12 week term, participants will increase their levels of activity, improve their understanding of diet and nutrition and hopefully make a long term behavioural change. Regular updates and reviews will continue after completion of the course.

Carol Weir, Public Health Specialist for NHS Rotherham, explains: “We are the first PCT in the country to launch this type of programme and on this scale. The significant level of investment demonstrates the priority it has been given and our commitment to reducing obesity levels in Rotherham. At the moment, 1 in 3 of our residents is overweight or obese. This number is continuing to rise at such an alarming rate that by 2050, three fifths of people in Rotherham will be obese. The consequences for people’s health and the NHS are extreme. Hopefully by investing now, we will save in the future.”

Carol continues: “DC Leisure is an ideal partner to work with us on this project. The team from Carnegie will train DC Leisure’s staff to lead the lifestyle sessions. They will then combine this with their own experience to motivate the participants and their families to take part in physical activity both at the centres and at home.”

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, says: “Rotherham is in no way unique in its growing obesity problem, it is a story repeated across the country. NHS Rotherham has been very proactive both in creating its policy and moving quickly to implement it. This is indicative of the local authority’s vision and commitment to working with different agencies to meet the needs of the community. It’s a fantastic example of joined up thinking and we are delighted to be involved in this exciting project.”

DC Leisure is well placed to help NHS Rotherham meet the objectives of their Local Area Agreements and already has extensive experience in delivering health programmes in the community through its work with MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!), a programme also dedicated to reducing childhood obesity levels. The company is the largest deliverer of MEND, with 20 programmes currently running in its centres throughout the UK.

SPONSORED BIKE RIDE TO HELP SAVE BABIES’ LIVES

Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd June will see Fareham Leisure Centre play host to a 24 hour sponsored bike ride to raise funds for Women for Women.

Nicola Newman, a member at the Everyone Active centre, is cycling to raise a staggering £2500 to enable her to take part in Cycle Jordan, the 9th women-only challenge to fund groundbreaking medical research work at the Wolfson and Weston Research Centre for Family Health in London.

Nicola will be joined on the day by a friend and work colleague, Clare, who is a single mum of a premature baby. “We are both mental health nurses working at a local Forensic Psychiatric Secure Unit and we will be giving up our annual leave to take part in Cycle Jordan, cycling 300 kilometers through the desert,” comments Nicola.

Cycle Jordan will be lead by Professor Robert Winston and the funds raised by the Women for Women ride will be used to train women scientists and clinicians to work on major research projects to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a range of devastating conditions that cause miscarriage, genetic diseases, infertility and cancer. The fundamental aim is to safeguard our future generations by improving women’s health and ensuring more women have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.

Commenting on her reasons for taking part in Cycle Jordan, Nicola said, “Clare and I have worked together for about 9 years. She recently gave birth prematurely to Samual. Both were well but it could have been very different. I was widowed in 2007 when my husband lost his life to cancer. We have no children but the miracle of childbirth has always been close to my heart. I am now in a position where I can put time and effort into helping those less fortunate than myself while trying to make a difference to their lives. This charity is relatively unknown and needs the support and funding raised by events such as Cycle Jordan.”

If you would like to support Nicola and Clare in their quest to join Cycle Jordan please contact reception at Fareham Leisure Centre who will be able to put you in touch with Nicola. Alternatively why not show your support and join them on the day of the 24 hour challenge.

Maidstone Re-bid Success

Subject to final contractual arrangements and working as managing agents to the Maidstone Leisure Trust, Serco Leisure has been awarded a 15 year contract to manage the Maidstone Leisure Centre. This is fantastic news for Serco Leisure and our team in Maidstone who have provided an excellent service to the community dating back to 1994.

The new contract, which was won in open competition, will commence in June. The next 10 months will be challenging with over £5m of a £7.3M enhancement and refurbishment programme to be completed ready for a centre re-launch in January 2010.

 AWARD WINNING PROGRESS AT DC LEISURE SITES IN WELLINGBOROUGH

At its recent Community Committee meeting, Wellingborough Borough Council commended the work of Waendel and Redwell Leisure Centres for their work to broaden their appeal and attract sections of the community that are typically under-represented within local sporting and leisure activities. The two centres, which are managed by DC Leisure, have worked with partner agencies to develop ways to successfully engage with different target groups in the town.

The ‘Fit as a Fiddle’ campaign was created in conjunction with Age Concern and Active Ageing. This six week programme to promote a more active lifestyle among the 50+ age group proved so popular that two additional courses have since been held. The weekly two hour session incorporated educational talks and activities linked to three main areas which affect this age bracket – physical activity, healthy eating and mental health issues. It not only provided an opportunity to meet and socialise with other people the same age, but everyone attending was offered a free swim after each session and a free group induction in the gym. To encourage continued activity after the course, Redwell Leisure Centre has introduced a regular weekly session with activities such as badminton, table tennis, bowls and ‘new age curling’ on offer.

Working with the Primary Care Trust (PCT), DC Leisure has launched a MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!) programme designed to reduce childhood obesity. This family-based initiative provides advice on increasing activity levels, nutrition and social learning in order to make the whole family fitter, healthier and happier.

Waendel Leisure Centre was also praised for achieving the Inclusive Fitness Mark accreditation recently and ensuring that both facilities are now fully accessible for disabled and non-disabled people. The centre was assessed in terms of access, fitness equipment, staff training and marketing. All staff have received training in disability equality, with the fitness instructors being awarded specific disability qualifications in order to provide safe and effective workouts.

The Council also recognised DC Leisure’s two prestigious national awards - the Inclusive Fitness Initiative’s award for Demonstrating Corporate Commitment and The Fitness Industry Association’s Operator of the Year 2008/09 award.

Councillor Malcolm Waters, Chair of the Community Committee, stated: “ I am delighted to offer DC Leisure the Borough Council’s congratulations for achieving these awards – a recognition of the commitment of the staff at the centres and the work that they do to engage local communities to take part in physical activity.”

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director of DC Leisure, added: “The teams at both these centres have done an incredible job. They have worked really hard to extend their reach and better serve the communities in which they operate, and have fully embraced our philosophy of getting ’more people, more active, more often’.”

Olympic Hopeful gets a Boost

Local Olympic hopeful, Joe Hoyes, has received a massive boost in his quest to compete at the 2012 Olympics as part of the Great Britain canoeing squad when he received a sponsorship cheque for £2000 from SERCO Leisure at a recent awards ceremony held at Market Harborough Leisure Centre in Leicestershire.

The sponsorship came in support from Joe's previous employer's SERCO Leisure via the John Adams Trust Fund, an establishment that has been set up as a tribute to the work and legacy of a former chairman and as a mechanism to raise funds for the promotion and participation in the development of sport and active recreation with the SERCO family.

Joe was a fitness instructor at the local Loughborough Leisure Centre (managed by SERCO Leisure on behalf of the Charnwood Borough Council) when he initialling applied to an advert asking for 'relatively fit people who were over 6ft 3 to attempt trials for rowing'!

The rest as they say is history, and now Joe is part of 8 canoeists that form the Great Britain Canoe and Kayak squad.

"I am really grateful for the support shown to me from SERCO Leisure via the sponsorship as this will be a great help towards my training costs and will enable me to concentrate fully on achieving my goal that is to compete at the 2012 Olympics in London. I still get down to Loughborough Leisure Centre and really appreciate the local support that I am receiving, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to represent my country and win a medal"

Mendip Extends Leisure Management Contract

Mendip District Council has extended its Leisure management Contract with Avalon Leisure and Western Community Leisure to 2015. Avalon Leisure manages four centres on behalf of the Council and Western Community Leisure, a leisure trust.

The two-year extension was awarded after the Company came up with a series of operating and financial efficiencies that will significantly reduce the Council’s subsidy payments, without sacrificing the excellent standard of service to customers. Two of the centres have achieved ‘highly commended’ Quest scores.

This follows a successful capital investment and service improvement strategy completed in 2006 that has seen attendances rise by over 10% per annum for the past three years – considerably above the Sport England target of 1%. Annual customer satisfaction scores for the Council’s leisure facilities have also improved.

Stuart Cave, the Council’s Group Manager for Economy and Community, said: “At a time when many Councils are faced with some tough decisions, extending our contract with Western Community Leisure and Avalon Leisure was an easy one as we get excellent service and value for money – a winning combination”.

Exciting News at Swallows Leisure Centre

Swale Community Leisure Ltd, Swale Borough Council and Serco Leisure Operating Limited have agreed to undertake a £500,000.00 improvement programme at the Swallows Leisure Centre.

The works are focused on two key areas: -

  1. Refurbishment of the village change.
  2. Adding some fun and interaction in to the pool.

The following enhancement works programme will commence on Wednesday 13th May and be complete by Friday 17th July 2009.

1. Changing Village Refurbishment

  • New changing cubicles
  • Additional lockers
  • Improved shower area
  • All walls will be retiled
  • New lighting throughout
  • Re-decorated ceiling and walls (where they are not tiled)
  • Two new private shower cubicles
  • Refurbished disabled changing area.
  • Refurbished male and female toilets and washrooms
  • Refurbished stairwell access corridor from reception to changing village
  • Re-siting of the existing lockers
  • New branding and signage.
  • New handrails allowing easier access from changing village to poolside.
  • Overhaul of the air movement system in the village change to provide a more comfortable changing environment.
  • Double glazed screen to the pool viewing area adjacent to the lift behind reception to improve the environment and safety in that area.

2. Fun and interaction in the pool

  • A complete overhaul of the wave machine.
  • A new interactive water feature aimed at toddlers, this will be created in the form of a pirate ship and will be situated in the beach area. This is the only ship of its kind in the area.
  • A new 3 lane multi slide will be built on the pool surround adjacent to the deep end of the pool. This is the only one of its kind in the area.
  • The pool hall will be given a face lift, we are currently in discussion with various local and national artists as to how best we can “lift” the internal façade of the pool hall.

Government Free Swim Initiative

Leisure Connection has worked with their clients to guide them through the Government’s Free Swim process that will not only benefit them but also encourage more people from the target groups into the pools each week. During the first six weeks of the launch an additional 90,000 users have registered for free swimming offered at Leisure Connection pools.

Leisure Connection continues to deliver its extremely successful swimming programme – Harpers SwimSchool. Each week approximately 40,000 children swim in our pools and following a strategic review in 2008, we are at 90% occupancy.

Photo: Mark Foster with Leisure Connection customers at the launch of free swimming.

National Benchmarking Conference

At the end of April The Moutbatten Centre hosted the National Benchmarking Conference. The National Benchmarking scheme is part of an annual survey that assesses how well Leisure Facilities perform and meet the expectations of our customers. From a National Sample of over 100 Leisure Centres, the top 5 in each of the 4 categories are recognised at the National Conference.

Some of the awards were presented to Leisure Connection sites including: Great Dunmow, Lord Butler and Harpenden Leisure Centre who achieved places in the top 5 best performers in the country in the following categories; Great Dunmow and Lord Butler ‘Access to all Awards’ and Best Financial Performance to Harpenden Leisure Centre.

Business Managers Lyn Fisher, Phil Wallis and Charles Smith accepted the awards on behalf of their teams. Quality Manager, Brian Gray, was also on hand to congratulate the winners. Leisure Connection has 22 sites within the National Benchmarking Scheme.

Vale Farm Sports Centre - Inclusive Fitness Initiative accredited

On Friday 8th May Vale Farm Sports Centre qualified for the Inclusive Fitness Initiative accreditation after an extensive inspection by the IFI.

The IFI is a programme supporting the fitness industry to become more inclusive. It ensures that its facilities cater for the needs of disabled and non-disabled people, raising physical activity participation levels. The model is built around developments in four key areas, Accessible Facilities, Inclusive Fitness Equipment, Staff Training, Inclusive Marketing Strategies. Alterations had to be made in order to the building to qualify, such as painting the grab rails in the toilets for people with visually impairment, ensuring the facilities equipment was IFI acceptable including CV, strength and weight equipment, markings on windows, grab rails in lifts, lowering of door handles and other equipment.

Training was also attended by the Harpers Gym, reception and management team on level 1 and Level 2 Inclusive Fitness training. This award will allow Vale Farm to include on all literature the IFI mark, as well as the IFI advertising the sports centre through their extensive mediums.

SLM PASSES FIA CODE OF PRACTICE

SLM have passed the FIA Code of Practice. The Code is designed to ensure that health and fitness operators maintain a basic level of practice to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their customers.

The Code is externally audited by Central YMCA Qualifications (CYQ), an established awarding body, with Government approval via the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Drawing on its specialist knowledge of the industry, CYQ is ideally placed to be the assessor of the FIA Code of Practice.

Compliance with the Code communicates your commitment to standards, quality and customer welfare. It is an important statement to Government and other regulatory bodies that the health and fitness sector is a professional industry that takes its operation and duty of care seriously.

Four of our centres were assessed in order to gain this accreditation: Grimsby Swimming Pool, Hucknall Leisure Centre, Southam Leisure Centre and Dolphin Swimming Pool.

DC LEISURE APPOINTS NEW GROUP FITNESS MANAGER

DC Leisure has appointed Sarah Leonie to the position of Group Fitness Manager. Sarah, who has been with the company for seven years, was originally Fitness Manager at Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre in Worcestershire. Her career path within DC Leisure has included roles as a Regional Support Trainer and most recently Regional Fitness Manager.

Sarah has worked in the leisure industry since 1995 and has a wealth of operational experience both in the gym and as a group exercise instructor. Prior to her promotion, she has been pivotal in developing a Quality Management System for Group Exercise Programming within the business. The manual, which is being launched next month, is a support document for all DC Leisure’s sites to help them run and manage a successful and profitable class timetable.

On her new role, Sarah says: “Having worked my way up through the company, I feel I have a good grounding and a true understanding of the day to day challenges of operating a centre. I am looking forward to helping the business grow, sharing best practice across the group and continuing to lead the field with new ideas and products.”

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, adds: “I am always pleased to see people promoted from within, and I am delighted to welcome Sarah into her new position. During her time with the company, Sarah has always been willing to get involved and take on more responsibility. She is an excellent communicator and has a true passion and enthusiasm for the industry and DC Leisure. I have no doubt that she will do an excellent job.”

 

THE KINGFISHER LEISURE CENTRE CELEBRATES QUEST SCORE

The Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Kingston-upon-Thames has been awarded 79% for its recent Quest assessment, putting it in the highly commended category and making it one of the top performing sites in the DC Leisure portfolio.

At its last Quest assessment two years ago, the Centre scored just 68% making this result even more impressive. Mark Learnihan is DC Leisure’s Contract Manager for Kingston and a huge supporter of the Quest process. He says: “I think it’s really important to be able to benchmark against other facilities both within the company and externally as well. We have been able to share best practice not only between the sites in the Kingston contract, but have also benefitted from the experiences of other DC Leisure facilities.”

He continues: “Improved communication has been a key factor in boosting the Kingfisher Centre’s score. The team has really bought into the new processes and is definitely taking greater ownership of the different areas around the facility. Our aim now is to maintain this high standard, whilst still continuing to focus and show improvement at the next assessment.”

The Kingfisher Leisure Centre is one of four centres managed by DC Leisure on behalf of The Royal Borough of Kingston. The other sites within the contract are The Malden Centre, Tolworth Recreation Centre and Kingsmeadow Fitness and Athletic. The facilities at the Kingfisher Leisure Centre include a leisure pool with wave machine, 60 station fitness studio, dance studio, health suite including a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, two squash courts, crèche and a café.

 

Stoke Mandeville Institute of Sport and Education launched at home of British Wheelchair Sport

A brand new facility which united education with disability sports was launched last week at Stoke Mandeville. The centre will provide a unique programme of sports education and training opportunities for disabled people and those working in disability sport, which will contribute to the legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The institute is a partnership between Bucks New University, Bucks & Milton Keynes Sports Partnership, Leisure Connection and WheelPower – British Wheelchair Sport, and it was launched during the Inter Spinal Unit Games in the company of distinguished guests from across the region’s sporting organisations. The Institute is committed to enabling disabled people to become involved in sport as athletes, coaches, administrators or officials, and to increasing the number of qualified coaches, officials, volunteers and classifiers. Courses scheduled to be offered at the Institute this year include: An Introduction to Disability Sport; Running Sport: A Club For All; Certificate in Sports Leadership; and Wheelchair Basketball Grade 1 Coaching Assistant. If you are interested in arranging or undertaking disability sports education, please contact info@smise.org.uk or visit www.smise.org.uk

DC LEISURE AWARDED SWIMATHON FOUNDATION GRANT

DC Leisure has been awarded a £5000 operator grant by the Swimathon Foundation to support swimming related training and education. The money will be used to fund a scheme to train and support 25 aquatic coaches across the company’s 71 swimming facilities.

To date, 38 training and education grants have been awarded to staff at Swimathon 2008 pools and leisure centres across the UK. Last year’s pilot scheme proved so successful that Swimathon Foundation grants of up to £1000 will be offered again to pools participating in or acting as a host pool for Swimathon 2009. Centres delivering the highest swimmer recruitment will also be able to apply for enhanced grants.

Mark Haslam, Group Swimming Manager for DC Leisure, explains: “The Swimathon event is a key driver of swimmer recruitment for our pools. Not only are we keen to top the national and regional league tables, we also have are own internal challenge running between the sites to enrol the highest number of participants.”

The 23rd annual Swimathon in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care will take place between April 16-19, 2009. During its time, the event has attracted over 500,000 participants and raised over £30m for charity. DC Leisure has always been a huge supporter of the Swimathon and was the largest single operator hosting the event in 2008 with 59 of its sites involved.

The Swimathon Foundation is an independent registered charity which owns the Swimathon event. Originally devised as a swimmer recruitment and retention programme for local authority pools, the Swimathon challenges participants to swim further, faster or for longer than they have done before. The Swimathon Foundation grants are intended to support the training and education of leisure centre staff and volunteers to become more involved and qualified in swimming. By enabling the best pools to access this development funding, it is hoped that they will promote their facilities and services to an even wider audience and deliver excellent Swimathon events.

Exhibition and concerts win local award

The Hub and artsNK, managed by Leisure Connection on behalf of North Kesteven DC, have won a local award for the excellent Guitars exhibition and accompanying concert series that took place at the National Centre for Craft and design in Sleaford.

Phil Cosker and Dave Groom were presented with the 2009 Visual Arts Award as part of Sleaford Awards night. The ceremony, which was jointly sponsored by Sleaford Town Council and the Sleaford Target newspaper, was held in recognition of people who have made a difference in the community and deserve to be recognised for their efforts.

The awards were the result of a public nomination, which opened in January and ran for several weeks. "We are very fortunate here in Sleaford to have such a wealth of artistic talent and now an investment by public bodies, private and voluntary effort to nurture that talent," said Windham Hime, of the Carre Street Gallery Arts Trust Ltd, who sponsored the category. Phil and Dave brought together more than 50 British guitar makers for the Hub’s exhibition ‘Guitars: Made in Britain, Played the World Over’, which ran from last November through to January.

Alongside the exhibition, a series of concerts with the likes of Newton Faulkner, Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap took place. Phil said: "It is a real privilege and honour to have this award. "The Guitars exhibition was a great event and brought lots of people into the Hub.” Dave added: "How lucky we were to get the artists involved to come to this event. The reason they came is because they were so enthusiastic and supportive of the venture. "Artists including Newton Faulkner were very generous with their time because they wanted to be part of this event.” This is an excellent example of connecting the community to leisure activities – well done to everyone at artsNK and the Hub for putting on a wonderful exhibition and concert series!

March, April, May 2009
STAFF SHINE WITH CAN-DO ENTHUSIASM

  A Mendip leisure centre has been judged among the best in the country.

 Wells Leisure Centre, which is run by Avalon Leisure on behalf of Mendip District Council, has received a 78 per cent score from Quest – which is a nationally recognised system for measuring the quality of leisure centres.

 This score is four percentage places above its last inspection in 2006 and now places the Wells centre among the top third of Quest registered leisure centres in the UK.

 The Quest award has highly commended Wells Leisure Centre for the way it is managed, what it has to offer and how it meets the needs of its customers.

 Quest is judged by trained professional leisure assessors who use industry standards to decide what percentage to award a centre. To be successful centres are encouraged to consider how they run their business from the customers’ point of view. They are asked to consider service planning and improvement, staff management, customer relations and operational service.

 The external assessment also includes a ‘mystery shopper’ visit by the assessors.

 Before being assessed externally to be awarded a Quest percentage, Wells Leisure Centre had to undertake an internal inspection to plan how it will improve and drawing up an action plan for improvements. Assessors then use this information and what is already currently on offer to decide what score to award.

 Some of the key findings from the inspection were:

  • Management recognise the benefits of improvement and are developing staff and the service including a training and development programme.
  • The quality of pool water is excellent.
  • Links with Mendip District Council ensure there is a balanced programme of activities.
  • Working with a marketing company has improved service, and the image being created at the centre is professional.
  • A committed team of duty managers provide positive direction for the centre with a can-do enthusiasm among staff helping to improve the overall service.

 Peter Gilpin, managing director of Avalon Leisure which manages the centre on behalf of Western Community Leisure, a leisure trust, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is down to the hard work of all the staff at Wells Leisure Centre, led by manager Jackie Treasure.”

 Wells centre manager Jackie Treasure, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved such a great score, which recognises the progress we have made since our last assessment.”

 Cllr Ron Forrest, Mendip District Council’s portfolio holder for community, said: “The council provides excellent leisure facilities in Mendip, and this wonderful result from Quest reinforces that message.

 “We pride ourselves on providing leisure activities and centres which are available to everyone, whether you are a beginner or a fitness fanatic. The council and staff at Wells Leisure Centre should be exceptionally proud of the work they do in helping the local communities lead healthier lifestyles.”

Leisure Connection National Awards

Leisure Connection has scooped a number of national industry awards, beating off fierce competition along the way. 

 PFM Awards Dec 08

 The first award was presented at the Premises and Facilities Management awards, which was held December 2008 in London.  Leisure Connection stood out from a busy finalist crowd, which included Honeywell Building Solutions and Wembley National Stadium, to take home the award for Partners in Sports Facilities Management, in partnership with their client North Kesteven District Council. 

 Tracey Munford, Partnership manager said:  “We were of course delighted to be recognised and rewarded at these awards.  We are very proud of what we have jointly achieved with our client partners at North Kesteven District Council, where our partnership continues to evolve from strength to strength.  We are now looking to build on this fantastic achievement and blueprint, which we hope to replicate in all contracts going forward.”

Corporate Social Responsibility Award Dec 08

The second award of the year came in the shape of the Corporate Social Responsibility award at the annual Leisure Report Awards, held at Lords Cricket ground.  Tracey continues:  “We are very proud of what we do to support our communities and indeed our clients and take our corporate social responsibility very seriously.  This award was voted by our peers and professionals from within the industry and it’s great to be recognised for our commitment.”

Low Carbon Performance Awards Feb 09

 On the 4th February, the Chartered Institute of Service Engineers CIBSE, held their annual Low Carbon Performance Awards hosted and presented by Ken Livingstone and Dame Ellen

MacArthur, the round the world yachtswoman. Despite stiff competition, the field was narrowed down to Leisure Connection and Somerfields, Leisure Connection coming out the winners in the ‘Client of the Year’ category for all the work carried out so far in encouraging awareness on sites and for technical trials and rollout. Paul Bailey, Head of Property Services, said ‘At last we have national recognition for the hard work being carried out by the Technical Team, our Energy Champions and Local Authority partners to reduce our carbon footprint and costs. I expect this award to be the springboard for even more energy savings in the future’

AVALON LEISURE GAIN AWARD FOR 13TH YEAR

 Avalon Leisure who manage Frome Leisure Centre, Wells Leisure Centre, Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre, Shepton Mallet Lido and Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf and Country Club continues to meet the requirements of the Investors In People Standard for the 13th year running.

 Investors In People provide straightforward, proven frameworks for delivering business improvement through people.

 The Investors In People report highlighted many strengths for Avalon Leisure, particularly good communications and leading by example. Team members quoted “The management often roll up their sleeves and help out and we are able to approach them at any time. They are keen to develop people and pass on their knowledge to us.”

 Rob Taylor Contract Manager of Avalon Leisure said “The investment in our people has proven to be the key to our corporate success. The investment of leadership skills for our managers has particularly proven worthwhile and will no doubt be one of the major drivers of Avalon Leisures future success.”

Kickz at Downham Leisure Centre goes from strength to strength

Two years since its launch, Downham Health and Leisure Centre has established a powerful partnership, which is tackling anti-social behaviour in and around the locality of the centre on Moorside Road with The Lewisham KICKZ Project.

“There was no where for young people to ‘hang out’ in the area and they had begun to use the centre as a meeting place, which at times was intimidating for our users and families.” says Kay Skelton, Contract Manager at Downham Leisure Centre. 

“Kickz seemed like the perfect answer.  It’s a nationwide project originally developed by the Metropolitan Police and the Premier League and is aimed to help create safer, stronger and more respectful communities through the development of young people’s potential on the football pitch.”

Kickz offers 12-18 year olds the opportunity to participate in free activities three nights a week, 48 weeks of the year. Although it’s based on football skills, a wide variety of sports and creative activities are involved.  The project brings healthy and active lifestyle changes to the forefront of the group sessions and also allows some room to educate the youngsters on the dangers of getting involved in drugs, crime and other anti-social activities.

The Lewisham Kickz Project has been so successful that it recently won the National Kickz Award for Team Achievement at a presentation at Wembley Stadium with Lewisham Kickz finishing top out of a total of 39 professional clubs. Andy Burnham MP was particularly impressed with the progress and growth Downham had achieved through the Kickz Project and thanked Kay Skelton personally for Leisure Connection’s continued involvement and commitment to the project.

“Kickz has contributed to the decline in the number of incidents of anti-social behaviour in Downham and has encouraged a broad range of young people to take part in activities together; what a fantastic achievement for our community!” comments Kay.

Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of Leisure Connection, thoroughly backs the continued progress of Leisure Connection’s affiliation, “The partnerships involved in making this project a success are evidence of what we can do when we work together. The Kickz Project is a credit to Leisure Connection and the local team but more importantly to the organisers, and to the families and young people who continue to be involved.”

Millwall Community Scheme, the Lewisham Library Service, PCT, Met Police SNT, Lewisham Council, Lewisham Youth Service, Lewisham ASBAT and Lewisham Community Drug Education Project worked alongside staff at Downham to contribute to The Kickz Project.

  BRISTOL RESIDENTS TO GET IN THE SWIM TO STAY HEALTHY

Up to 80,000 people in Bristol will benefit from free swimming sessions when a new scheme launches in April.

 Anyone under 16 or over 60 can take advantage of the Government backed free swimming initiative being funded by Bristol City Council and available at the six pools run by SLM.  Anyone in these two age categories will be entitled to swim free with an Everyone Active activity card from 1st April 2009.

The free sessions, available during the ‘swim for all’ sessions, are designed to promote healthy and active lifestyles among younger and older people.   The six pools in Bristol that will be offering free swimming are Horfield Leisure Centre, Henbury Leisure Centre, Easton Leisure Centre, Bristol South Swimming Pool, Jubilee Swimming Pool and Bishopsworth Swimming Pool.

Councillor Rosalie Walker, said: " Offering free swimming is a real measure of our commitment to making a real difference to people’s lives. Our ambitious swimming strategy has paved the way for first-class swimming opportunities in the city and we are now well-placed to deliver this free swimming initiative.

“Swimming is an excellent sport for all-round fitness and well-being. I would encourage all those over 60 – and young people too to get their free Everyone Active cards now – so they can make the most of this exciting offer when it comes into effect in April.”

PRAISE FOR STRONG LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVE TEAM WORK

 PIC: From left; Duty officer Paul Mason, Mendip district councillor Ron Forrest, lifestyle manager Lisa White, centre manager Al Wood, fitness instructor Rich Hill and lifestyle brand manager Jon Marsh

 A Mendip leisure centre has been judged among the best in the country.

 Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre in Street, which is run by Avalon Leisure on behalf of Mendip District Council, has received a 76 per cent score from Quest - a nationally recognised system for measuring the quality of leisure centres.

 The Quest award has highly commended Strode for the way it is managed, what it has to offer and how it meets the needs of its customers.

 This now places the Strode centre among the top third of Quest registered leisure centres in the UK.

 Quest is judged by trained professional leisure assessors who use industry standards to decide what percentage to award a centre. To be successful centres are encouraged to consider how they run their business from the customers’ point of view. They are asked to consider service planning and improvement, staff management, customer relations and operational service.

 The external assessment also includes a ‘mystery shopper’ visit from the assessors.

 Before being assessed externally to be awarded a Quest percentage, Strode had to undertake an internal inspection to plan how it will improve what it offers in terms of how staff plan to perform against recognised leisure industry standards, identifying their strengths and areas for improvement, and drawing up an action plan for improvements.

 Assessors can then use this information and what is already currently on offer to decide what score to award.

 Some of the positive key findings from the inspection were: 

  • Strong operationally.
  • Benefitting from clear leadership and effective teamwork.
  • Using Information, Communication and Technology well.
  • Considerably better at marketing than it has been.
  • Clearly enjoying the confidence of its partner, Mendip District Council.

 Peter Gilpin, Managing Director of Avalon Leisure, which manages the centre on behalf of Western Community Leisure, a leisure trust, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is down to the hard work of all the staff at Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre, led by centre manager Al Wood.”

 Strode’s centre manager Al Wood said: “Thanks to all the hard work from all our team members who have achieved a score of 76 per cent, which means that we are a highly commended facility and shows that we are committed to continuous improvement at our centre.

 “We hope to continue to improve on this score and improve all of our customer's experiences at Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre.”

 Cllr Ron Forrest, Mendip District Council’s portfolio holder for community, said: “The council provides excellent leisure facilities in Mendip, and this wonderful result from Quest reinforces that message.

 “We pride ourselves on providing leisure activities and centres which are available to everyone, whether you are a beginner or a fitness fanatic. The council and staff at Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre should be exceptionally proud of the work they do in helping local communities lead healthier lifestyles.”

GYMNASTICS ACADEMY OPENS IN AMBER VALLEY

 The official opening of the Gymnastics Academy at Alfreton Leisure Centre took place on November 25. The event was attended by the Mayor and Consort of Amber Valley Borough Council, Cllr Jean Gemmell, the chairman of British Gymnastics, Alan Somerville OBE and the Partnership Director of Derbyshire Sport, David Joy. The highlight of the day was a demonstration of the new equipment by Olympic gymnasts Becky Downie and Laura Jones, and culminated with a dazzling routine by the Amber Valley Gymnastics display team.

 The Academy features over £76,000 worth of new equipment including both men and women’s apparatus, a full length tumble track and the only landing pit facility in Derbyshire. It also has cutting edge visual technology and computer systems, which will deliver instant visual feedback to the gymnasts and coaches. The project has been jointly funded by Amber Valley Borough Council, DC Leisure and Sport England, through the Community Investment Fund, together with support from, English and British Gymnastics, Derbyshire Sport, Amber Valley School Sport Partnership and Amber Valley Gymnastics Club.
 The Academy will become a Centre of Excellence for gymnastics in Derbyshire, as well as being the main base for Amber Valley Gymnastics Club, a Gym Mark accredited club. It will offer courses for pre-school children and recreational gymnastics. Plus there will be volunteering opportunities for those wishing to develop their leadership and coaching skills in gymnastics through the ‘Leadership Academy’ initiative. 

Peter Sharkey, General Manager of Alfreton Leisure Centre, says: “The main aims of the Academy are to increase participation and identify and support talented gymnasts of the future. The centre will enable clubs, schools and the local community to sample gymnastics in a fantastic facility with qualified coaches, leaving them with a really positive introduction and experience of the sport. We are launching an extensive gymnastics programme in the New Year, and already have over 160 children enrolled onto it, so there is lots of interest and excitement throughout the community.”

 Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director, adds: “This is an excellent example of how effective and successful a joint funding partnership can be. The new facility will help more people get active and involved in sport, whilst also ensuring a wide variety of gymnastics groups will benefit for many years to come.”

 Richard adds: “DC Leisure is also working closely with British Gymnastics on the launch of Gymnastics Proficiency Centres to increase participation in a quality assured environment.”

DC LEISURE WINS IFI AWARD

 DC Leisure is delighted to have won the category for ‘Demonstrating Corporate Commitment’ at the first annual Inclusive Fitness Awards sponsored by Cybex. The ceremony, which was held at the ICC in Birmingham on December 10, celebrated the work of IFI accredited facilities across the country and the progress that has been made in the health and fitness industry to include disabled people.

 The evening was hosted by Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer, Chris Holmes MBE MA, and featured an after dinner speech by Michael McGrath, CEO of the Muscular Help Foundation and the only disabled person in the world to have reached both the North and South poles. The awards were presented by representatives of the IFI Inspirations, a new scheme comprised of individuals who support and endorse the work of the initiative. Each one is a role model to motivate other disabled people into physical activity.

 One of eight prizes presented during the evening, the award for Demonstrating Corporate Commitment recognises facilities or organisations that have widened inclusive opportunities and experiences for all within the community.  Sue Catton, IFI National Director, explains: “We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations and exceptionally high standard of all the IFI accredited facilities. The recipient of the Corporate Commitment award will have multiple accredited IFI sites adopting the IFI principles, and will have shown an ongoing commitment to the project. DC Leisure has always been a great supporter of the initiative and been at the forefront of the cultural change in the leisure industry’s approach to inclusion, disability and access.”

 Steve Philpott, CEO of DC Leisure, says: “As a company, we have fully embraced the Inclusive Fitness Initiative and made it an integral part of our daily working practice. It’s great when your achievement is recognised in this way and we are very pleased to have won such a significant award.”

The Inclusive Fitness Initiative was introduced in 2000 to help the fitness industry become more inclusive. It has four key areas of development - accessible facilities, inclusive fitness equipment, staff training and inclusive marketing strategies. The IFI now aims to have launched 1000 inclusive fitness facilities across the UK by the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London.

Programme Development – Strike launch!

 Harpers Fitness, the name of community, public access sport and leisure in the UK, has linked up exclusively with Liam Richards and Danny Ball, better known as Strike - made famous earlier this year when they wowed audiences (and Amanda Holden) in the final of Britain’s Got Talent.  They became an inspiration to thousands of children (and adults) up and down the country with their innovative and breathtaking martial arts moves and choreography. 

Recognising their appeal, Harpers Fitness approached Liam and Danny to launch a fantastic new programme aimed at 5-16 year olds in a bid to encourage more young people to enjoy exercise and physical activity as part of their everyday lifestyle.

The performance martial arts programme, which launched in January 2009 is called Harpers Strike and offers a fun based introduction to performance martial arts, which Liam and Danny so effortlessly demonstrated on our screens. 

Harpers Strike is a structured sessions of fun-based martial arts activities, which are a fusion of structured martial arts training and pre-choreographed performances set to music. Each routine involves a mixture of martial arts moves at levels suitable to the class. 

The various moves are taught in a fun way before pulling them together to create fully choreographed routines.  Each term (three per year) the class will learn a new set of moves. 

The programme splits into three different age categories – 5 – 7 years, 8-11 years and 12-16 years, each providing a route to more specialist areas of training and discipline.

The programme will be delivered by specially selected trainers, who Danny and Liam have hand-picked and trained. 

Harpers Strike will be rolled out across more than 40 centres within the Harpers Fitness estate throughout 2009 and 2010. 

Harpers invest in £220,000 in new equipment

Harpers has invested £220,000 in new equipment across our national portfolio of gyms.

Kevin Yates, National Harpers Fitness Manager said; “staying true to our vision of delivering a private sector experience within a public access environment, we want to ensure our customers and members have access to the very best equipment. What’s more, since the launch of the Harpers Experience we have seen the demand for affordable personal training rocket, with a 465% increase across certain areas”.

“Despite the credit crunch more people are opting for a Harpers gym membership. Offering more affordable access to an active lifestyle, our members are swapping their private memberships for the public access alternative. Welcome to all our new customers”.

THE ARENA CELEBRATES AFTER £1.7m REFURBISHMENT

 The Arena Leisure Centre in Camberley was officially re-opened on January 21, 2009, following a £1.7m refurbishment. Attending the ceremony on behalf of Surrey Heath Borough Council were The Mayor, Cllr. Alan Whittard, the Portfolio Holder for Arts and Leisure, Cllr. Wynn Price, the Director of Customer Service, Chas Bradfield, Head of Arts and Leisure, Nick Mowat and Leisure and Recreation Manager, Kate Flynn.

 The project was funding by £1.4m from Surrey Heath Borough Council and a further £300,000 from DC Leisure, which operates the centre on the council’s behalf. DC Leisure was also responsible for managing the investment and was commissioned to design and build the project on account of its excellent track record in this area.

 Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, says: “We are committed to ensuring the highest levels of leisure provision and customer satisfaction at all times. The improvements made at the Arena make it an even bigger asset for the local community and help it maintain its position as one of the most successful leisure centres in the country.”

 The extensive programme of improvements started in July 2008 and has seen the centre transformed with more space and new equipment. The Kinetika gym has been extended and modernised with flat screen televisions and a wireless music system installed, as well as the number of exercise machines being increased from 86 to 120. The aerobics studio has also been re-vamped and extended by 50% in size, with new flooring and equipment, and a dedicated cycling studio has been built complete with 20 bikes for high energy, fun classes, in a self-contained area. A new spa and steam room have been added, and the changing facilities have been upgraded throughout with new showers, toilets and lockers. In the café and bar, there is now additional seating, a members lounge and servery.

 On the refurbished facility, Centre Manager, Daniel Walker, says: “There’s a completely different feel about the centre and it’s great to see so many customers re-energised and excited with the results. We are confident that visitors to the Arena are exercising in first class facilities and receiving excellent value for money.”

  ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL FOR ROTHERHAM LEISURE COMPLEX

 Rotherham Leisure Complex was officially opened by HRH the Earl of Wessex on January 23, 2009, with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. The ceremony was also attended by the Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr. Ann Russell, the Chief Executive of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), Mike Cuff, the Leader of RMBC, Roger Stone, Cabinet Member for Culture & Leisure Services for RMBC, Gerald Smith and DC Leisure’s Chief Executive, Steve Philpott. During his tour of the flagship facility, Prince Edward met members of the centre’s team, saw the variety of sports taking place in the building and had an opportunity to talk to some of the local residents using the facility.

 Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, said: “Our partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is a real success story. They have been great to work with, and I commend them on their vision and bravery for completely overhauling their leisure offering and implementing such a bold strategy. Of course now, there is no question that it was the right decision. We are all extremely proud of what has been achieved in Rotherham and I would like to congratulate and thank everyone who has been involved in making this project happen. These fantastic new facilities are already making a difference to the lives of the people of Rotherham, and will continue to do so for many years to come.”

 The Earl of Wessex’s visit to the leisure complex was one of three appointments in Rotherham. Following lunch with the Mayor, he met officers and young people from Rotherham and Sheffield involved with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, before visiting the offices of Voluntary Action Rotherham and unveiling a plaque to officially open its new £2m headquarters. 

A contract to design, build, operate and finance Rotherham Leisure Complex was awarded to DC Leisure by RMBC and it opened on time and budget to the public in October 2008. DC Leisure’s consortium team included Barclays and Willmott Dixon. The facility consists of a 25m swimming pool, learner pool, leisure waters and flume tower, 90-station fitness suite, studio, six-court sports hall, climbing wall, four squash courts, café and meeting room. It is one of four new leisure centres and a Joint Service Centre which have been developed as part of a £35m PFI contract, the UK’s largest leisure PFI. DC Leisure has worked in partnership with RMBC to launch Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre and Wath-upon-Dearne Leisure Centre in 2008, with a further leisure complex in Maltby due to be completed in February 2010.

Join Swimathon 2009 with Avalon Leisure, and be part of the world’s biggest swim to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care

Swimathon 2009 is set to make a splash as it launches at Frome Leisure Centre, Strode Swimming Pool and Wells Leisure Centre managed by Avalon Leisure. As the world’s largest fundraising swim, thousands of swimmers will take part in over 500 pools nationwide between 16 -19 April 2009.

 Swimathon entrants will be able to make a difference by taking part at Frome Leisure Centre and helping the lives of thousands of terminally ill patients through the donations to Marie Curie Cancer Care. 

Over the past two years, 30,000 swimmers have taken part in Swimathon and have raised more than £3 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care and The Swimathon Foundation. This year, Swimathon is looking to raise more money for charity by encouraging everyone in the UK to get in the pool for the world’s biggest swim and make 2009 a huge success.

 The face of Swimathon 2009, Eleanor Simmonds MBE, who at Beijing 2008 became Britain's youngest ever individual gold medallist at an Olympic or Paralympic Games adds, ‘Swimming is something I really enjoy and I think anybody would if they set themselves a challenge. It is a great way to keep fit and have fun with your friends – taking part in Swimathon means you can do both. I can’t wait to take part.’

 Duncan Goodhew MBE, Olympic gold medallist and Swimathon President, comments, ‘Swimathon is a great way of raising money to help thousands of people across the UK. It’s also a fantastic way to get and keep fit for all the family. Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness and it can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workout. 30 minutes of steady paced lane swimming burns over 200 calories – well over 400 calories in an hour. So not only will Swimathon help other people but it will also help keep you fit too.’

 Swimathon 2009 is open to everyone, encouraging people to set their own personal challenge by accomplishing a distance of their choice. Swimmers can challenge themselves to the ultimate 5K challenge, 2.5K for the intermediate swimmer or 1.5K for those who swim occasionally. For those interested in joining forces with friends, colleagues or family, the 5K challenge can also be completed as part of a team of up to five people.

 To find out more about Swimathon or enter for the 2009 challenge go to: www.swimathon.org

SHIPSTON LEISURE CENTRE GAINS HIGHLY COMMENDED AWARD

 Staff at Shipston’s Everyone Active Leisure Centre are celebrating after the venue was named as being among the top 10 per cent in the country.  It has been highly commended by Quest, the leisure industry’s independent quality assessment scheme that is supported by Britain’s four sports councils.

 Shipston Leisure Centre, based on Darlingscote Road in Shipston-on-Stour, is managed on behalf of Stratford on Avon District Council by specialist leisure management company SLM.  A delighted Pete Williams, SLM’s area contract manager, said the centre had shown a commitment to customer service and delivery.

 “Very few leisure Centres in the UK are highly commended by Quest and so this being awarded to the leisure centre is testimony to the hard work of all the staff.”

 Mr Williams also paid tribute to the staff at other SLM-run Everyone Active centres in Stratford On Avon district.  “Stratford Leisure and Visitor Centre, Southam Leisure Centre and Studley Leisure Centre are all excellent facilities in the area offering first class activity opportunities for the local communities.” 

  Mr Williams revealed that Stratford On Avon District Council will be offering free swimming to anyone aged 60 and over as part of the Government initiative from 1st April this year.

 He said: “We are committed to helping people get more active as part of a way of life and the free swimming initiative will have a fantastic input into this during the next two years. All people have to do to be entitled to swim free at one of our centres is register for a free Everyone Active card with proof of age and then enjoy swimming free in public swimming sessions from 1st April.”

LOCAL CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINER TAKES ON MAGIC TREK IN AID OF ANTHONY NOLAN TRUST

Sean Lobban, local children’s entertainer and a regular at Fareham Leisure Centre, is to set off on a 106 mile trip to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, the charity that helps people with leukaemia find suitable bone marrow donors.

The Magic Trek, which Sean has organised himself, is a sponsored walk from Portsmouth to London, visiting magic clubs and societies on the way, with Magicians and Children’s Entertainers taking part. It will set off from the home of Portsmouth and District Magic Circle on Tuesday 5th May and walk to a different club each day visiting Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Reading and Windsor before finishing on London on 10th May.

Participants in the event will be juggling, balloon modelling or escaping from a straight jacket as they walk. At the head of this motley procession will be a 7 ft tall rabbit called Harvey, aka Sean Lobban.

When asked how he is preparing for The Magic Trek, Sean said, “I thought it was about time that Harvey started training for the walk so I take him to the Everyone Active gym at Fareham Leisure Centre, where he’s working on the treadmill to build his stamina up. 106 miles is a long way but with enough carrots I’m sure he’ll make it!”

For more details about The Magic Trek visit www.magictrek.org.uk and you can sponsor Sean and all the participants online at: www.anthonynolanevents.org.uk/magictrek.

 

ADVENTURE COURSE A SUCCESS!

 In a bid to entice more people into Sport, Frome Leisure Centre, managed by Avalon Leisure has stepped further into the realm of adventure activities with a 9 week introductory course in canoeing, climbing and archery.

 The 9 week course was designed to be a stepping stone into these adventure sports and as they were run by the local clubs, created a pathway for further progression.

 The course was funded by Somerset Activity & Sport Partnership through Sport Unlimited and was organised in partnership by Avalon Leisure and Mendip District Council. The funding subsidised the cost to students which in turn allowed access to less privileged children.

 Research showed that the students on the course thoroughly enjoyed it and therefore Frome Leisure Centre are hoping to run similar 12 week courses, anyone interested should contact the centres Sports Development Manager – Kyle Withers on 01373 465446.

RICHARD MILLARD CONTINUES WORK WITH COUNTY SPORTS PARTNERSHIP

 Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director of DC Leisure, has been appointed as Chairman of the Advisory Board to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight County Sports Partnership.

 Sport Hampshire and IOW is one of the largest and most successful County Sports Partnerships (CSP) in England, and is committed to increasing levels of participation, widening access to sport and physical activity and the achievement of sporting success throughout the region. It is made up of a number of partners which include local and unitary authorities, National Governing Bodies, School Sports Partnerships, Sport England, the English Federation of Disability Sport, Sportscoach UK and the Youth Sports Trust.

 The Hampshire and IOW CSP has 11 core sports (athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, girls football, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rugby union, swimming and tennis), as well as a wide cross-section of others including canoeing, lacrosse, horse riding, rowing and golf. It also coordinates a number of funding schemes aimed at athletes, clubs, coaches, officials and volunteers.

 Richard has been involved with Sport Hampshire and IOW for three years, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Board in 2007. Commenting on his new position as Chairman, Richard says: “My role is to provide a strategic lead to the organisation, as well as supporting the Chief Executive and her team. I am a firm believer in the many benefits sport and physical activity can offer – health, wellbeing, confidence and self esteem. If we can facilitate opportunities, both for participation and the pursuit of excellence, for children and young people, hopefully this will continue into adulthood and throughout their lives.”

 Richard has been with DC Leisure since 1991. During this time he has worked as a General Manager and Regional Operations Director. In his current role as Client Relations and Sports Development Director, he works closely with local government as well as the National Governing Bodies of Sport.

December 2008-February 2009
Avalon Leisure are linking with major government campaign to promote a healthy approach to alcohol

Frome Leisure Centre, Wells Leisure Centre, Strode Swimming Pool and the Avalon Lifestyle Fitness Centre at Farrington Golf and Country Club are linking up with the government’s Know Your Limits campaign to help raise awareness of how drinking alcohol can affect your health and exercise performance.  From 24.11.08, Frome Leisure Centre will be running a campaign to help their members become more aware of the number of units in various alcoholic drinks and the health impacts of exceeding guideline consumption limits.

Sarah Cruwys, Centre Manager at Frome Leisure Centre said: “At Avalon Leisure Centre our aim is to help our members be as healthy and happy as possible.  Alcohol impacts on your ability to exercise and contains more calories than you might think.  Many of us like a drink every so often, but regularly drinking too much is bad for your health, both in the short and long term.”

Avalon Leisure’s fitness instructors will be answering members’ questions on alcohol and directing them to other sources of information such as the www.nhs.uk/units website.  Drinking diaries will also be available to members so they can keep track of how many units of alcohol they are drinking in a week.  Other educational materials available include leaflets and posters.

Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo, said: “Regular exercise is vital for keeping healthy, but if you’re drinking too much alcohol then you could be undoing all that good work.  As well as affecting your exercise performance, too much alcohol increases your risk of serious health problems further down the line.”

Key facts:

  • A 250ml glass of wine or a pint of beer can contain about the same number of calories as a sausage roll
  • A 250ml glass of wine (ABV 12%) and a strong pint of lager (ABV 5.2%) each contain 3 units of alcohol
  • The government recommends that men should not regularly exceed 3-4 units of alcohol a day and women should not regularly exceed 2-3 units
  • If you have too much alcohol in the 24 hours before exercising you are more likely to develop muscle cramps
  • Regularly drinking more than the recommended guidelines increases your risk of developing illnesses such as mouth, liver and breast cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease

The partnership was facilitated by the Fitness Industry Association which represents the interests of some 2,500 private and public members involved in the health and fitness industry.

Utility Reduction continues at Serco Leisure

Utility reduction work continues to remain high on the agenda at

Serco Leisure. Carbon / Energy Action Plans have been written for each Serco Leisure managed site to give a managed framework for reducing energy consumption. These plans cover a number of different initiatives including insulation, lighting strategies and ventilation strategies. With regards to reducing water consumption, initiatives include flow rate monitoring and installing water saving devices in toilet cisterns.

A key factor within all plans is the involvement of staff, and staff education – without the involvement and smart-thinking of Serco employees, utility reduction initiatives would have a significantly lower impact than is currently being demonstrated.

In addition to working on reducing their own utility consumption, many Serco Leisure sites have displays on what members of the public can do to be ‘greener’ and how they can reduce their carbon footprint. Within these displays, centres are also demonstrating what they are doing on site – adding some extra ‘behind the scenes’ interest for members of the public.

SLM WIN FIRST EVER ASA FACILITY OPERATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sports and Leisure Management Ltd (SLM) is celebrating after winning the first ever ASA award for Facility Operator of the Year at the recent Swimtastic Awards 2008, which were held at the Everyone Active Stratford Visitor and Leisure Centre and Holiday Inn Hotel.

The judges at the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) recognized SLM for its proactive approach and quality delivery. The comments from the judges stated that, “SLM were the first to work with the ASA through an IOS SLA, to ensure their staff are attending CPD updates and are trained to the highest standards, proving that their staff are valued highly.”

Mandy Mason, the ASA’s business team manager, said: “SLM have proved they are a pro-active organisation, keen to ensure their quality ethos is at the forefront of all that they do.

“They work with the ASA to ensure staff are trained to the highest standards and help the ASA to develop products and services.

“They have shown a 44% increase in the Kelloggs/ASA awards over the last year which is evidence in itself that more children are achieving through their swim scheme.”

Jacqui Tilman, Group Swim Development Manager at SLM comments, “We now use the Kellogs ASA awards exclusively and we have implemented the National Plan for Teaching of Swimming ‘07 across all our sites. We are committed to ensuring the delivery of quality swimming lessons and the development of our young swimmers which is even more important following on from the success of our Olympic swimming team in Beijing earlier this year.”

DC LEISURE SITES OFFER FREE SWIMS FOR HUNDREDS OF YOUNGSTERS

Prince Regent and St Luke's swimming pools in Brighton and Hove offered several hundred youngsters the opportunity to enjoy free summer swims during the summer thanks to £19,000 'Communities for Health' funding.

Both swimming pools, managed by DC Leisure offered free swim vouchers to youngsters in years 8 and 9 at Falmer High School and Portslade Community College following a successful bid for 'Communities for Health' funding by Brighton and Hove City Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT).

The PCT teamed up with the two schools and DC Leisure for a five-week pilot. The youngsters - aged 12, 13, and 14, were allowed to use the vouchers as many times as they like from 28 July to 30 August after which they will do an online NHS Teen Life Check.

"Swimming is a great all-round activity and a fun way to get fit and healthy. And living by the sea, it is important children in Brighton and Hove can swim for their own safety. I hope these youngsters benefitted from this great opportunity and enjoyed the free swimming over the summer holidays," says PCT health promotion specialist David Brindley.

Mike Tait, principal of Portslade Community College, adds: "We were delighted to be involved in the pilot and I'm sure our students made the most of the opportunity to swim for free this summer. Swimming is not only fun but in a seaside community can be a life saver. Anything that encourages students to keep fit and healthy is always welcome."

Neil Roberts, contracts manager for DC Leisure, also welcomed the opportunity to take part in the pilot. "We at DC Leisure were delighted to be a partner in this project over the summer holidays. Swimming is still one of the best all-round forms of exercise and to be able to offer 700 youngsters the opportunity to come and experience the council's facilities for free is fantastic.

CHILDREN IN NEED - NOVEMBER 2008

Avalon Leisure at Wells Leisure Centre and Frome Leisure Centre plus Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf & Country Club - a UK Fitness Club of the Year, raised over £2000 for Children in Need in November with a sponsored 24 hour continuous cycle with Avalon Team Members and Avalon Members taking part in yellow fancy dress. Attached is a photo from the day of the event at Avalon Lifestyle at Farrington. In the picture from left to right: Alice Starr - Centre Manager, Gary Devonald - Assistant Manager, Becky Crosby - Exercise Consultant

"The whole club has got behind this fantastic fund raiser and its been a great success. We are very pleased with a great Club effort and would like to thank all who took part."

 

Serco Leisure Establishes the John Adams Trust Fund

The John Adams Trust Fund has been established as a registered charity by Serco Leisure as a tribute to the work and legacy of a former Chairman and as a mechanism to raise funds for the promotion of participation, coaching, officiating and the development of sport and active recreation within the Serco family.

By raising funds in a variety of ways Serco will be able to support their Local Authority clients and Trust partners in innovative and pro-active projects to the benefit of individuals or local communities. There will be 3 methods of raising monies for the trust fund; a financial contibution will be made from each of Serco Leisure’s key suppliers, Serco Leisure events and conferences and Employee sponsorship. The application criteria centres around Sporting excellence, Community development, Added value and Social inclusion.

Serco Leisure Chairman Conquers Berlin Marathon

On Saturday 28th September Serco Leisure Chairman, Richard Williams, joined over 40,000 athletes to take part in the 35th annual Berlin Marathon, the fastest marathon course in the world. Indeed Haile Gebrselassie beat his own world record with an unbelievable time of 2:03:59! Richard also beat his personal best by 13 seconds with a respectable time of 3:28:05 and raised about £2,500 for the John Adams Trust. He had trained hard for 3 months including running every day on his holiday in New York with a number of Iron Man participants. Richard said “Not many sane people would choose to run a marathon on their birthday, but Berlin is an amazing city and the atmosphere was fantastic. To have ‘fun’ and also raise money for such a good cause is something which may force me back there next year.’

BREAST CANCER CARE - OCTOBER 2008

Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf & Country Club - a UK Fitness Club of the Year, raised over £1000 for Breast Cancer Care during the month of October with great efforts from Key Press Trophies of Midsomer Norton to produce Pink T-Shirts for us to sell to our members. The Avalon Team and members also took part in the Lifecycle challenge to complete 160km in October. Other activities included dressing up for 'In the Pink' week 20th - 24th October, selling pin badges and guess the pink games. Attached is a photo of the Avalon Team and Avalon Lifestyle Members who took part in 'In the Pink' week we held Monday 20th - Friday 24th October.

"The whole club has got behind this cause and its been a great success. I am very pleased with a great team effort" Alice Starr - Centre Manager

UK’S LARGEST LEISURE PFI CONTRACT OPENS AT ASTON-CUM-AUGHTON LEISURE CENTRE

The first and second phase openings of the UK’s largest leisure PFI contract at Rotherham took place on Monday 15th at the Maltby Service Centre and Wednesday September 17 at Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre. The events mark the launch of the first new buildings to open in the programme of four new leisure facilities within the £35m Rotherham Leisure PFI Project, completion of which is due in November 2009

Representatives from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), DC Leisure, and its construction partner; Willmott Dixon were in attendance to celebrate the opening of the new leisure centre.

Commenting on the launch, Phil Rogers, Director of Leisure and Culture Services at RMBC, says: “'Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre is a massive boost for not only Aston Comprehensive School with its 1800 pupils but everyone in the surrounding area. I am very proud that we've been able to build a facility of this standard and I am delighted to be working in partnership with DC Leisure. I am confident this new leisure centre will improve the quality of life of the residents in the south of the borough for many years to come.”

Peter Kirkham, Development & PFI Director at DC Leisure, added: “The opening at Aston is an important milestone in the Rotherham PFI project and helps us move significantly closer towards our goal of delivering quality leisure programming in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. I’d like to pay a special tribute to the council members and officers who’ve had the foresight to provide state-of-the-art facilities to support inclusive participation across the whole community.”

Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre, which has been built both on time, and budget, boasts a 25m swimming pool as well as a 12m leisure/teaching pool, a four-court sports hall and a fitness and health suite incorporating a 30-station gym.

The Rotherham PFI project also involves the construction of the multi-million pound development at Maltby, which will include the council’s Joint Service Centre and a new leisure complex. The Joint Service Centre opened its doors on Monday September 15th, providing a one-stop shop for public services including housing, social services, education and health services. The leisure complex at Maltby is due to open in November 2009.

Funding for the Rotherham PFI project came from Barclays, DC Leisure, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government through two linked PFI schemes, after the Government allocated Rotherham £25m of PFI Credits for redevelopment and regeneration. Additional funding was secured from the Lottery via the New Opportunities Fund, Rotherham Primary Care Trust and from the council’s existing budgets.

The next phase of the development will be the opening of the £12m Rotherham Leisure Complex in October 2008 and the £5m Wath-upon-Dearne Leisure Centre in December 2008.

HALLOWEEN FUN AT TOWCESTER

“Staff at Serco’s Towcester Centre for Leisure joined in the fun this Halloween by dressing up for the day. Customers were greeted by life-size black cats, witches, zombies and The Grim Reeper. Children attending the centre’s school holiday programmes joined in the fun and the site also hosted a Haloween themed ‘wave rave’ in the pool with music and prizes for the public. Contract Commercial Manager Nikki Killengray said, ‘…It was great…as a team we decided to have a bit of fun with our customers…it looked like a scene out of Thriller but we had a great atmosphere and the pool was jam packed all day…”. The team enjoyed the day so much that they have decided to have a ‘St Trinians’ themed day on Fri 14th Nov for Children in Need when staff and customers will be hosting a Row-a-Thon in reception…”

THREE DC LEISURE SITES SCORE OVER 80 PER CENT IN QUEST

Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre, Kingsway and Fleming Park Leisure Centres, all managed by DC Leisure, have announced Quest scores of above 80 per cent for excellent service and customer care.

The overall scores of Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre (86%), Kingsway (86%) and Fleming Park Leisure Centre (80%) has put all three centres in the top 1% of over 1,000 of the UK’s centres that have been given the accolade.

The recent Quest assessments carried out at the centres covered all aspects of operation, including standards and systems, customer relations, cleanliness, maintenance, health and safety, the range of activities on offer and environmental management.

Chris Huddart, Wolverhampton City Council’s Head of Community Services, says: “The award for Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre highlights the excellent level of service that is provided in partnership with DC Leisure and how we continually strive to ensure standards are as high as possible. Staff have worked extremely hard to achieve the award and we thank them for their efforts.”

Assessors described the centres as outstanding examples of partnership working between DC Leisure and local authorities.

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive for DC Leisure says the significant increase in the scores has been achieved through the commitment of the staff: “The fundamental principle of Quest is for continuous improvement and we strive to provide users of all our leisure centres with a better leisure experience. We are constantly applying best practice from around the group and this is apparent by the latest industry Quest averages where DC Leisure scored 77%, higher than Greenwich Leisure and Leisure Connection.”

British Swimming ITC - Stockport

British Swimming has revealed ‘Stockport Sports Trust’ has been successful in its bid to become part of a new nationwide network of ‘Intensive Training Centres’ (ITC). The ITCs are designed to provide a world-class daily training environment for swimmer development and to build on the success in Beijing as the sport looks towards London in 2012. Stockport is the only facility selected that provides access for public swimming

Grand Central Pools Stockport, managed on behalf of the Trust by Serco Leisure, will without doubt play a major role in the preparation of swimmers for our home Games in 2012. Let’s appreciate what an impact this will have on the youngsters in the borough from an inspirational point of view! Young swimmers will have even more Olympians as inspirational role models on their doorstep, not to mention the best coaching and sports science support available!

 

Serco Leisure Display Energy Certificate News

Within the last few weeks, Maidstone Leisure Centre, managed by Serco Leisure on behalf of the Maidstone Leisure Trust was awarded a Display Energy Certificate with a category ‘B’ operational rating. Display Energy Certificates (DECs) give the energy performance of a building over a 12 month period. The energy efficiency ratings range from A (excellent) to G (poor); a typical leisure centre normally operates in categories D or E, so the B rating is a fantastic outcome for the management team and for Maidstone Borough Council. We believe that this rating helps demonstrate our commitment to energy management, reduction in carbon emissions and sustainability.

 

DC LEISURE NAMED FIA OPERATOR OF THE YEAR

DC Leisure has been voted the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) Operator of the Year 2008/2009 in recognition of its continuous commitment to raising standards within the leisure industry and engaging with the local community.

The company received the award – the first of its kind to be given by the FIA – at this year’s FLAME (Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence Awards) ceremony, which was sponsored by MATRIX and held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

“DC Leisure stood out among other professional operators for its constant focus on high standards,” says David Stalker, Operations Director of the FIA. “It was the first multi-site operator to pass the FIA’s Code of Practice demonstrating outstanding health and safety, customer service and staff training standards. I would like to congratulate everyone at DC Leisure for their impressive performance.”

DC Leisure manages 112 leisure facilities on behalf of 32 local authorities. The company has also been involved in 33 FIA programmes over the last 12 months and is the largest operator in the country of community schemes such as MEND (the Lottery funded Child Obesity Programme) and IFI (Inclusive Fitness Initiative).

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive at DC Leisure, says: “Winning this award is recognition of the commitment of all our staff to improving health and wellbeing in the communities in which we operate. We pride ourselves on providing a quality service to all our customers. We achieve this by investing in staff training and encouraging everyone in the company to look for improvements which will better serve our customers and local communities. ”

Teachers Smash Round Island Race Record

Swimming Teachers at Serco Leisure smashed a round Island relay swim record – despite the fact that four of the six ladies had never swam a relay before. Swimming Teachers Dilly Percival, Tracey Huish, Jenny Fitzgerald, Wendy Prunty, Dee Richards and Sally Minty-Gravett from the Aquasplash in Jersey took 24 minutes off the fastest time to set the new Jersey relay record in 10 hours and 59 seconds. The team raised almost £3,000 for the Jersey branch of CLIC Sargent, which is a children’s cancer support charity. Sally Minty-Gravett said “We think we might make it an annual event now. The aim was never to break the record – it was all about raising money for charity – but the ladies have got the bug now so I expect we’ll try again next year!”

Serco Leisure Secures Facilities Management Contract at Wythenshawe

Serco Leisure has been awarded their first Facilities Management contract. Following detailed negotiations with their client the Wythenshawe Community Leisure Trust, they have been awarded an initial one year contract which hopefully will roll on to be coterminous with our other Manchester Contracts and finish in March 2014.

Serco Leisure were awarded the contract on the basis of their professional, efficient and cost effective approach to delivering a similar service to other leisure facilities within Manchester.

Serco Leisure Secures Contract Extension for Bordon Pools

Serco were pleased to be awarded an initial two year contract extension to manage the Military Garrison Pool in Bordon, Hampshire. Serco provided the Garrison with an innovative approach to service delivery which will increase patronage by families of the military and the local community.

September/October/November 2008
Ab Crunch not Credit Crunch

As the doom and gloom of the UK economy is still being heavily reported in the media, Leisure Connection seems to be bucking the trend and has noticed an increase in new members – all looking for a more cost effective way to keep fit and healthy. Leisure Connection has seen an increase of 15% in members, year on year and a steady increase of approximately 5000 new members each month.

Victoria Branch, Marketing Manager of Leisure Connection talks about these trends: “Firstly, it’s great to see more people becoming more active. Leisure Connection has been working hard, in partnership with our local authority partners to invest a great deal into the leisure centres that we manage in order to offer private sector quality in a public access environment.”

There’s no escaping from the fact that everyone’s trying to tighten their belts in a bid to stretch the pound that bit further and get more bang for their buck. It’s great to see people not cutting exercise and physical activity out of their day to day lives, which can sometimes happen when we are in times of financial difficulty.

Victoria continues: “Gym memberships are often perceived to be inflexible and expensive, but the beauty of our facilities is that people can pick and chose how they pay for their exercise. For those who don’t want to commit, we offer a pay and play scheme, which allows our community to come and use the facilities whenever they want. For those who are more committed to physical activity they can chose from a range of flexible, cost effective memberships, many of which don’t tie them into lengthy contracts.”

Leisure Connection welcomes in excess of 25million customers each year. Operating one of the biggest swimming teaching schemes, helping more than 40,000 people learn to swim each year Leisure Connection is working hard to change the perception of local authority leisure.

THE OLYMPIAD IMPROVES QUEST RESULT THANKS TO DC LEISURE

The Olympiad Leisure Centre, which is managed by DC Leisure on behalf of North Wiltshire District Council, is delighted to announce that it has increased its Quest score to 75 per cent. This achievement shows a 15 per cent increase since its last assessment in 2006.

Councillor Viv Vines, Lead Member for Leisure at North Wiltshire District Council, says: “The partnership with DC Leisure has produced a superb result: Leisure and recreation facilities are a key service for the community and the council is committed to providing good quality services. We are delighted to hear that the Olympiad Leisure Centre increased its Quest score and congratulate all the staff for their hard work in improving the service to customers.”

North Wiltshire District Council views investment in their facilities as key to their success. Recent improvement works at the Olympiad in Chippenham included a newly refurbished gym, poolside changing rooms, reception area and flooring, with further improvements scheduled for later in the year. The recent Quest assessment carried out covered all aspects of operation at the centre, including standards and systems, customer relations, cleanliness, maintenance, health and safety, range of activities and environmental management.

Nick Moran, Contract Manager for DC Leisure in North Wiltshire felt that the significant increase in the score had been achieved through a combination commitment by the staff and the ongoing investment from the North Wiltshire District Council. “The 15 per cent increase provides us with tangible evidence of the improvements in standards and systems that we have been able to implement since we formed our partnership with North Wiltshire District Council in February 2007. The fundamental principle of Quest is for continuous improvement, so we will be striving to carry on with this progress to provide the users of the Olympiad Leisure Centre with a better leisure experience.” Prior to DC Leisure’s management, the facilities had been run by a local Trust which experienced financial problems.

North Wiltshire District Council is also beginning further improvements to two other sites managed by DC Leisure, Springfield Leisure Centre in Corsham and Lime Kiln Leisure Centre in Wootton Bassett.

TOP TEACHER WINS GOLD

A WOMAN from a village near Frome has been named one of the top swimming teachers in the country.

Simone Benhayon, of Tytherington, has won gold in the Top Teacher category at the National Swimtastic Awards for her “quality lessons” at Frome Leisure Centre which is managed by Avalon Leisure.

The Swimtastic Awards, which is run by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), has been running since the early 1990s and recognise the achievements of hundreds of swimmers, of all ages and abilities.

Miss Benhayon collected her gold award at a special awards ceremony in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, where she met more than 20 swimmers and divers from Team GB’s Olympic and Paralympic squads. She works six days a week and sees 200 people, ranging from small children to adults in their 70s.

Miss Benhayon said: “It truly was a great surprise to win the award, It’s a fantastic opportunity for Frome and Avalon Leisure and I am delighted to have won – it was a fantastic day.”

She delivers lessons to a wide range of people, some travelling from as far as London. She also works with the Swimming Instructors at the Frome Leisure Centre, managed by Avalon Leisure to develop their skills and knowledge.

Sarah Cruwys, Leisure Centre Manager, said: “Simone is the most dedicated person I know to be providing people such a service. She is one person making a huge difference to swimming every single day.”

The Swimtastic awards are broken into 10 categories, acknowledging swimmers and those who teach them.

MALDEN CENTRE INTRODUCES WOMEN ONLY EXERCISE CLUB

The Malden Centre, managed by DC Leisure, will be adding a ladies-only exercise club to complement their existing product offering. Local female residents are set to benefit from an innovative and tailored exercise experience, which focuses on the specific needs and objectives of women.

Ladies-only fitness has been in existence for many years, however modifications to traditional gyms in order to cater for this specific group, have been lacking. The past two to three years has seen the emergence of a number of companies presenting a very different and customised experience for women and DC Leisure believes they now have an excellent model. The Malden Centre’s investment, including a refurbishment of an existing underutilised room and new specialist equipment, is predicted to be a big success, which may lead to more Women’s Only Exercise Clubs opening across the group.

“We are delighted that we will have a new Women only exercise club at the Malden Centre. One of the key priorities of our Kingston Community Sports and Physical Activity Network (CSPAN) plan is to get more girls and women into sport and physical activity. This was highlighted as an issue for us by the Active Sports data in 2006. Having a female-only facility will attract a new client group and will help us to achieve our targets,” says Scott Herbertson
Head of Cultural Services and Lifelong Learning at the Royal Borough of Kingston.

The innovative Technogym “Easy Line” equipment will be available to these women which is easy to use and can get results for both beginners and those who have exercised before. The women-only exercise club will focus on helping women with weight loss, improving their general health and will be ideal for those intimidated or put off by traditional gyms. Individual instruction using mats and core balls will also be on offer along with a number of specialist group exercise classes every week.

The staff and management team are strong, committed to new ideas and are passionate about launching this new concept at the Malden Centre. “We hope this new exercise club will give ladies who want to exercise regularly the opportunity to do so in a relaxed, friendly, discrete and un-intimidating environment under the supervision of expert staff who for years have been working with ladies who wish to increase their level of physical activity and understand their lifestyle, health and fitness needs. We're going to limit the number of joiners to this exercise club to approximately 300 to 400, to ensure that we deliver the level of individual care needed," says Lisa Taylor, Group Fitness Manager at DC Leisure,

A full-time manager and assistant manager who specialise in working with women will head up the new gym and will be on hand to establish targets and goals, continually reviewing progress of the ladies in the group.

Work on the Women’s Only Exercise Club has begun at the Malden Centre and is due to open to the public by mid-September 2008. All other facilities will remain open to the public during this period.

YOUNGSTERS GET ACTIVE AT THE POD

Youngsters in the Wokingham District are fighting fit this autumn thanks to an investment of more than £120,000 by Leisure Connection and Wokingham Borough Council.

The new gym – called The Pod - has launched at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre. Aimed at young people, it is the first of its kind in the Wokingham Borough. The youth gym aims to get more young people fit and staying fit in a bid to tackle obesity and increase levels of activity.

The Pod includes a studio complete with ten spinner bikes, an interactive sports wall and a new craze dance mat.

Qualified trainers are on hand to give advice and coaching on how to use the equipment plus top tips for youngsters on healthy lifestyles.

Kevin Yates, Harpers Brand Manager at Leisure Centre said: “The Pod looks fantastic and it’s going down a storm. We have already welcomed hundred’s of young people, all of whom love the gym and are coming back week after week.”

Harpers is changing…

Following a successful pilot across ten of Leisure Connection centres, Harpers Fitness is expanding the ‘Harpers Experience’, which is a new concept in public access health club provision. It’s a package aimed at supporting new members to achieve their health and fitness goals.

Our members will have the opportunity to purchase the Harpers Experience for a cost of £20 which buys you five different personal sessions with a trainer at five different stages within the first 8 weeks of their membership. The Harpers Experience includes a 45 minute induction and personal training session, full body health check, movement analysis, a second personal training session and also a follow up about maintaining their programme going forward.

In addition to the roll out of the Harpers Experience you may notice that your Harpers gym is changing. It is part of a £2.6m investment package to make-over and refresh all 70 centres across the UK in a bid to offer public access leisure in a private-quality environment. So far, our gyms in Norwich, Dorking, Maldon, Seaham and Peterlee have been successfully re-launched with brand new state of the art equipment. Watch this space for more information as who will be relaunched next!

Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre hits UK Quest high!

Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, one of the national sports centres, managed by Leisure Connection on behalf of Sport England, has just been awarded Quest’s ‘Excellent’ rating with an outstanding 89% after a rigorous two day inspection. The award winning centre has achieved a 6% increase on the previous assessment in 2006, making the centre one of the best facilities in the country.

The 89% achieved by Bisham Abbey is the highest score in the country for a Quest version 4 assessment. This highlights the hard work that has been put in by Leisure Connection and Sport England staff over the past year to make the facility one of the best centres of sporting excellence in the UK.

General Manager of Bisham Abbey, Peter Mann said: “This prestigious award demonstrates our continued commitment to improvement and to provide the highest quality sports, facilities and services. Our site aim has always been to make Bisham Abbey a World Class facility. It is fantastic news that Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre has been ranked as one of the top facilities in the country. We have made consistent progress year on year both in terms of service and support systems.”

“Quest is all about quality and striving to be the best and this latest success demonstrates that at Bisham Abbey the Leisure Connection team are always working towards further improving the service we offer, always aiming to exceed customer expectations and continuing to be the best!.”

Leisure Connection now manages more than 80 sports and leisure centres on behalf of local authorities across the UK; three PFI contracts for local authorities; two contracts for private clients; three National Sport Centres on behalf of Sport England and the National Centre for Wheelchair Sport on behalf of the wheelchair charity WheelPower.

 

DC LEISURE LEADS THE WAY WITH THE ‘CULTURE AND SPORT IMPROVEMENT TOOLKIT’

DC Leisure has become the first leisure management company to apply the new ‘Culture and Sport Improvement Toolkit’ to its operation. The company has conducted self-assessment against a version of this benchmark, adapted for a commercial leisure management organisation.

The Culture and Sport Improvement Toolkit is supported by a wide range of culture and sport agencies and amalgamates TAES, Arts at the Strategic Centre and the Library Peer Review. The Toolkit provides a basis for self-assessment, enabling culture and sport services to achieve continuous improvement. DC Leisure assessed its services against eight themes: leadership, policy and strategy, community engagement, partnership working, resource management, people management, customer service and performance measurement and learning.

Steve Wood, Corporate Coach working with DC Leisure and Validator for the Audit Commission scheme, says: “Self-assessment is generally more challenging than external assessment, forcing organisations to think incisively about the way in which they operate, discuss this with staff, partners and customers, plan improvement activity and make the changes.”

Summary feedback from the assessment highlighted particular areas for improvement in measuring sports participation at the company’s sites and the management and training of their staff. The areas identified have now been implemented into the business planning cycle and will be constantly measured over the coming year.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, comments: “It is important for us to assess our services, identifying areas of improvement and allowing us to measure our progress over time. The self assessment has also given us the knowledge of what is involved in the Culture and Sport Improvement Toolkit, which will benefit our local authority clients in the future.

ARENA LEISURE CENTRE TO UNDERGO £1.7 MILLION REFURBISHMENT

The Arena Leisure Centre is to undergo a £1.7million refurbishment as part of a commitment from Surrey Heath Borough Council and its leisure partner DC Leisure to improve facilities for the local community.

The council is investing £1.4million in the project with a further £300,000 coming from DC Leisure who operates the centre. The money will fund the refurbishment of the centre’s changing facilities, health and fitness suite and provide a new dedicated spinning area.

The work is part of Surrey Heath Borough Council’s ongoing commitment to enhance customer satisfaction among the centre’s 800,000 annual visitors says Councillor Wynne Price, Portfolio Holder for Leisure: “The Arena Leisure Centre registers very high levels of satisfaction with customers and we want to ensure it continues to play its important role in our service provision. I’m certain this work will allow DC Leisure to continue to offer a competitive product that will enhance the health and wellbeing of all users.”

The 22-week project gets underway this summer, with external and internal maintenance works to the building followed by the revamp of the fitness suite.

Contract Manager for The Arena Leisure Centre, Dan Walker says: “DC Leisure is delighted to assist the council with this much needed investment, which will enable The Arena Leisure Centre to continue providing the highest standard of leisure provision and ensure it remains one of the most successful leisure facilities in the country.” DC Leisure will manage the investment programme on behalf of the council and have been commissioned to design and build the project due to its proven track record in this field.

Surrey Heath Borough Council runs a comprehensive sports development programme for the community in partnership with DC Leisure at The Arena Leisure Centre and other sports clubs. These include club and coach development initiatives, sports specific development plans, inter-school tournaments, GP Referral schemes and Cardiac Rehabilitation both in partnership with the Primary Care Trust and the highly successful family based ‘MEND’ scheme for overweight and obese children aged 7-13.

Surrey Heath Borough Council is one of 32 Contracts that DC Leisure manages in partnership with local authorities with The Arena Leisure Centre being one of the most successful leisure centres in the country.

DC LEISURE LAUNCHES INTO THE CONTRACT CATERING MARKET

DC Leisure has launched into the Contract Catering market under the trademark of ‘Centre Catering’ providing a dedicated catering service to the Local Authority leisure sector.

Specialising in leisure centres and theatres, Centre Catering already operates in a large number of diverse sites offering a tailored solution to each venue. Catering can often be a problem for management within a venue and Centre Catering intends to reduce this by allowing management teams to concentrate on core activities.

Robin Knight, Group Food and Beverage Manager at DC Leisure, says: “Many food and beverage operations are seen as a problem on site as they are time consuming and aren’t seen as part of the core business. Research into the market place has revealed to us that there are very few catering operators offering a solution to the local authority leisure sector and so Centre Catering should be able to meet this demand.”

Centre Catering is offering four options to venues: Operational Partnership, Consultancy, Projects and Full Sub-Contracted Operation, allowing each venue to choose the best solution for their site.

DC Leisure's Centre Catering has recently signed a five year contract to operate the catering contract at The Capitol Theatre in Horsham. Chris Dier, Director of Community Services at Horsham District Council, says: "We currently work with DC Leisure at a number of our leisure facilities and are pleased with the catering service they provide. The Capitol Horsham is a multi-function arts venue requiring a different style of catering service and we were very impressed with their ideas for the venue and look forward to the contract beginning in early September.

CHRISTIE MILLER LEISURE CENTRE LEAD THE WAY WITH LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL AND THE ‘OUTWARD BOUNDS’ PROGRAMME

The Christie Miller Leisure Centre in West Wiltshire has launched a new initiative called The Outward Bounds Programme. The scheme involves the leisure centre partnering with local primary schools in a bid to help young children learn through sport and stay active.

Outward Bounds was developed by Rich Ayling, Fitness Manager from the Christie Miller Sports Centre and was launched in April this year. Schools involved in the scheme include: Seend CE Primary School; TheManor CE Primary School; and Staverton CE Primary School. The scheme focuses on using exercise to help teach lessons such as Ancient Greece – The Olympic Movement, Space and Gravity and The Human Body.

Rich Ayling is passionate about the programme: “The focus of the project is to work alongside schools and teachers to help educate in a fun and active format. Outward Bounds aims to improve fitness levels as well as improve learning opportunities by offering different educational experiences. We are confident that the programme can help encourage children in the community to lead healthier lifestyles.”

The programme is fully structured with four weeks of varied exercise and education sessions; a fifth week involving a visit to the Christie Miller Sports Centre; and the sixth week concludes the programme, with a mini-tournament and presentation with certificates and vouchers for the centre. Parents are also invited along to this final session.

Elaine Blowers, Marketing Manager for West Wiltshire DC Leisure believes the programme is a great idea: “The scheme promotes physical activity and a healthy lifestyle and is a new fun and enthusiastic way for young children to learn.”

In addition to working with local primary schools, Christie Miller is also working in partnership with The George Ward School, a technology college. Over 100 pupils from Year Nine will be going to the school to take part in ‘Mechanics and Movements,’ which will again encompass learning and sport. Students will get the chance to participate in a variety of sessions related to their technology option subjects, which they will be starting the following year.

“The project is providing positive experiences in leisure, which is helping to create future projects. By working alongside teachers and P.E. coordinators it is improving community sport, which in turn gives children the ability to learn through a different focus and experience activities they would not usually participate in,” says Rich Ayling.

Harpers first to benefit from Kinesis One

Harpers in Wyboston is one of the first clubs in the UK to benefit from thousands of pounds worth of new Kinesis One equipment from Technogym.

The Kinesis system is the new dynamic, stand-alone equipment that promises to deliver a whole body workout. With over 400 separate movements possible and over 250 exercises to choose from, Kinesis provides users with a range of circuit exercises that will always be fresh and challenging for a broad range of customer profiles. As a Tri-dimensional movement, Kinesis makes movement free and enjoyable, easy and natural and without restrictions.

Steve Bambury, Business Manager for the Harpers Private Clubs said: “The kit looks fantastic. Our club at Wyboston is benefitting from new equipment as part of the Harpers re-branding programme. Our members were all very intrigued by the new equipment and some nervous to try it out but once our PTs demonstrated its versatility and benefits we couldn’t tear our members away from it.”

The kit will be trialled in the Harpers Club at Wyboston and if successful, Leisure Connection will look to roll Kinesis One out across the estate.

Bob Jauncey - Energy & Environmental Manager - Leisure Connection

Having worked in building services continually since leaving school, I have worked as an Energy & Environmental Manager since 1990 in a variety of different sectors prior to joining Leisure Connection. Leisure is a particularly energy intensive industry and utility costs have risen significantly over the last 3-4 years, in fact they have doubled in some areas and are still rising. Leisure Connection also has a responsibility to reduce its carbon emissions which is not only good for the environment it is also good business practice. I will also be looking at ways to reduce our landfill waste by introducing more recycling.

There is nothing complicated about energy efficiency, it’s really about changing peoples habits and improving house keeping. Nobody has ever given me one good reason why we shouldn’t save energy, what is the point of leaving lights on in an empty room?

The key to success is to have an Environmental Champion at all sites that I can work with as a team to get the message across. They will be involved in taking meter readings, carrying out checks and taking part in campaigns. They will receive training, ongoing support and incentives. I am working towards having a full compliment of trained EC’s by the end of the year.

Low cost technical solutions also have a part to play and will be implemented where necessary but we must continually do the basics right which is eliminating waste via good habits. We will also be looking at renewable technology such as wind, solar and heat pumps. Due to the extreme cost of energy, new ideas are coming out all of the time not only to reduce energy consumption but also alternative energy such as bio fuel.

New legislation has been implemented in order to support the governments green agenda in reducing global warming. The first of these are Display Energy Certificates (DECs) for public buildings which are to be prominently displayed for public scrutiny. They are similar in appearance to energy ratings of domestic appliances but deal with a buildings energy performance against benchmarks. All LC sites will have DECs displayed by the end of October.

Secondly we have the probability of the mandatory Carbon Reduction Commitment or CRC as it is known coming into force in January 2010. The CRC is the government’s initiative to enforce companies to reduce their carbon footprint against agreed targets or face heavy fines. The CRC also consists of the selling or purchase of carbon credits and preparations have to commence immediately.

We will continue to work with The Carbon Trust and also Envirowise who can advise and support us with our technical solution choices and legislative responsibilities.

All in all there is a lot to be done and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I even have a new nick name since joining LC which is Low Energy Bob although that might be referring to my height!

July/August/September 2008
 

OPEN DAY AT WOODSIDE WILL DEMONSTRATE CENTRE’S STRENGTHS

Watford Leisure Centre - WOODSIDE in Watford was officially opened on Saturday 7th June by Sharon Davies and local rugby star, Richard Houghton. The open day provided a demonstration of many of the fantastic facilities available to the general public.

The impressive centre, which is operated by Sports and Leisure Management Ltd (SLM), is the latest Everyone Active leisure centre to be launched and forms part of a 10 year partnership agreement with Watford Borough Council. The outstanding range of facilities available at this flagship centre include an 8 lane 25m competition swimming pool, Learner pool, 8 court sports hall, 100 station gym featuring Precor products, Dance studios, Squash courts and other external facilities. The pre-opening marketing campaign implemented has seen over 3500 local people take advantage of the range of membership packages advertised. The take up for swimming lesson has been equally tremendous with 1300 youngsters registering.

On the day over 2000 local people turned up to try various different types of activity including basketball, martial arts, trampolining, line dancing and swimming. There were also demonstrations running throughout the day including water polo, synchronised swimming and gymnastics. Swingball UK also attended on the day to carry out a mass tournament of the traditional game that many people will remember from its launch in the UK in the 1980s.

“The idea behind the open day was to get both adults and kids to try as many different types of activity as possible,” comments Duncan Jefford, Regional Director for SLM. “We wanted them to see that Woodside can offer fantastic facilities and a wide variety of sports that will be available to the whole community. By running demonstrations throughout the day we hope that we have inspired some of the kids to start up a new sport and maybe even become the Olympians of the future.”

Elected Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill who was present on the day, said: “Looking around the completed centre, it is clear to see that we made good decisions about quality. Local residents now have unrivalled facilities in the local area. This new leisure centre is as close in quality to a private club facility as you can get, without impacting on our good value membership fees.”

Designed by Studio E Architects the Woodside Leisure Centre is one which is both aesthetically refined and environmentally responsible and sustainable. On budget and delivered on time by construction company Pellikaan, who have built more than 900 sports centres.

Garry Stewart of Studio E comments, “The regeneration and expansion of the ‘old’ Woodside sports facility has been a great challenge for all those involved – quality and sustainability have been key drivers throughout its design and construction. The ‘new’ Woodside offers its users a variety of uplifting spaces within which to engage in a wide range of sports and leisure activities.”

SWIMMING GALA MASSIVE HIT

Frome Leisure Centre managed by Avalon Leisure hosted their 3rd annual Small Schools Swimming Gala on Wednesday 18th of June. Providing a fantastic atmosphere of swimming and fun to 8 Small Schools within the Mendip area. With such a close finish leaving only 3 points between 1st and 3rd place everyone was left guessing till the end.
The local first schools which participated were, Mells, Nunney, Hayesdown, St Johns, Berkley, Leigh-on-Mendip, Norton St Philip and Beckington. Each school was represent by between 12 and 14 student, participating in a mixture of individual and relay events.
Every child that attended on the day displayed a very high level of sportsmanship and commitment towards swimming. Regardless of the placing every child was presented with either a medal or a ribbon for their outstanding achievement.
The Mexican wave and constant cheering bought Frome Leisure Centre alive with a special appearance from the Avalon’s very own Tiger mascot. Putting a smile on everyone’s face. Beckington first school swam into first place, with children from Berkley school coming in a very close second place, St johns were hot on their heels finishing in third position overall.
The Purpose of the event was to Promote and raise awareness of the importance of learning to swim and developing water confidence. Swimming is a vital life skill for every child’s development.
“ Its great to see such joy and playfulness with children in the water, The Swimming Gala was an amazing day and a very successful event for all. Seeing the children’s high level of sportsmanship and energy was inspiring to observe. It is not just as simple as knowing how to swim. It’s about developing a deeper awareness and understanding of water to enable children to gain enjoyment out of swimming.” Said Event organiser and swim scheme co-ordinator Simone Benhayon.

Serco Leisure Gets a 2nd Big Tick

Serco Leisure has been awarded a coveted Big Tick Award by Business in the Community (BITC) for the second year running for positively making a difference to the environment.

Serco Leisure received the Award for Excellence in the MAN Group International Climate Change category for the strategic, comprehensive and innovative approaches taken to tackling climate change and a commitment to the sustainability of the environment; focusing on carbon reduction at 65 leisure centres and swimming pools across the UK and Jersey. A culture committed to reducing energy consumption sees staff using more efficient heating, cooling and lighting strategies. New, innovative energy reduction and conservation methods are also regularly introduced, including bubble wrapping pool filters, using boilers more efficiently to maintain water temperatures and the use of thermal imaging cameras to identify hidden energy hotspots.
Keith Thomas Managing Director said ‘I am extremely proud that Serco Leisure has been awarded the Big Tick for a second consecutive year. It is great to see the commitment and effort made by Serco Leisure staff to tackle climate change recognised in this way and I hope that we can support our customers, clients and other businesses in doing the same.”

Serco Leisure will be presented with the Big Tick award on 5th June 2008.

WALKING IS A GREAT WAY TO KEEP EVERYONE ACTIVE

Walking is often overlooked as a form of activity. But now one leisure operator, SLM, has decided to incorporate walking into the activities offered by its leisure centres in the Bristol area.

The three Everyone Active centres taking part in this trial (Henbury LC, Kingsdown LC and Horfield LC) are offering walking clubs that are structured by the fitness staff at the centres. These walks will provide a more structured approach to rambling for those who prefer to partake in moderate activity outdoors or who simply want to rediscover their surrounding area.

“Walking is a great form of exercise but so few people actually walk for enjoyment,” comments David Johns, contract manager for SLM in Bristol. “By making these walks more structured and offering our members access to qualified walk leaders we are hoping to get more people active and enjoying the local area again. Leisure centres are the ideal place for these groups to start from and by offering walk leaders we can be sure that none of our members will get left behind or lost!”

SLM SITE IS FIRST QUEST SPORTS DEVELOPMENT ACCREDITED SITE IN UK

St Paul’s Community Sports Academy has become the first leisure centre site in the country to achieve Quest Sports Development registration.

The site was recently assessed and passed with a range score of 70-75%. The site, which is managed by SLM Ltd under the Everyone Active brand, is a dual use facility with Cabot School. It offers an indoor multi purpose sports hall, three outdoor flood-lit courts, one all-weather court and a health and fitness suite.

Earle Simpson, general manager at the site, is pleased with the results. “We have all worked hard to ensure that the Academy reaches the best possible standards for our users. The fact that we are the first in the country to achieve this recognition is fantastic news.”

Colleen Bevan, Head of Sport at Bristol City Council is delighted with the achievement, “This is excellent news. I would like give my personal thanks and congratulations to all the staff at the centre for achieving such an excellent score and being the first in the country.”

SWIMMING CHAMPION CELEBRATES SWIMATHON SUCCESS WITH DC LEISURE

Duncan Goodhew, Olympic Gold medallist, made a splash at the annual DC Leisure conference this month when he joined staff to celebrate the success of Swimathon 2008. Over 1,400 participants took part in the event held at 57 DC Leisure managed sites across the UK and together they hope to have risen in the region of £150,000 for charity.

Held at The Belfry, the DC Leisure conference was attended by over 100 key management staff from sites across the country. As part of an awards ceremony which recognised success, Goodhew awarded prizes to Stourport Sports Centre for attracting the highest number of Swimathon participants and Elmbridge Xcel for achieving the highest percentage increase in participation year on year.

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive, comments: “DC Leisure has supported the Swimathon as a group for the past two years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The event provides us with a great opportunity to promote swimming as a fun, enjoyable sport and encourage more people to give it a go and hopefully introduce it as part of an active lifestyle.”

Duncan Goodhew, Swimathon President, says: “With a total of over 500 pools taking part in this year’s event, we are on target to reaching our £1.8 million goal for Marie Curie Cancer Care and The Swimathon Foundation. DC Leisure has once again embraced this year’s Swimathon and I would like to thank the individual managers at all the sites for their continued support.”

DC Leisure attracted more participants to this event than any other operator and participation figures were 55 per cent up on last year.

Moonlight Walking with South Ribble Community Leisure Facilities

The team at Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre are demonstrating their support towards research for Breast Cancer by taking part in a Moonlight walk in London on Saturday 17th May 2008.

Four members of Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre are taking part in the walk including Leanne Havlin Swim Coach, Laura Cheetham Acting Duty Manager, Tracey Veitch Receptionist and Louise Kennedy Receptionist who will each cover 26 miles along the London marathon route. However to brighten up the evening each member of the team will be in fancy dress!

Laura Cheetham, “We are really excited about participating in this event and have been training hard since September 2007. All our sponsorship funds will be handed to Breast Cancer Research UK and we would like to thank all of our customers for their support prior to this event.”

K2 CRAWLEY WINS FITPRO AMBASSADOR CLUB OF THE YEAR

DC Leisure’s K2 Crawley leisure centre has won the Fitpro Ambassador Club of the Year Award 2008 for the most successful relaunch of group exercise classes.

The Ambassador Programme encourages health clubs and leisure centres to increase participation in BTS classes, which are relaunched every three months. The programme aims to promote group exercise as well as health and fitness education among users. To enter the awards each site provides a case study detailing their most successful relaunch event with attendance figures and photographs. The winning site is awarded a holiday for two to Club La Santa, the renowned sports resort in Lanzarote.

Every three months K2 Crawley undertakes the huge task of hosting a BTS Ambassador launch to encourage new customers to exercise and retain existing exercisers. During its winning BTS event, customers took part in a range of BTS classes throughout the evening accompanied by a live club DJ playing uplifting dance music. More than 60 new memberships were signed up from the event alone.

The award was presented at the Ambassador Reception at Loughborough University. Tim Burrow, Fitness Manager at K2 Crawley, says: “At K2 we make sure that we keep on top of our programme, ensuring instructors have regular assessments and training. We also meet regularly as a team to go through new initiatives and to keep the classes unique. The events we offer are thoroughly enjoyed by both customers and staff and I’m delighted that we have been presented this award.”

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, congratulated the staff on their successful win: “It’s fantastic news to hear that a DC Leisure facility like K2 Crawley has won this award, especially because of the number of gyms in the local area. The staff at the site are extremely dedicated to delivering a unique service through their BTS classes and we are glad that this site has received this recognition.”

DC LEISURE ROLLS OUT CUSTOMER INSIGHT PROGRAMME

Reflecting its commitment to the ongoing improvement of service delivery, DC Leisure has completed a series of customer and staff surveys being conducted by Leisure-net Solutions Ltd (LNS).

Mike Hill, Managing Director of LNS, says: “DC Leisure have committed themselves to putting Customer Insight at the heart of their performance measurement. They now have a comprehensive programme in place that gives them and their clients’ vital indicators of how well they are delivering to their customers. This information has already had a direct impact on customer service with their average scores increasing by between 5 and 10 per cent over the first 9 months of the programme."

Part of a comprehensive Customer Insight Programme, the initial surveys of the programme were completed late last year and included mystery telephone calls, conducted at different times of the day, to 60 of DC Leisure’s sites. A series of telephone interviews with members from each of those sites who had visited the centre in the past three or four days were also completed.

Among the most pleasing results were that the average call-Focus™ measurements improved from 55 per cent to 65 percent in the last nine months indicating that DC Leisure staff were judged to be efficient, polite and enthusiastic. And customer experience calls rose to more than 80 per cent of customers being happy with the service received based on their experience of their visits in the last month.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, comments: “These second tier results are extremely encouraging – it’s always great to hear positive feedback from our customers. We are happy that certain areas where we’re weren’t performing as well as we’d like have improved. Due to the success of this survey, we have decided to continue our partnership with Leisure-net for another 12 months.”
DC LEISURE TEAMS UP WITH BRITISH GYMNASTICS

DC Leisure continues its partnership with major National Governing Bodies by signing an agreement with British Gymnastics (BG) aiming to increase participation in the sport and enable facilities to register as BG Proficiency Centres.

Ian Fordham, Marketing Director at British Gymnastics, says: “We are delighted to be entering into this agreement with DC Leisure whom we recognise as being a leader in this sector. The sector currently provides gymnastics sessions to many thousands of children, and we see this initiative as a means of assuring quality provision, improving participation numbers in the sport and promoting best practice."

“DC's Leisure Centres will now become gymnastics Proficiency Centres and will conform to British Gymnastics delivery guidelines,” says Ian.

Currently, the gymnastic and trampolining programmes at DC Leisure run across 64 sites, attracting a total of 200,000 participants per year and the aim is to increase this by introducing a more structured programme of classes.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, says: “With gymnastics and trampolining becoming more and more popular, this partnership with BG is great news for DC Leisure. We must ensure that we continue to deliver a consistent service of excellence by offering our customers structured classes and coaching.”

DC MANAGER WARMS-UP FOR 5,000 MILE CHALLENGE

A fitness manager at DC Leisure’s Ferndown Leisure Centre attempted a 100km run in one day in preparation for a 5,000 mile charity challenge.

Assistant Fitness Manager, Tim Harris, who completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven weeks last year, took to a treadmill in the leisure centre’s reception area for his latest challenge. He ran 85km in seven hours before suffering severe dehydration due to the heat and lack of breaks.

Tim, aged 23, has worked at the Ferndown Leisure Centre in Dorset since April 2005 after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire. His colleagues at DC Leisure are very supportive of his efforts. “We are all extremely proud of what Tim has achieved for Water Aid. It is a great accomplishment for a truly worthy cause and DC Leisure will continue to support him in any future activities,” says Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure.

Although Tim finished the challenge early, he still managed to raise a significant amount of money for Water Aid: “I’m now fully recovered from the challenge and really pleased with my result. I raised over £350 for Water Aid, which will buy materials to build sustainable water access in those countries that really need it,” says Tim.

Taking place next year, Tim’s challenge in the next year will include running 1,000 miles from John O’Groats to Dover, cycling from Calais to Gibraltar and running 1,000 miles to cover the length of Mali to Bamako. He hopes to cover 5,000 miles in total, a mile for every child that dies due to water-related diseases.

Water Aid is an international charity, which works in 17 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to provide water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world’s poorest people.

GRIMSBY POOL RISES TO THE TOP

Staff at Grimsby’s Everyone Active Swimming Pool are celebrating after the venue was named as being among the top 10 per cent in the country. It has been highly commended by Quest, the leisure industry’s independent quality assessment scheme which is supported by Britain’s four sports councils.

The Grimsby pool in Scartho Road is managed on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council by by specialist leisure management company SLM. A delighted Ian Portas, SLM’s area contract manager, said the pool had shown a marked improvement since its last Quest assessment.

“Very few leisure Centres in the UK are highly commended by Quest and so this being awarded to the pool is testimony to the hard work of all the staff at the centre.”

Mr Portas also paid tribute to the staff at other SLM-run Everyone Active centres in North East Lincolnshire. “Grimsby’s King George V Stadium, Immingham Leisure Centre and Pool and the Cleethorpes Leisure Centre were all commended by Quest for the way they were run. We feel sure that Grimsby Leisure Centre is set to follow suit.”

Mr Portas revealed that since its launch of the Everyone Active Card last August, which gives fitness fans savings and discounts on the wide range of activities available at the district’s SLM-managed centres, more than 26,000 people had signed up for one.

He said: “More people than ever are visiting these facilities, and thinking and working on their health and fitness lifestyles. The use of the centres has grown progressively each year since 2001 and they now attract more than 200,000 more visitors annually.”

The rise in their popularity reflects the desire of both the district council and SLM to encourage people of all ages to improve and then maintain their levels of fitness. This has involved a significant amount of investment by the local authority at various venues.

SLM recently spent £20,000 on providing new changing facilities for disabled people at both Immingham Swimming Pool and the King George V Stadium and to install special hoists at the pool to lower and lift the infirm and people normally confined to wheelchairs in and out of the water.

Mr Portas welcomed the council’s commitment and said: “We are both trying to develop facilities and services for all customers in the area and are particularly keen to cater for those with special needs.”

DC LEISURE RECOMMENDED BY ITS OWN STAFF

Independent research has found that close to 90 per cent of DC Leisure staff would recommend the company as a good employer.

Conducted by Leisure-net Solutions Ltd (LNS), the research gathered the views, attitudes and perceptions of DC Leisure’s staff via online questionnaires, which were completed by 1,700 staff.

The results found that 94 per cent of staff were happy in their jobs and had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Staff also understood the business objectives of the DC site they were working for and their awareness of training and development opportunities had improved significantly over the last two years with 84 per cent of staff now knowing which courses are available to them within the company.

Mike Hill, Managing Director of LNS, says: “The research gives DC Leisure a detailed picture of its current internal performance and highlights any areas requiring attention. The commitment to its staff is evident through the results, with many of the figures showing improvement since research was last conducted.”

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure says the results are encouraging, “Investing in our staff is vital for a successful business, so it’s important to know how they staff us. The findings of this survey will help us with our training and development plans in the future.”

DC Leisure will continue to monitor its partnership with LNS by conducting an annual staff survey.

 
April/May/June 2008
 

FREE SPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY

Frome Leisure Centre, managed by Avalon Leisure, has organised free sports activities to encourage children to participate in physical activity at a time of growing concerns about obesity and inactivity amongst young people.

Avalon provided a Free Swimming Lesson in March for people aged 3 years and upwards to raise awareness of the importance of learning to swim. Lessons were with fully qualified teachers and included a fun session after the lesson on the new pool inflatable, ‘Hippongo Island’.

Frome Leisure Centre has also overseen the successful re-introduction of climbing. The Climbing Wall, which has been unused for many years, received a Sport Funding Grant from Mendip District Council which helped towards the cost of new equipment as well as the refurbishment work that has taken place.

To celebrate the reopening Frome Leisure Centre held a free Climbing weekend that attracted over 150 people.

The project was driven by Kyle Withers, the Sports Development Manager at Frome Leisure Centre, a keen climber himself. Mr Withers said “I have a strong passion for climbing and I wanted to give others the same opportunity. It is a great commodity that can be enjoyed by everyone!”

DC LEISURE APPOINTS GROUP SPORTS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

DC Leisure is pleased to announce the appointment of Polly Westell to the role of Group Sports Development Manager.

Polly took up the position at the beginning of January, having previously worked on the sports development team at Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council for two and half years.

Prior to joining Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council, Polly worked for Woking Borough Council and will bring to her new role over five years experience within sports development. She will assume responsibility for supporting the sports development team and promoting healthy lifestyles at DC Leisure’s 115 sites.

Commenting on her appointment, Polly says: “I was thrilled to secure this role at DC Leisure as I had heard such great things about the company and I’m really looking forward to bringing my knowledge in sports development from my local authority background to a private company like DC Leisure.”

Richard Millard, Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, adds: “I’m delighted to welcome Polly to her new position and have no doubt that she will make a very positive contribution to the ongoing success of the company.”

SWIM FOR ONLY £1

Frome Leisure Centre, Wells Leisure Centre and Strode Swimming Pool, managed by Avalon Leisure, are offering the chance to swim for only £1 per person!

The promotion runs from Monday 14th April - Friday 18th April, inclusive.

Vouchers will be available to claim a £1 swim on Thursday 10th April in the Wells Journal, Shepton Mallet Journal, Cheddar Valley Gazette and the Central Somerset Gazette. Alternatively, visit our website on www.avalonleisure.co.uk and download the voucher.

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and can also be great way of socialising and having fun.

Sarah Cruwys, Manager of Frome Leisure Centre said: “With recent concerns about lack of exercise, especially with young people, we hope that many families will take this opportunity to rediscover the fun that can be had swimming together”.

New faces at Leisure Connection

Following the announcement that Leisure Connection has earmarked more than £2.6 million to invest into local leisure facilities across the UK they have also bolstered their central support team to support the activity in 2008.

The first new face supporting the company going forward is Kevin Yates. He joins Leisure Connection as Harpers Brand manager tasked with looking after the health and fitness areas of the estate, aiming to maximise the ultimate experience for all members and users.

Kevin joins from Esporta UK where he headed up health & fitness for the group and previous to this he was with Fitness First UK, for ten years where he again managed the health and fitness offering for all 167 clubs.

Meanwhile, Victoria Branch has joined as the Group Marketing Manager. Charged with maximising the growth opportunities for the business through promotion and communication strategies, Victoria joins from a leisure trust where she worked for six years and prior to this it was spent in food retail marketing.

Victoria is working with the creative and PR agencies to ensure the external messages of Leisure Connection and its other sub brands are communicated effectively, ensuring that the marketing material produced encourages more people to become more active, more often.

Mark Botha (former Group Sales Manager) has been promoted to Sales Director of Leisure Connection. Mark joined the company in January 2006 with more than 13 years fitness sales experience. He immediately introduced a new set of sales processes and principles across the group and instantly injected much needed motivation into the sales teams across the estate. Since then Harpers has been exceptionally successful seeing like for like growth of 21% in 2006 and a further 17% growth in new membership in 2007, with a further 4% growth expected in 2008.

 

DUNCAN GOODHEW DELIVERS WINNING TIPS FOR DC LEISURE
 
DC Leisure staff were treated to a master class from Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew MBE this month after winning the Swimathon Corporate Challenge.

The team of four, comprising lifeguards and duty managers, received winning tips from the Olympic gold medallist after completing their 5,000m swim in one hour, eight minutes and 56 seconds. This impressive result was achieved after four months of training at Stourport Sports Centre. DC Leisure had 54 sites participating in the 2007 Swimathon raising a total of £109,493, the highest figure in the event.

Duncan Goodhew, Swimathon President, congratulated the team on their successful swim: “Completing 5,000m is no mean feat, and to do it in such a good time shows that their training really paid off.”

Donna Bristoll, captain of the winning team, said: “Duncan’s top training tips have already made a huge difference to our swimming and we are looking forward to putting them to the test in Swimathon 2008! The event has been great for team building and, of course, a little bit of intra-company rivalry is never a bad thing!”

Jason Pitman, General Manager at Stourport Sports Centre, said: “We are thrilled that Duncan came to give a master class to Donna and her team. Swimathon is an event we eagerly await every year and for a team from our pool to win the Corporate Challenge is fantastic!”

Entries for Swimathon 2008, held on April 17-20, are now open and people of all ages and abilities are encouraged to enter. It is the largest swimming fundraiser and to date has attracted more than half a million swimmers who have cumulatively swum over 570,000 miles (the equivalent of 23 times around the earth). In addition, it has raised more than £30 million for over 33 charities.

Seventy per cent of all money raised by participants in the 2008 national Swimathon will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care, which provides high quality nursing to people with terminal cancer or other illnesses. The additional thirty per cent of funds raised will be distributed by The Swimathon Foundation, which provides funding for smaller, local charities and other not-for-profit organisation that benefit the health and wellbeing of people throughout the UK.

DC LEISURE GIVES SIXTH FORMS LIFESAVING SKILLS

Due to its success DC Leisure’s Parish Wharf and Strode Leisure Centres in North Somerset are giving local sixth form students the opportunity to gain lifesaving skills and the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) for the third year running.

Students from Gordano, St Katherine’s and Clevedon Sixth Form Colleges have enrolled on the courses and to date the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) have awarded 22 NPLQs to sixth form students within North Somerset.

Jo Talbot, Group Lifeguard Co-ordinator at DC Leisure, says: “We recognised in 2006 the unique opportunities we could offer to the community and local sixth forms were keen to get involved. Our trainers while teaching students for assessments also educate them in basic first aid, how to treat medical conditions, essential resuscitation and dealing with choking. We hope to continue the partnership that has been formed and give sixth form students more opportunities.”

Gordano School offers its students studying AS and A levels up to 30 extra-curricular options including lifesaving skills. “The course has been extremely popular with our students and has been running now for three years. The students are transported to Strode Leisure Centre to use their facilities and learn lifesaving skills with the opportunity to gain another award in addition to their academic qualifications,” says Gill Gunnell, Sixth Form Administrator at Gordano School.

A total of 22 students have enrolled on the course to date and a further 12 have signed up for the course running over the next 12 weeks.

Leisure Connection goes Green

Leisure Connection has been trialing a number of initiatives aiming to decrease the energy and water consumption throughout their estate of more than 70 centres. The sports and leisure sector consumes approximately £700M of energy per annum overall. Just by making a 10% improvement in the management of energy use, UK leisure facilities could save up to £70M each year and reduce carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands of tonnes.

Keen to reduce their carbon footprint, Leisure Connection has been working with the Carbon Trust to devise and implement a number of energy saving programmes. A six month trial in Reading has indicated a saving of more than 15% on all utilities through increased efficiency and automation.

The reason this was so successful is that “investment was made in technology which took control of the environment and removed manual operation”, says Leisure Connection’s Paul Bailey, Head of Property Services. “Alongside a campaign to raise awareness of the energy issues that exist at centre level, the strategy was to add, automate and optimise environmental controls so that energy demand was closely controlled by use and occupancy. We have also taken advantage of opportunities to reduce speeds of main motors, remove competing heating and cooling systems, insulating, using re-lamping as an opportunity to install energy efficient lighting and daylight/occupancy controls. We have also educated our teams to use their own initiative when it comes to managing our energy more efficiently - by simply turning things off when not required, energy is being saved. Fundamental to this has been our ability to accurately measure and target energy use.”

“Other devices such as water saving shower heads were installed and showed good savings in water and the gas to heat it, without compromising the quality of our showers. We are now exploring various options on how we can implement and roll out this philosophy across the estate,” continues Paul.

Many of the lessons learnt and the successes of this trial are now being implemented throughout all sites and Leisure Connection has appointed Energy Champions to ensure that they are operated as energy efficiently as possible by instilling awareness and good housekeeping.

A second trial in St Albans has seen a liquid pool cover tested, which activates once the surface of the pool is calm and quiet and has shown savings which recover the monthly cost of the consumable liquid within the first week of each month– perfect for off-peak times when the pool is empty for long periods.

Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of Leisure Connection commented: “These trials have been great and we and our clients are pleased with the results. Being energy efficient is extremely important to our sector as our carbon footprint is so large. Reducing carbon emissions and being energy efficient is not only good for the environment but good for reducing overheads too. We are now looking at how we can implement these plans further afield across our entire estate to ensure that all of our clients are benefiting from the results of our trials.”

DC LEISURE EMBRACES DANCE CRAZE AT FLEMING PARK

DC Leisure’s recently refurbished Fleming Park Leisure Centre has invested in the latest dance craze to encourage local children to take more exercise.

ZigZag interactive fitness solutions has kitted out the site, in Eastleigh, Hampshire, with 12 of its Xer-Dance platforms, the most advanced fitness-based dance system available in the UK.

The wireless system can run three levels of difficulty simultaneously, allowing all dancers to feel comfortable with their ability and have fun at the same time, whilst catering for all age ranges and music tastes.

Julia Birt, Sport and Recreation Manager at Eastleigh Borough Council says: “It is important for our leisure facilities to provide activities outside traditional sports and the dance mats are going down a storm across the country. Fleming Park can now offer local children a variety of fitness workouts ensuring an all-over body workout while their minds are distracted by a game.”

DC Leisure kicked off the Xer-Dance sessions with a week-long launch, offering free taster sessions to the local community. ZigZag also supplied its Makoto triangular combat arena and Cybex Trazer movement tracking and virtual reality game for the extended launch, which took place in the leisure centre’s café area.

The Sports Development Officers (SDO) for Winchester and Eastleigh, the Partnership Development Manager (PDM) for the centre’s local schools and the Client Officer for Eastleigh Borough Council attended the launch week, along with DC Leisure’s Sports Development and Fitness Managers and representatives from the Sport and Physical Activity Alliance (SPAA).

Jo Cook, Marketing Manager at Fleming Park Leisure Centre, says: “We will be working with our PDM to offer dance sessions for as many school children as we can. As well as providing sessions within the centre, we hope to take the mats into local schools for one-off sessions and for courses.”

Fleming Park already runs the MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do it!) programme, which offers fun, effective and practical lifestyle solution for families with overweight or obese children, and the Xer-Dance platforms will be used for the programme’s exercise sessions. Fleming Park also works closely with its GP referral scheme, Healthworks, which has expressed an interest in using the platforms for its patients.

“Although we will be running parent and child sessions at weekends, we hope to offer adult only sessions in the future too, as well as classes for our over 50s. But for now we intend to concentrate on junior courses, holiday activities and birthday parties,” says Jo. “A lot of people are keeping an eye on the mats and so we will look to extend them into other programmes as soon as we are able!”

DC LEISURE MEASURES PERFORMANCE WITH NATIONAL BENCHMARKING SERVICE

DC Leisure has commissioned Sport England’s National Benchmarking Service (NBS) to find out what customers really think about its service in a bid to improve performance.

The NBS is designed to help local authorities accurately report on the performance of their indoor sports facilities, compare their performance with national benchmarks and utilise this information to improve their service delivery.

Each year, approximately 50 organisations place 110 centres through the NBS. To date DC Leisure has entered 20 of its key sites, which involved interviewing a total of 350 members and visitors at each site. The surveys focus on indicators covering access and customer satisfaction, with financial and management information being provided by the centres.

Rich Millard, Operations Support Director at DC Leisure, says the company plans to roll NBS out to further sites in future: “It is essential for us to find out who our customers are and what they think about us. The results from the surveys will highlight our strengths and also areas for improvement.”

The NBS is a partnership approach to providing critical data on the performance of leisure facilities. Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University, Ipsos MORI and PMP work together on behalf of Sport England to provide a seamless, rigorous and valuable collection and analysis of participation, financial and customer satisfaction data.

Prof. Peter Taylor of ISRC at Sheffield Hallam University believes DC Leisure will benefit from using the NBS: “NBS reports allow DC Leisure to compare its centres’ performance with other centres nationally, rather than just within the group. The reports will provide the company with plenty of information with which to reconsider its strategic priorities, identify its competitive strengths, address urgent need for management action at each centre and identify further research needs to investigate particular issues more.”

Three of DC Leisure’s facilities won awards at this year’s NBS conference held at Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre in West Sussex.

DC LEISURE CONTINUES COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVE FITNESS MARK

DC Leisure will implement a further 10 Inclusive Fitness Mark (IFI Mark) schemes over the next six months. This means that each DC Leisure contract will have at least one site meeting the IFI Mark standard or IFI accreditation by the summer.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, comments: “It’s extremely important to us to create an inclusive culture, where we do all we can to ensure that our facilities can be accessed and enjoyed by the whole community. We recognise that the right facilities and environment must be backed up by appropriate service delivery. It is so important for our staff to understand users’ needs and to possess the skills, knowledge and attitude to assist disabled people during their leisure time.”

The IFI Mark is the quality mark accreditation scheme based on the principles of the IFI and offers constructive advice and consultancy across five key areas: facility accessibility; fitness equipment specification; staff training; marketing; policies and procedures.

On average, any IFI site attracts 128 visits by disabled people and provides an induction for 9 new disabled users per month. Anna Morgan, a member at Mill Chase Leisure Centre, is impressed with DC Leisure’s commitment to the IFI: “I recently had a stroke which meant that I had a limited range of movement. The staff have great knowledge when it comes to training on a one-to-one basis and the facilities are easily accessible, especially in the gym. This along with the concessionary rates has given me the opportunity to workout regularly and I can now say I’m on the road to recovery.”

Sue Catton, IFI National Director, says: “DC Leisure is demonstrating a strong commitment to the inclusion of disabled people throughout its facilities. Having a site IFI accredited is very important as figures in 2007 indicated that over 28,000 disabled people began using IFI sites. This figure will hopefully rise to over 40,000 in 2008 and DC Leisure is helping this to become a reality.”

LOUGHBOROUGH RISES TO THE CHALLENGE FOR SPORT RELIEF!

500 Milers pulled on their Sport Relief socks and warmed up at Loughborough Leisure Centre with the Commercial Team of Shelly Hillier, Lucy Brown and Laura Melton prior to making their way along the route through the Town Centre and Loughborough College’s Campus.

Shelly Hillier from Serco Leisure said: “Hundreds of local residents including local MP Andy Reed have gone the distance and raised money for Sport Relief. The 16th March has been a day to remember as the town pulled together for this fantastic cause.”
Milers choose to do 1, 3 or 6 miles, selecting a distance that was a challenge for them and making sure that they got sponsored while doing it.
Sport Relief harnesses the power and passion of sport to change lives for the better. By doing sport, having fun and raising money, everyone can do good and feel good. Comic Relief spends the money raised to help vulnerable people living incredibly tough lives both at home in the UK and in the world’s poorest countries.

 

DC LEISURE SITES NAMED AS LONDON 2012 PRE-GAMES TRAINING CAMPS

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has announced the selection of 600 leisure facilities across the UK as potential London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camps, five of which are DC Leisure facilities.

Braintree Leisure Centre, Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre, Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex, K2 Crawley Leisure Centre and Pavillions In the Park were named as potential Pre-Games training facilities and cater for sports such as athletics, basketball, swimming, water polo, badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.

The 600 facilities will appear in a guide detailing high quality facilities across the country allowing Olympic teams and athletes to select venues from which they can choose to train in the months leading up to the London 2012 Games. “Having five DC Leisure sites included in this guide is an endorsement of the first class facilities and services provided by DC Leisure staff and our local authority partners. Our facilities are sports specific and will aid athletes in the vital preparation leading up to the Games,” says Rich Millard, Sports Development Director at DC Leisure.

The announcement follows the recent British Olympic Association’s statement that Rushmoor Borough Council will host Team GB’s London 2012 Pre-Olympic Games Preparation Camp using the army facilities and accommodation located at the Aldershot Garrison.

KEN MARRIOTT LEISURE CENTRE ANNOUNCES OUTSTANDING QUEST RESULT

Ken Marriott Leisure Centre, which is managed by DC Leisure on behalf of Rugby Borough Council, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in its Quest assessment. This achievement places the facility among the top Quest scoring sites in the country as well as giving it the accolade of highest scoring DC Leisure site.

Councillor Neil Campbell, Rugby Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy, Development and Culture said “The partnership with DC Leisure has produced a superb result: Leisure and recreation facilities are a key service for the community and the council is committed to providing good quality services. We are delighted to hear that the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre scored so highly in the Quest assessments. "

The Quest assessment covers all of the facilities and processes involved in the delivery of the services at the Ken Marriot Leisure Centre in Rugby.

Richard Marrs, General Manager at the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre, was delighted with the highly commended score of 81%, which represents a significant improvement on the facility’s first score of 75%. He commented: “We are extremely proud to be the first centre in the group to reach over 80% in the Quest assessment. Credit must go to everyone in the team for all their effort and hard work. This award recognises our commitment to continuous improvement and customer service so that we can maintain the highest standards of leisure provision for the local community.”
 
January/February/March 2008
 

BISL calls for PFI funding

Business In Sport and Leisure (BISL), the umbrella organisation for the sport, leisure and hospitality industry, is calling for more government funding for leisure-related Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.

The organisation made the appeal in a paper released earlier this week called Activating the Market – The Contribution of Leisure PFI and PPP [Public-Private Partnerships] to Driving and Sustaining an Increase in Participation.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of BISL, said: “For far too long we have allowed our sports facilities, particularly those owned by local authorities where the majority of leisure time is spent, to go downhill through lack of capital and revenue investment.

“It is widely accepted that some £10bn is now needed to create the modern, attractive facilities that can grow participation.”

BISL wants the government to undertake an audit of the national leisure stock, as a prelude to developing a national facilities strategy, which can be presented to local authorities with “the carrot of increased funding”.

The organisation also recommends an increase in the PFI credits available to the DCMS.

Simmonds continued: “Over the past 10 years, PPP and PFI schemes in partnership with the private sector have proved that they can increase participation, reduce revenue costs and create investment over a period of up to 25 years.

“This is due to an intimate melding of the design and management elements of such leisure facilities and longer contracts, which offer financial certainty and service guarantees for local authorities, through provision of mechanisms for financial penalties and inclusion of life-cycle and maintenance costs.”

BISL calls for national policy to fight obesity

Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL), the umbrella organisation for the private sector sport, leisure and hospitality industries, is calling for a national policy to combat rising obesity levels.

BISL’s chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, was a member of the High Level Stakeholder Group that helped contribute to the Foresight Study on Obesity, which was released today (17 Oct) and found that 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children will be obese by 2050.

“We can only tackle this by cross-departmental support to increase levels of physical activity in our population,” said Simmonds.

“BISL has already responded to the white paper or planning by proposing that we have a national strategy on physical activity and the built environment, which would mean that every new building and every refurbishment would have to include features to encourage activity and every local authority plan would have to include policies to encourage physical activity in their neighbourhoods or regions.”

“Unless the government makes physical activity a key priority across departments, in the same way they have done for sustainability and the environment, little will change and the cost to the NHS will be £45.5bn a year.”

£100,000 FOR MENDIP FITNESS CENTRES

The company that runs most of Mendip’s leisure centres has just overseen £100,000 of investment in two of its fitness centres.

Avalon Leisure, which works in partnership with Mendip District Council, has just completed major refurbishments of two of its Avalon Lifestyle Centres at Wells Leisure Centre and Farrington Golf and Country Club.

At Wells Leisure Centre, which the company manages on behalf of Western Community Leisure, a leisure Trust, the fitness suite has been completely refurbished as well as seeing 22 new pieces of fitness equipment installed. The new state of the art equipment includes a complete replacement of all resistance machines with the new Technogym Selection line, additional new cardio-vascular machines and the installation of audio-visual screens.

Amongst the new cardio equipment are the innovative Technogym Wave and Nautilus Treadclimber machines. These are recent award-winning additions to UK fitness gyms and will be the first installed in the Mendip area. Wells Leisure Centre has been runner-up in the UK Leisure Centre of Year awards in recent years and continues to score amongst the highest in the UK.

At the Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf and Country Club, Farrington Gurney, the Nautilus Treadclimber will also be a very popular addition to the already comprehensive range of equipment, and members will also be enjoying refurbished changing rooms. The club is now on the crest of a wave having recently been voted UK CLUB OF THE YEAR 2007 (under 1,000 members) by the FIA – the UK Fitness Industry Association.

Peter Gilpin, managing director of Avalon Leisure, which manages the centres, said: “This is part of our ongoing commitment to improving the quality of facilities across the Mendip area, in partnership with Western Community Leisure, Mendip District Council and Farrington Golf Club. Our centres in Wells and Farrington have been voted amongst the best in the UK and this is something that they and the company should be very proud of and something we are keen to maintain.”

ALTON SPORTS CENTRE WINS MEND PROGRAMME BEST PRACTICE AWARD

Alton Sports Centre, which is managed by DC Leisure on behalf of East Hampshire District Council, has been awarded the MEND Programme Best Practice Award for Multi-Agency Working 2007. The award was presented to Richard Neale, DC Leisure’s General Manager, at the MEND Best Practice Conference at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on November 22.

Harry MacMillan, Partnership Director for the MEND Programme, said: “Our aim is for every suitable overweight and obese child in the UK to have access to a local MEND Programme to receive the support and knowledge required to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. The development of effective working partnerships is pivotal to the successful achievement of this objective and Alton Sports Centre has clearly demonstrated impressive practices in this regard.”

MEND was launched at Alton Sports Centre in April 2007 and right from the start there was a strong focus placed on building relationships. Richard comments: “We created a MEND steering group, comprising key representatives who each bring their own area of expertise, to meet regularly and monitor the ongoing success of the programme.”

In addition to MEND Programme Manager, Richard, and his DC Leisure team at Alton - this panel includes the Leisure Management and Active Lifestyle Co-ordinators at the council, who advise on links with local services like GPs and schools; the health improvement partnership manager and practitioner from the primary care trust, who advise on public health information and linking with GP funding; and the local partnership development manager, as well as school nurses, who are able to directly target the recruitment of children that will benefit from the scheme.

Other key partners include the local Sainsbury’s and various media. Richard explains: “We work with Sainsbury’s to provide opportunities for children on the programme to benefit from special MEND shopping sessions and MEND friendly buffets. And our local press, radio and television have all supported us with adverts and editorial coverage including interviews and case studies.”

Councillor Jennifer Gray, Active Lifestyles Portfolio Holder at East Hampshire District Council, comments: “We’re committed to projects, like MEND, which improve the health of our community. The delivery of the programme is a real team effort between the council, DC Leisure, the PCT and the MEND Programme professionals and we’re very proud that the hard work has been recognised by MEND with the presentation of this award.”

There are now plans to extend the Alton Sports Centre MEND steering group to cover the whole of Hampshire and DC Leisure will continue to share best practice across the group.

As a leading local partner, DC Leisure has rolled out the MEND Programme across 14 sites and is running more MEND Programmes than any other leisure centre operator.

One Tonne Carbon Challenge

Maidstone Leisure Centre recently entered the Kent County Council ‘One Tonne Carbon Challenge’.
The aim of the competition was to reduce carbon emissions by travelling more sustainably.

Maidstone Leisure Centre were the eventual winners and lead by example. Their commitment to emission savings included the following initiatives:

  • Car sharing
  • Walking to work
  • Turning off lights and electrical appliances that are not being used
  • Using the public transport system
  • Getting off the bus two stops early and walking to work
GYMNASTICS IN AMBER VALLEY SET TO BENEFIT FROM SPORT ENGLAND GRANT

Gymnastics within Amber Valley has been given a massive boost thanks to a successful application to Sport England for capital funding under the Community Investment Fund (CIF). A sum of £77,000 has been awarded to Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC) and DC Leisure under a partnership agreement, which will enable a dedicated gymnastics facility to be established at Alfreton Leisure Centre in Derbyshire.

The project, which will cost just over £300,000, will see three existing multi-purpose rooms at the centre being opened up to create one large open space (approximately 460m2). This will accommodate a tumble track, landing pit and extensive range of accredited gymnastics equipment.

James Buller, from Sport England East Midlands, said: “The new facility and equipment provides a huge boost for gymnastics and sport in Amber Valley, helping more people get involved in the sport and reach their potential. It is a great example of how National Lottery funding is helping to revitalise community facilities and supporting our ambition to get two million people participating more in sport by 2012."

Due to open in spring 2008, the facility forms part of the wider Amber Valley Leisure Centre PFI project, which is set to transform leisure provision in the Borough. The project, which has been funded by AVBC and Barclays in partnership with DC Leisure, includes the building of three new, state-of-the-art leisure centres, at Heanor, Ripley and Alfreton.

Councillor John Nelson, Cabinet Member for Leisure Development at AVBC, said: “This is brilliant news for the local community and for Amber Valley Gymnastics Club, who for a number of years have produced consistently high calibre gymnasts. Helping people to lead healthier, more active lifestyles is one of the council’s top priorities, and we are committed to providing first class sporting facilities for everyone living in the Borough. This grant from Sport England is a huge boost for sport within Amber Valley, enabling us to develop a fantastic gymnastics facility that will hopefully encourage even more people to take part in the sport.”

Peter Sharkey, DC Leisure’s General Manager at Alfreton Leisure Centre is also delighted with the grant and states: “Amber Valley and Alfreton Leisure Centre have a long association with gymnastics and this will provide a much needed boost, given that over the years the level of provision has declined.

“This project’s success is testimony to the partnership working that has taken place over the past 12 months within the Amber Valley Gymnastics Development Group, which is formed with representatives from English Gymnastics, Derbyshire Sport, Amber Valley School Sport Partnership, Amber Valley Gymnastics Club and Amber Valley Borough Council’s Sports Development Unit,” continues Peter. “The opportunities that this has opened up are almost beyond belief and this project, and the direction in which it will take gymnastics, is incredibly exciting”.

Serco Leisure is proud to sponsor the FINA World Swimming Championships with 60,000 free swims!

Serco Leisure manage the Manchester Aquatic Centre, the official training venue for 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 to be held in Manchester from 9-13 April next year.

Serco currently manage over 60 leisure facilities, including 13 facilities in Manchester,on behalf of Local Councils and Trusts. As part of the sponsorship, Serco Leisure is providing every ticket holder, for the championships the opportunity to a free swim at any of the leisure centres and swimming pools they manage across the country. Serco will also promote the event at over 35 leisure facilities across the North West.

In association with the FINA World Swimming Championships Serco Leisure will be working closely with local swimming clubs to support the development of the sport and encourage participation in swimming across all age groups prior to and as a legacy of the event..

Keith Thomas Managing Director for Serco Leisure said “We are pleased to be supporting the FINA World Swimming Championships. By offering 60,000 free swims we will be helping to encourage people to participate in swimming right across the UK and raise the profile of swimming and its related health benefits”.

The eyes of the world will be on Manchester as 650 athletes from 120 different countries will take part in this 5 day event which will be the first World Swimming Championship to ever be staged in the UK. Manchester always does things differently and it promises to be like no other swim meet with two huge temporary pools being built in one of Countries most popular concert venue – The Manchester Evening News Arena.

Marc Hope Director of Rights Marketing said. “I'm thrilled to welcome Serco Leisure to the growing sponsor family. They will play a very special role in ensuring the Championships leave a lasting legacy. We are in advanced conversations with other potential partners - there is still time to become involved in the UK’s biggest swimming event since the 1948 Olympics and make the most of their company’s involvement in the build up to Beijing 2008 and London 2012” For sponsorship enquiries please e-mail sponsors@m2008.org or call Marc on +44 (0) 7799662187

Head of PR is the 5 Times World Swimming Champion and Mancunian James Hickman says “It’s fantastic news that Serco are an official partner, some of the planet’s best swimmers will use the Championships to hone their skills for the Olympic Games in Beijing just a few months later.
Offering the free swims to every ticket holder is brilliant, as we hope to inspire a lot of people to take up swimming.

Serco introduces lifeguard training

Serco Leisure and IQL – managers of the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) – have teamed up to deliver a bespoke pool safety training seminar to staff nationwide.

Jan Francis, quality, health and safety manager at Serco, said: “We have always taken the safety of our customers and employees very seriously, so have employed the IQL to present to all our staff from top level management to the junior ground staff.

“We’re keen to identify any gaps in our knowledge and implement changes to ensure that the HSE’s Management of Health and Safety in Swimming Pools guidelines are followed.

“This refresher is pertinent due to the recently enacted Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act which comes into force next April.”
Two seminar sessions presented by IQL at the recent Leisure Industry Week identified a shortfall of knowledge among employees and employers on how to prevent and manage crises at their centres.

Executive director of IQL, Tara Dillon, said: “The guidelines are effective but often misinterpreted, which is where the IQL can help.”

NORTH WILTSHIRE LEISURE CENTRES SET TO BENEFIT FROM EXTENSIVE REFURBISHMENT

North Wiltshire District Council is rolling out an extensive refurbishment programme across all four of its leisure centres. An investment of £750,000 is being made by the council through a rolling capital improvement fund. The sites to benefit from the upgrade are The Olympiad, Lime Kiln and Springfield Leisure Centres, as well as The Activity Zone, all of which are managed by DC Leisure in partnership with the council.

Viv Vines, the Councillor responsible for Leisure at North Wiltshire District Council, comments: “We are committed to providing an improved leisure service to our customers and are working in close partnership with DC Leisure to ensure this happens. Our customers will be able to see for themselves the benefits of the considerable investment that we are making in facilities and the surroundings in each of the four centres.”

The Olympiad Leisure Centre in Chippenham has undergone a comprehensive gym refurbishment including the installation of a wireless entertainment system from Cardio Theater® and a large range of cardiovascular equipment from Precor. In addition, the Spinning area has been upgraded with 21 bikes from Keiser and new air conditioning.

Work has also been completed on a new wet-side changing village complete with new showers, toilets, lockers and cubicles, many of which will offer family-friendly changing options. New ceilings and lighting will complete the changing room transformation. The reception area now also benefits from new flooring as well as the introduction of an inviting relaxation area over looking the swimming pool.

Springfield Leisure Centre in Corsham and Lime Kiln Leisure Centre in Wootton Bassett are also set for general redecoration throughout. A gym extension, complete with new equipment, is due to be completed early in 2008 at Springfield and work at Lime Kiln will commence in the New Year.

The gym facility at The Activity Zone in Malmesbury, like those at Lime Kiln and The Olympiad, has been fitted with new Spinning bikes from Keiser. Its reception and studio flooring have also been upgraded. Finally, there are further plans to upgrade the air conditioning in the studio and gym in the coming months.

As part of the refurbishment programme, all four gym facilities are being re-branded ‘Kinetika’ – DC Leisure’s national chain of gyms which offer a friendly and convenient fitness environment for real people. And as part of the re-branding exercise, ‘Kinetika Journey’ - DC Leisure’s highly successful one to one gym programming and instruction sessions, will be rolled out across each centre over the coming months.

Nick Moran, DC Leisure’s Contract Manager at North Wiltshire, comments: “The council’s investment in these leisure facilities is great news for the local community and represents another significant step forward in our bid to deliver exceptional sports and leisure services for the residents of North Wiltshire in partnership with the council.”

DC Leisure took over the management of four of North Wiltshire’s leisure centres in February this year following the announcement by incumbent operator, North Wiltshire Leisure Limited (NWLL), that it was to go into administration. The council’s fifth facility, The Cricklade Leisure Centre, is now operated by The Cricklade and District Community Association as a completely independent organisation.

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY TAKES PLACE AT ST ANN’S LEISURE CENTRE

As DC Leisure Gets the UK’s Largest PFI Project Physically Underway

The Ground Breaking Ceremony to mark the start of the UK’s largest leisure PFI contract to date took place on Thursday October 11 at St Ann’s Leisure Centre. The event marked the start of construction work on the £35m Rotherham Leisure PFI Project.

Representatives from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), DC Leisure, and its consortium team of Barclays Bank, builders - Willmott Dixon, construction and property consultant - Cyril Sweett Ltd, law firm - Nabarro, and Hooper Architects, were all in attendance to celebrate the visible beginning of this important project. The initiative forms part of the design, build, finance and operation of four leisure facilities in Rotherham.

Speaking at the ceremony, Culture and Leisure Services Director at RMBC, Phil Rogers, said: “This is a fantastic day for Rotherham and I have no doubt that, when complete, these centres will put us firmly on the leisure map. We’ve enjoyed working with such a professional team as DC Leisure and I’m very proud of what we have achieved together so far.”

Peter Kirkham, Development & PFI Director at DC Leisure, added: “After reaching financial close in June, this event marks another important milestone in the development of the project and helps us move significantly closer towards our ultimate goal of delivering quality leisure programming in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. I’d like to pay a special tribute to the members and officers of the council who’ve had the foresight to provide state-of-the-art facilities to support inclusive participation across the whole community.”

The PFI project will involve the construction of St Ann’s – Central Rotherham Swimming and Fitness Centre, as well as providing two additional dual-use leisure facilities at Wath and Aston, which are both situated on or adjacent to secondary school campuses. There will also be a multi-million pound development at Maltby, which will include the council’s Joint Service Centre and a new leisure complex.

St Ann’s will incorporate a 25m, six-lane swimming pool with a moveable floor, as well as a 12m leisure/teaching pool complete with a 70m flume. There will also be a six-court sports hall, squash courts, fitness and health suites and the area’s highest and largest climbing wall.

Children from two local schools - St Ann’s Junior and Infant School and Clifton Community Arts School - attended the ceremony and were delighted to be invited to be the first children to swim in the new pool at St Ann’s when it opens next autumn.

The facilities at Aston and Wath will both include a main pool and learner pool, fitness suite and sports hall. And the Maltby site will comprise a 25m, six-lane pool with a moveable floor, diving pool, sports hall and a fitness suite. The complex will also incorporate Maltby Joint Service Centre, which will provide a one-stop shop function for public services including housing, social services, education and health services. It is anticipated that, upon completion, these leisure facilities will accommodate one million visits per year.

Funding for the project has come from Barclays, DC Leisure, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government through two linked PFI schemes, after the Government allocated Rotherham £25m of PFI Credits for redevelopment and regeneration. Additional funding has been gained from the Lottery via the New Opportunities Fund, Rotherham Primary Care Trust and from the council's existing budgets.

It is anticipated that the majority of building work will be completed by the end of 2008. The contract will run for 32 years from this time.

With nine PPP/ PFI leisure centres currently underway or completed, DC Leisure, together with its funding partner, Barclays, has more experience and expertise in this field than any other leisure operator.

DC LEISURE CLAIMS AMATEUR SWIMMING ASSOCIATION’S SWIMTASTIC AWARD

In recognition of its outstanding commitment to teaching swimming, DC Leisure has been named as the Amateur Swimming Association’s (ASA) ‘Facility Operator of the Year’ for the fourth year running. DC Leisure’s Swimming Group Manager, Mark Haslam, was delighted to accept the Swimtastic Award on behalf of the company.

David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, said: “DC Leisure thoroughly deserves this award – they are committed to placing sports development, in particular swimming, at the centre of business thinking and this has resulted in a highly successful teaching programme which continues to go from strength to strength.”

He adds: “As well as focussing on the development of elite athletes in search of gold medals, our aim at the ASA is to drive increased participation at grass roots level. To achieve this requires a culture change within the leisure industry - we need better facilities, quality management and a better workforce.

“These are all goals that DC Leisure is continually striving for. And whilst there’s still a long way to go in driving up standards across the board, DC Leisure sets the bar high and continues to raise it, as it challenges itself on an ongoing basis.”

DC Leisure has over 43,000 children enrolled in its Swim Academy, and over the last year, has presented more than 130,000 Kellogg’s ASA Awards scheme badges and certificates to its pupils, demonstrating its effectiveness in promoting the ongoing improvement of each child’s swimming ability.

Mark Haslam comments: “We’re very proud to receive this award again and I would like to thank all the swimming instructors and co-ordinators across the group who invest so much energy and enthusiasm, week after week, to make our Swimming Academy such a success.

“The ASA has been a great support to DC Leisure over the last few years – recently running a group wide training course focusing on the introduction of the new national plan and the development of our teachers in light of the new UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) qualifications. And with swimming representing the highest participation activity we offer, the ongoing development of this partnership is extremely important to us.”
The DC Leisure Swimming Academy, which runs in 65 sites across the country, follows the ASA National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS). This provides a comprehensive, progressive teaching programme, from complete beginner to pre-competition development, based upon sound technical and educational principles.

SOAR VALLEY LEISURE CENTRE WIN PRESTIGIOUS 'SPIRIT OF FLAME' AT THE RECENT HEALTH & FITNESS AWARD CEREMONY

Soar Valley Leisure Centre provided by Charnwood Borough Council and managed by Serco Ltd were awarded the 'Spirit of Flame' trophy at the recent Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence Awards annual ceremony held in Birmingham.

This prestigious award was chosen by assessors and awarded to Soar Valley Leisure Centre for its outstanding achievement and performance during the FLAME assessment process.

Comments from this year's assessors "The Spirit of Flame Award winner, Soar Valley Leisure Centre, has a team which shows total dedication to improvement. There was an energy and commitment to developing clever and innovative ways of raising the profile of the centre while engaging the community. Many people have benefited from the hard work and energy of this Centre's team and will continue to do so."

"Soar Valley Leisure Centre proved that it is an organisation which lives up to its customer mission statement - "To provide a safe, warm, clean, friendly, fun environment for the local community at an affordable cost to help get 'More People, More Active, More Often." Said Shelly Hillier Commercial Manager for Soar Valley Leisure Centre "We put our success down to having passion and enthusiasm by being caring and supportive, teamwork, and by believing what we do counts. This award will only spur us on to want to grow and improve even more."

DC LEISURE ROLLS OUT CUSTOMER INSIGHT PROGRAMME

Reflecting its commitment to the ongoing improvement of service delivery, DC Leisure has entered into a 12-month contract with Leisure-net Solutions Ltd (LNS), who it has commissioned to carry out a series of customer and staff surveys on its behalf. Part of a comprehensive Customer Insight Programme, the initial surveys have already yielded encouraging results.

Mike Hill, Managing Director of LNS, says: “Our Customer Insight Programme combines a number of tools - including mystery telephone enquiries and visits, as well as telephone and online surveys of customers, members, past members and staff – enabling us to provide DC Leisure with a detailed picture of its current performance and to highlight any areas requiring attention.

“Always keen to stay in tune with its members and customers, and to provide the highest quality of service, DC Leisure has embraced the opportunity to roll out the Customer Insight Programme, and I’m sure will continue to see ongoing improvements as a result.”

The first two rounds of the programme included mystery telephone calls, conducted at different times of the day, to 50 of DC Leisure’s sites, and a series of telephone interviews with members from each of those sites who had visited the centre in the past three or four days.

Among the most pleasing results were that over 90% of members felt that they had made progress towards their health and fitness goals in the last three months (93% - fitness; 98% swimming). And when asked if, based on their experience of their visits in the last month, they would be happy to recommend their centre to a friend or relative, 98% and 94%, fitness and swimming respectively, said that they would.

Finally, when answering the phone, over 80% of the DC Leisure staff surveyed were judged to be efficient, polite and enthusiastic.

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, comments: “These results are extremely encouraging – it’s always great to hear positive feedback from our customers. But perhaps more importantly, the surveys have also been invaluable in highlighting certain areas where we’re not currently performing as well as we’d like. In these cases, we look forward to working in partnership with Leisure-net to monitor our improvements at each individual site over the duration of the programme.”

TEENAGE GIRLS GET GOING AT ARENA LEISURE CENTRE

DC Leisure’s Arena Leisure Centre in Camberley has enjoyed great success with the Fitness Industry Association’s (FIA) go programme. Encouraging teenage girls to have a positive attitude towards physical activity, the scheme has proved so popular that a new class, aimed purely at this market, has just been added to the timetable.

The go programme, funded by Sport England, encourages teenage girls to become more active, more often and runs for a minimum of six weeks each school term. The Arena Leisure Centre has run the scheme in conjunction with nearby Tomlinscote School and has subsequently seen an increase in long term, sustained activity by girls aged 15 and 16 years.

Andree Deane, CEO at the FIA, said: “This age group is critical because it is our last chance to influence and even ‘educate’ girls before they reach an age where lifelong activity habits become ingrained in their behaviours. DC Leisure’s role is key in helping the government address a major, and escalating, public health issue.”

Jodie Whitaker, Fitness Manager at Arena Leisure Centre, comments: “I’ve seen such an improvement over the six weeks in the girls’ attitudes to exercise and nutrition. Week one highlighted that the majority of them did not eat more than five fruit and vegetable portions a day and even fewer exercised more than three times a week.

“Throughout the programme, I gave the girls the opportunity to participate in exercises such as team combat, street dance and aerobics while learning relaxation and stretching techniques. The nutrition angle of the initiative also taught them the importance of a healthy diet.”

Lisa Taylor, Group Fitness Manager at DC Leisure, adds: “With research indicating that girls exercise less than boys, the go programme is essential for encouraging teenage girls to learn the importance of an active lifestyle. I’m thrilled that the programme has been so well received at The Arena and I look forward to replicating this success at many more of our sites over the coming months.”

As a result of go’s popularity, Arena Leisure Centre has launched a weekly Teen Aerobics class aimed at the young girls that attended the programme. The class will give the teenagers the opportunity to exercise on a regular basis and put their new skills into practice. In addition, the centre will shortly host a second school on the go programme.

DC LEISURE LOOKS AFTER CHILDREN IN AMBER VALLEY

Amber Valley Borough Council is trialling a new initiative called ‘Looked After Children’ in partnership with DC Leisure and Derbyshire County Council. The scheme will see foster carers, the children they look after and their immediate families benefit from complimentary admission to the council’s leisure facilities.

Councillor John Nelson, Cabinet Member for Leisure Development at Amber Valley Borough Council, says: “We’re extremely pleased to be offering children and young people in the care of Derbyshire County Council free access to the borough’s leisure facilities. The promotion of active lifestyles for all members of the local community is a council priority and this initiative will help us to meet this objective.”

Under the scheme, swimming, fitness classes and all court bookings will be available free of charge at Alfreton and Ripley Leisure Centres and William Gregg VC Leisure Centre in Heanor, which are all managed by DC Leisure on behalf of Amber Valley Borough Council. The council’s additional Trust run facility, Belper Leisure Centre, is also included within the programme.

It is anticipated that Looked After Children will help many youngsters in care who often tend to have a disproportionate rate of obesity and lower participation levels in sporting and recreational activities than their peer group. In addition, it is hoped that free leisure centre access will also help promote the recruitment and retention of foster carers and will encourage them to use leisure and recreational facilities alongside the children they are placed with.

Jayne Bacon, Project Officer for Derbyshire County Council, says: “Amber Valley is the first district to go live with this scheme and we’re anticipating that a total of 350 foster families will be invited to join. The programme encourages family bonding, broadens experiences and hopefully helps to engage young people in sporting activities leading to them meeting new people, understanding the importance of exercise and healthy living. Ultimately we hope this scheme will be the start of a package of incentives which will help to recruit and retain Derbyshire foster carers.”

The initiative, which is an extension of the Amber Card – Amber Valley Borough Council’s successful discount card / loyalty scheme, is currently being run as a pilot and if successful will be rolled out across all Derbyshire County Council’s leisure facilities next year.

 
October/November/December 2007
 

CLUB OF THE YEAR FOR MENDIP FITNESS CENTRE

The company that runs most of Mendip’s leisure centres has won a prestigious national award.

Avalon Leisure, which works in partnership with Mendip District Council, has scooped Club of the Year for its Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf and Country Club in Farrington Gurney.

The prize was presented by Olympic gold medal winner Linford Christie on behalf of the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) as part of the 13th FLAME (Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence) awards.

Speaking about the Avalon Lifestyle Centre at Farrington Golf and Country Club, the judges said: “This centre benefits from a dedicated general manager supported by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff that delivers results. Members enjoy a highly personalised fitness experience and unprecedented levels of contact and as a result their memberships well outlast the industry average.”

Peter Gilpin, managing director of Avalon Leisure, which manages the Avalon Lifestyle Centre, said: “This is the result of outstanding work from Alice Starr and the team at Farrington, who deserve all the credit. To be voted the best in the UK is something that they and the company should be very proud of.”

Every year more than 6,000 health clubs and leisure centres across the country are invited to compete for recognition as the industry's best. The 2007 awards attracted a broad cross section of organisations - from large chains to smaller independent operators and leisure centres.

This year's winners, chosen by a panel of independent experts from CYQ (Central YMCA Qualifications), are:

Club of the year (under 1,000 members): Avalon Lifestyle Centre (at Farrington Golf and Country Club, Farrington Gurney).
Club of the year (1,000 to 2,500 members): Spirit Health Club (Belfast).
Club of the year (2,500 to 4,000 members): Branston Golf and Country Club (Burton on Trent).
Club of the year (more than 4,000 members): Vale Health and Racquets Club (Pontyclun, South Wales).
The Spirit of FLAME (for demonstrating outstanding achievement or performance): Soar Valley Leisure Centre (Loughborough)

Andrée Deane, chief executive of the FIA said: "The fitness industry has a reputation for being vibrant and dynamic. These awards pay tribute to those centres and clubs who have shown exceptional innovation in their business approach and customer service and pave the way for the future of the industry."

  TEAM SERCO GETS ON THEIR BIKES FOR CHARTITY!

At 7am on Sunday 8th July, Team Serco got on their bikes along with 5000 other cyclists to take part in the annual Manchester to Blackpool bike ride. The 6 Serco Leisure staff raised over £500 for Christies Hospital in Manchester by cycling the 61 mile journey.

Mike Barber from the Manchester support office was the first member of Team Serco to arrive in Blackpool’s Stanley Park in a time of only 3 hours 45. Kate McGill, the only female team-member said “I was really pleased to complete the ride in 5 hours 20, despite the weather. It was great fun, I made lots of friends en route and it was all for a very worthwhile cause”.

Mark Snaylam Contracts Manager said “As usual the team took up the challenge to raise money for a good cause and fly the flag for health and fitness, I have to admit though, after 61 miles the finish line was a welcome relief”.

Serco Leisure - Corporate Social Responsibility

From the 22nd – 25th March 18 of our Leisure Centres and Swimming Pools helped raise over £34,000 for charities including the Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swimathon foundation which helps to promote the health and fitness benefits of swimming.

Swimmers could simply swim in any Serco Leisure swimming pool or set themselves targets by choosing to swim distances of between 1.5kn and 5kn, either individually or as a team.
Congratulations to all those centres that took part, especially Towcester Leisure Centre who managed to raise a whopping £5,764.00.

Centre hosts day of fun and fitness

Youngsters and parents learned about keeping fit and got the chance to try their hands at a wide range of activities at Lutterworth Sports Centre at the end of September. The centre hosted a family fun day designed to get young people more interested in sport.

Emma Kingzett, sports development officer at the centre, said: “The whole day went really well and I couldn’t even guess how many people came along. All the various sports clubs we run from the centre had stalls and there was also a chance for people to get information about healthy eating. We were really impressed with the response from the community.”

As well as the sporting activities, there was a circus skills area, a roller disco, a dancing session in the swimming pool and face-painting.

A similar fun day was also held at Harborough Leisure Centre. (Picturea: Andrew Carpenter - Harborough Mail)

Gym fees may rise as taxman demands VAT – Daily Telegraph

It emerged yesterday that HM Revenue & Customs is trying to add VAT to membership of local leisure centres. Membership of private chains already includes VAT. The Revenue has also apparently indicated that it will collect unpaid VAT retrospectively over the past three years and could charge interest on the debt. George Bull from the accountants Baker Tilly said: “The taxman is pushing out a decision way beyond where it was intended to go and not looking sideways at the broader Government policy which encourages fitness. The move will not help people who might be on the verge of joining a gym, if they see the cost of basic sporting facilities increasing by 17.5%”. Colin Waine, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “This is a flagrant example of the lack of joined-up policy. Obesity tends to be a bigger problem in lower socio-economic groups and this will hit them hardest.”

A Revenue spokesman said: “Sporting facilities provided by eligible bodies have been exempt from VAT since 2000 and remain so. Some of those facilities provided by other bodies (including local authorities) are taxable while others may be exempt and this will continue to be the case.”

10 million are lazy TV slobs – Daily Mirror

Health firm Benenden surveyed 1,000 people and concluded that 10 million people in this country have never exercised because they are too lazy. The firm also said that of the 38 million people who do exercise nearly four in ten do so only once or twice a week. People in the North and Scotland are said to be the least likely to exercise with 3.6 million never doing regular exercise. A spokesperson for Benenden said: “Even daily activities such as walking, gardening, house work and DIY can help you stay healthy. Just 30 minutes light exercise a day can lead to lower blood pressure, increased bone density and a boosted immune system.”

Serco Leisure is proud to sponsor the FINA World Swimming Championships with 60,000 free swims!

Serco Leisure manage the Manchester Aquatic Centre, the official training venue for 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 to be held in Manchester from 9-13 April next year.

Serco currently manage over 60 leisure facilities, including 13 facilities in Manchester,on behalf of Local Councils and Trusts. As part of the sponsorship, Serco Leisure is providing every ticket holder, for the championships the opportunity to a free swim at any of the leisure centres and swimming pools they manage across the country. Serco will also promote the event at over 35 leisure facilities across the North West.

In association with the FINA World Swimming Championships Serco Leisure will be working closely with local swimming clubs to support the development of the sport and encourage participation in swimming across all age groups prior to and as a legacy of the event..

Keith Thomas Managing Director for Serco Leisure said “We are pleased to be supporting the FINA World Swimming Championships. By offering 60,000 free swims we will be helping to encourage people to participate in swimming right across the UK and raise the profile of swimming and its related health benefits”.

The eyes of the world will be on Manchester as 650 athletes from 120 different countries will take part in this 5 day event which will be the first World Swimming Championship to ever be staged in the UK. Manchester always does things differently and it promises to be like no other swim meet with two huge temporary pools being built in one of Countries most popular concert venue – The Manchester Evening News Arena.

Marc Hope Director of Rights Marketing said. “I'm thrilled to welcome Serco Leisure to the growing sponsor family. They will play a very special role in ensuring the Championships leave a lasting legacy. We are in advanced conversations with other potential partners - there is still time to become involved in the UK’s biggest swimming event since the 1948 Olympics and make the most of their company’s involvement in the build up to Beijing 2008 and London 2012” For sponsorship enquiries please e-mail sponsors@m2008.org or call Marc on +44 (0) 7799662187

Head of PR is the 5 Times World Swimming Champion and Mancunian James Hickman says “It’s fantastic news that Serco are an official partner, some of the planet’s best swimmers will use the Championships to hone their skills for the Olympic Games in Beijing just a few months later.
Offering the free swims to every ticket holder is brilliant, as we hope to inspire a lot of people to take up swimming.

DC LEISURE ROLLS OUT SERVICE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

DC Leisure has launched a company-wide Service Improvement Plan which it is rolling out to each of its 120 sites. This initiative is a follow up to the company’s client survey, which was conducted earlier this year, and further demonstrates DC Leisure’s commitment to the ongoing improvement of its service delivery and partnership approach.

Each site will have its own annual Service Improvement Plan – a comprehensive manual which is split into three main sections covering group, contract and client objectives. The process meets the improvement agendas of the company’s local authority partners and more importantly, provides evidence of this improvement.

Richard Millard, Client Liaison and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, says: “The Plan design has involved input from a number of longstanding DC Leisure clients and has been invaluable in providing a framework of best practice which occurs amongst DC Leisure’s 30 different contracts.”

He continues: “The most important part of the plan, which has been signed off by each client, is that it enables both partners to really focus on what is important to improve services for their specific community needs.”

Within the manual are improvement plans for partnership working, client relations, marketing, staff consultation and feedback, increasing participation, local strategic partnerships, facility development, community investment programmes, customer feedback and reaching target groups. The document also outlines objectives and goals for national initiatives including Quest Sports Development and Facilities Management, Investors in People (IIP), ILAM Active, Quality Management System (QMS) audits, National Benchmarking Service, CPA Report, Best Value Performance, County Sports Partnerships (CSP), Community Sports Networks (CSN) and Towards an Excellent Service (TAES).

Julia Birt, Sport and Recreation Manager at Eastleigh Borough Council, comments: “Service delivery is ultimately how our communities judge our leisure centres. DC Leisure and Eastleigh Borough Council have a joint aspiration to continue to improve in this area. Working on the Plan together has enabled us to dovetail our priorities and to further cement our very strong partnership."

DC LEISURE APPOINTS NEW CONTRACT MANAGER

DC Leisure is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Roebuck to the role of Contract Manager for Exeter. Phil took up the position at the beginning of July, having previously been DC Leisure’s General Manager at the Pyramids Swimming and Leisure Centre for two years.

Prior to joining DC Leisure, Phil worked for CCL Leisure before it was sold to Parkwood Leisure. He brings to his new role over 20 years experience in the leisure industry.

Phil assumes responsibility for improving standards, customer service and developing the business at the following six sites: Clifton Hill Sports Centre, Exeter Arena Athletics Stadium, Northbrook Approach Golf Course, Northbrook Swimming Pool, Pyramids Swimming & Leisure Centre and Wonford Sports Centre.

Commenting on his appointment, Phil says: “I’m really enjoying my new role and relishing the challenges that will come from the responsibilities of managing the whole contract especially as it encompasses a wider range of facilities including a dryside centre, athletics stadium and a golf course.”

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, adds: “I’m delighted to welcome Phil to his new position and have no doubt that he will make a very positive contribution to the ongoing success of the company. This is another great example of our culture of promoting talented managers from within the organisation.”

LEGEND SIGNS TEN YEAR CONTRACT WITH SERCO LEISURE

Legend Club Management Systems has signed a ten year contract with Serco Leisure, a division of the Serco Group plc. The Legend solution, which comprises a complete suite of technical and business management systems, is supporting Serco Leisure to improve the efficiency of the service it offers to clients.

Serco Leisure approached the market place for an appropriate Management Information System to fulfil the diverse requirements of its business. Legend was selected on account of its system specifications and ease of use, as well as the responsiveness and service levels of the team. After a thorough pilot and evaluation period, during which extensive system enhancements were produced, Legend has provided Serco Leisure with an innovative system which will optimise workflows and will provide numerous operational efficiencies.

Keith Thomas, Managing Director for Serco Leisure, says: “We are delighted to have found a system such as Legend’s. The consolidation and streamlining of our business processes has resulted in both time and cost savings, and has modernised the way local leisure centres are run. We service over 60 sites in the UK so the ability to extract more data about our customers is a great benefit when you consider the scale of our operation.”

Legend’s system enables Serco Leisure to capture, analyse and report a wide variety of data. Much of this information is increasingly required by local authorities in line with local performance measures and national PSA targets. “The combined input from both ourselves and Legend has meant that together the project has been well managed and delivered within the agreed timescales,” added Keith.

Sean Maguire, Managing Director of Legend, says: “We are very pleased to be supplying a leading services management company such as Serco Leisure, as this major endorsement illustrates how strong the Legend proposition is to public sector leisure centres in terms of system function, service and cost savings. I’m confident that Serco Leisure now has a system that meets its very specific needs, which is future proof in terms of using the latest technology, and which will significantly improve its ability to service and operate its public sector clients’ facilities around the UK.”

DC LEISURE RAISES OVER £100,000 FOR CHARITY

With 54 of its sites participating in Swimathon 2007, DC Leisure has announced that it has raised £109,493 as a result of the charity initiative and was the top fundraising company in the event. This sum of money will be divided between Marie Curie Cancer Care and The Swimathon Foundation.

Diccon Loy, National Pools Manager for Swimathon, comments: “DC Leisure has been a great supporter of Swimathon and has been invaluable in helping us towards our £1.5 million target for Marie Curie. The company committed their entire estate to hosting the event this year and this has made a remarkable difference.”

Mark Haslam, Swimming Group Manager for DC Leisure, says: “We’re delighted to have been the number one fundraising company at this year’s Swimathon, and raising over £100,000 will make a substantial difference to Marie Curie Cancer Care. A special mention must go to the Malden Centre in New Malden, which raised an amazing £8,174, the most money across the group.”

Swimathon proved so successful for DC Leisure in 2006 that the number of centres taking part doubled for this year’s challenge. Mark continues: “We had 54 centres and over 900 swimmers sign up to Swimathon 2007. We are keen to emphasise the importance of swimming and have spent a lot of time encouraging participation in this sport through special events, programmes and challenges. Swimathon helps us focus on this and makes a contribution to a worthy cause at the same time.”

After the success of this year’s event, Swimathon 2008, the world’s largest swimming fundraiser, will take place between April 17-20. To date it has attracted over 500,000 swimmers and raised over £32 million for the charities.

CHILDREN’S CYQ TRAINING AVAILABLE TO DC LEISURE STAFF

DC Leisure is providing its staff with Children’s Central YMCA Qualification (CYQ) training with the opportunity of obtaining the full CYQ Certificate. This training will allow DC Leisure’s staff to accomplish a level of knowledge which is highly respected within the health and fitness industry.

The CYQ training is offered as a two day course, the first day covers the syllabus for ‘Instructing Children,’ specifically teaching 12 to 16 year olds in a gym environment. The candidates, once receiving a REPS endorsed Certificate of Achievement, then have the option to complete a second day of training on ‘Instructing Health Related Exercise for Children’ which relates to five to 11 year olds.

Mojo Training provided the tailor-made course for DC Leisure’s staff ensuring that all candidates studied the full spectrum of health related fitness for children. Dawn Fairley, Company Director for Mojo, says: “Tailoring the course allowed DC’s employees to get the most up-to-date training for teaching and designing gym programmes for adolescents as well as the knowledge of how to plan and teach younger children as and when it is required in their job roles.”

Steve Little, Regional Fitness Manger for DC Leisure, says: “Training has been very popular with over 250 people completing the first day of training and 80 people going on to gain the full CYQ Certificate. With over 19 sites offering the one day course, we had fantastic attendance especially at the Putney, Bramston, Farnborough and Fleming Park sites.”

TEAM DC LEISURE TAKES VICTORY AT LONDON TRIATHLON


DC Leisure entered a team in the Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon sprint team relay on Saturday August 4, 2007, and consequently won the event in an impressive time of one hour and seven minutes.

DC Leisure’s team of Luke Matthews, John Coolahan and Toby Pearson, who are all based at Putney Leisure Centre, finished one minute ahead of any other teams, in the event which consists of a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.

Team Captain and Fitness Manager at Putney Leisure Centre, Toby Pearson said: “Going into this event we had a feeling we could win, we had a strong team and just needed to do our individual sections well, which we did! We have all been training really hard and fortunately everything came together on the day.”

Luke Matthews, said: “My main aim before the race was to finish the swim and first transition without leaving John and Toby with too much work to do. I managed to settle into a good rhythm early in the swim and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day.”

John Coolahan, a keen cyclist, managed to complete the 20km course in 34 minutes. “I wanted to get as fast a time as possible to ensure our best chance of winning. Even though I crashed I still came in the top ten for the bike event,” added John, Assistant Fitness Manager at Putney.

Precor, supplier of high-end fitness equipment and integrated entertainment solutions to DC Leisure, sponsored the team and was amazed by their fantastic achievement. “What a remarkable accomplishment by the guys, their training on our equipment obviously helped them reach their goals! We are very pleased to have sponsored them,” says Tom Fairey, Senior Group Accounts Manager at Precor.

Tim Hewett, Business Development Director at DC Leisure, said: “We are extremely proud of the team’s achievement, especially given the scale of the competition they were up against. We recognise that many of our staff members have a wide variety of skills and we aim to support and cultivate these talents whenever we can. We were thrilled to hear that they came first, and hope they will be able to defend their title next year.”

New fitness suite is now officially open

The latest stage in the £700,000 refurbishment of Birchwood Community and Leisure Centre, Lincoln, is now completed, with customers being able to benefit from a range of improvements including the new hi-tech fitness suite.

The new fitness suite is fitted with over 35 pieces of the latest Precor fitness equipment including cardiovascular and resistance exercise equipment. The new facility provides the basis for a membership scheme that will offer customers a high level of personalised service in a comfortable air-conditioned environment.

Steve Bird, Acting Head of Community Services, Leisure and Sport at the City of Lincoln Council said: “The all new fitness suite will provide members with an excellent and affordable way of keeping fit. The new suite has been fitted out to the highest standard and includes all the latest equipment. I am sure that residents will enjoy using the new facility.”

A further benefit of joining Birchwood Community and Leisure Centre is the reasonable prices. There is joining fee or fixed term contract and costs as little as £18 per month for unlimited fitness suite access.

The new fitness suite has been delivered under a partnership between the City of Lincoln Council and Community Leisure Services Ltd. The Council established the partnership with CLS in 2004 and since then they have successfully managed Yarborough Leisure Centre.

Following this success the partnership was extended to include Birchwood Leisure Centre and the improvements currently being seen are set to continue under the new management agreement.

Clare Kennedy, Chief Executive for Community Leisure Services, said: “The extension of the partnership between Community Leisure Services and City of Lincoln Council and their respective investment in the leisure facilities shows an ongoing commitment to ensuring that sport and leisure facilities benefit the whole community, reduce barriers to participation and strengthen community spirit.”

The fitness suite was the final stage of the redevelopment that has also seen the centre extended to include a new reception and entrance area, plus six new changing rooms with under floor heating.

The City of Lincoln Council and the Football Foundations have also funded the upgrading of the football pitches and the installation of a play and heritage site.

   
 
 
July/August/September 2007
SOMERSET CIDER CRANKING UP THE HEAT

- Avalon Leisure introduce innovative new swimming-pool heating system-

A Somerset cider maker is cranking up the heat at a Mendip swimming pool in one of the first projects of its kind in the country.

Mendip District Council and Avalon Leisure have teamed up with Brothers Drinks (the makers of festival pear, apple and strawberry ciders), to warm Shepton Mallet’s lido using recycled heat.

The possibility of the heating system was first examined by Malcolm Baker, Technical Manager of Avalon Leisure, the leisure management providers who manage and operate the pool on behalf of the council, and the owners of the drinks factory in the early nineties, long before energy conservation became such a widely-debated global issue.

The recent refurbishment of the pool in 2006 provided the opportunity to replace the two large gas boilers that had previously been used to heat the pool, with this new environmentally-friendly heating system.

The specially built system uses excess heat from the Brothers Drinks factory just 30 metres away, which is produced when the factory chills its drinks. The heat is harnessed and warms the water as it passes through a system of pipes before being returned to the pool.

Within days of the system going live, the process was able to increase the temperature of the water by more than 10 degrees, and studies show that in future year’s Shepton’s lido will be able to generate at least 40 per cent of its heat from the new system.

Ian Munday, Mendip District Council’s leisure manager, said: “We are really pleased to be working with a local company which shares the council’s objective to reduce its carbon footprint and seek environmentally friendly ways to deliver it services to the public.”

Mendip’s portfolio holder for community, Cllr Ron Forrest, said: “This is a unique and exciting project for Mendip District Council and Brothers Drinks, and one which we are confident will be a success.

“Not only does it help the council and taxpayers save money through heating bills, but it is also a very environmentally friendly way of re-using excess heat. This demonstrates that Mendip District Council continues to be top of the class in tackling climate change at a local level – an issue which we won a national award for earlier in the year.”

Brothers Drinks co founder, Jonathan Showering, said: “We constantly review our operations to seek ways of minimising our impact on the environment. We worked closely with Mendip District Council and the pool operators to achieve this.

“We are very pleased to provide free heat to the public swimming pool and hope our neighbours will enjoy a warmer than usual swim from now on. During the first week of using this new system we managed to raise the water temperature from 14 centigrade to 27 centigrade.”

Peter Gilpin, Avalon Leisure’s Managing Director, said: “It is fantastic that Malcolm Baker’s pipe-dream – if you’ll pardon the pun – has turned into such a successful reality. We have been managing the pool for over ten years now and are constantly looking for innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We hope this will inspire other leisure providers around the country to consider new environmentally efficient ways to run their facilities.”

This innovative project is the latest part of a £500,000 make-over of Shepton’s Lido, which has already seen the installation of a new children’s play area, green area and a revamp of the changing rooms and pool.

The refurbishment has seen Mendip District Council working with Shepton Mallet Town Council to improve this important town centre facility.

Shepton Mallet town councillor Martin Lovell, who is also chairman of the refurbishment project board which has ploughed the largest share of funding into the make-over, said: “This is an excellent example of us working with a local company which is taking the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the community as a whole.”

To find out more about the services provided by Mendip District Council telephone customer services on 01749 648999, e-mail: customerservices@mendip.gov.uk, or visit www.mendip.gov.uk.

To contact Avalon Leisure telephone 01458 446878 or email info@avalonleisure.com

ROTHERHAM PFI REACHES FINANCIAL CLOSE

As DC Leisure and RMBC Progress Largest Leisure PFI Yet

The largest leisure PFI to date reached financial close on June 7. The £35m project, which includes the design, build, finance and operation of four leisure facilities in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is being progressed by DC Leisure in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC).

The initiative will involve the construction of St Ann’s – Central Rotherham Pool, an extensive pool complex, as well as providing two additional dual-use leisure facilities at Wath and Aston, which are both situated on or adjacent to secondary school campuses. In addition, there will be a multi-million pound development at Maltby, which will include the council’s Joint Service Centre and a new leisure complex.

Culture and Leisure Services Director at RMBC, Phil Rogers, said: "These centres will put Rotherham firmly on the leisure map. They'll soon be enjoyed by thousands of people, helping improve their lives and well-being."

DC Leisure was announced as preferred bidder in April 2006 and then entered a period of detailed negotiations with the council to agree on a final scheme. This final project agreement was signed last week by the main partners – RMBC, DC Leisure, Barclays Bank, builders Willmott Dixon and maintenance company EMCOR – at law firm Nabarro Nathanson in Sheffield.

Peter Kirkham, Development and PFI Director at DC Leisure, comments: “After a lot of hard work we’re extremely pleased to have reached this significant landmark in partnership with Rotherham Council. We’re now looking forward to the start of the building work which will see us get ever closer to our ultimate goal of providing the local community with an extensive range of high quality leisure facilities.”

St Ann’s will incorporate a 25m, six-lane swimming pool with a moveable floor, as well as a 25m leisure/teaching pool complete with river runs and flumes. There will also be a six-court sports hall, squash courts, fitness and health suites and the area’s highest and largest climbing wall. The facilities at Aston and Wath will both include a main pool and learner pool, fitness suite and sports hall. And the Maltby site will comprise a 25m, six-lane pool with a moveable floor, diving pool, sports hall and a fitness suite. The complex will also incorporate Maltby Joint Service Centre, which will provide a one-stop shop function for public services including housing, social services, education and health services. It is anticipated that, upon completion, these leisure facilities will accommodate one million visits per year.

Funding for the project has come from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government through two linked PFI schemes, after the Government allocated Rotherham £25m of PFI Credits for redevelopment and regeneration. Additional funding has been gained from the Lottery via the New Opportunities Fund, Rotherham Primary Care Trust and from the council's existing budgets.

Building work will begin at St Ann’s at the end of July and the majority of the new facilities are due to be completed in 2008. The contract will run for 32 years from this time.

With nine PPP/ PFI leisure centres currently underway or completed, DC Leisure, together with its funding partner, Barclays, has more experience and expertise in this field than any other leisure operator.

South Ribble Tennis Player Nicola takes on the World!

South Ribble tennis player, Nicola George, aged 14 years old, continued her progress up the Junior ITF under 18 world rankings with two excellent tournament performances in Istanbul, Turkey from May 14th – 25th. Nicola is based at South Ribble Tennis and Fitness Centre managed by Serco, in Bamber Bridge and coached by Head Performance Coach Brendan McGuire.

This successful fortnight elevated Nicola from 1200 to 748 in the world rankings. She next travels to Bermuda in June to continue her quest to the top.

Nicola is proof of the hardworking philosophy at South Ribble Tennis and Fitness Centre. It is a great team effort from management, centre staff and all coaches, in the hopeful production of a top British, international tennis player.

DC LEISURE SETS STANDARD FOR LIFEGUARD TRAINING

DC Leisure has announced that it qualified over 1,400 lifeguards last year via its National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) courses. The company’s IQL Approved Training Centre status continues to grow each year, with 67 DC Leisure pools currently registered. This status, which is externally verified by QLM annually, has been held for six consecutive years.

Tara Dillon, Executive Director IQL (UK) Ltd, said: “DC Leisure is leading the way in maintaining high quality training and standards through the Approved Training Centre scheme. To have achieved such a high number of awards over the last year, whilst maintaining such standards, is testament to DC Leisure's commitment to the health, safety and welfare of its customers and staff.”

Jo Talbot has recently been promoted to the role of Group Lifeguard Co-ordinator at DC Leisure where she is responsible for the support and development of new and existing Trainer Assessors, as well as ensuring that DC Leisure retains its IQL Approved Training Centre status.

She said: “DC Leisure has a long history of providing quality lifeguard training both to external candidates and for our own employees. With over 2,000 lifeguards and 71 NPLQ Trainer Assessors, we are committed to ensuring the highest standards of health and safety across all the pools in the group.”

As well as running regular NPLQ courses throughout the UK, DC Leisure launched a programme of NPLQ Unit 1 Trainer Assessor courses last year, which are also open to external candidates.

Underwater Photography at The Swallows Leisure Centre

On Friday 15th June Urchin Rock hosted an underwater photography session at The Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne operated by Serco Leisure. The day started at 10.30am with the camerawoman speaking to our baby handler (Julia Betts, our Swimlife Co-ordinator!) and giving directions on how the babies and toddlers were to be submersed.

From 11am onwards there was a constant stream of excited parents and children eagerly awaiting their turn. Urchin rock will put just four, or a maximum of five babies in each session (Parents can also go in on the photos). They also use state-of-the-art digital underwater camera equipment and lighting, this allows the baby the optimum time with the photographer and a fabulous range of underwater images.

The local press were very intrigued by these underwater sessions and ran a reader competition for us which made the front page, and they also came down on the actual day of the shoot to take photos of the winning child.

Baby swimming has recently witnessed a huge increase in popularity. More and more babies are having fun in the pool whilst learning vital, life-saving skills as well as enjoying the health benefits of swimming. Baby swimming and submersion techniques are shown to improve co-ordination and agility, as well as improving respiratory strength.
Zena Holloway and her partner Patrick Griffith established Urchin rock to meet the growing demand for professional underwater photography. Zena is widely regarded as the UK's leading professional underwater photographer. Her acclaimed images of babies underwater have featured across a range of media campaigns including the cover of The Radio Times, Paris Match, The National Enquirer and the BBC Human Body series. Recent commercial work includes ads for Nike and Olay.

The day ended around 4pm, with very positive feedback from all involved - there were several parents who could not make the session due to holidays and illnesses and have been asking “When’s the next one!”

MAXIMISING PFIs FOR THE NEW GENERATION OF PUBLIC LEISURE FACILITIES

Over 60 key decision makers from local authorities across the country gathered at DC Leisure’s Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre on June 14 to consider the future of leisure PFI projects. The invite-only event, delivered by DC Leisure and Wolverhampton City Council, also examined the processes involved in the delivery of the Wolverhampton PFI project - now seen as one of the best examples of new leisure provision in the country.

The event, entitled: ‘Maximinsing PFIs for the New Generation of Public Leisure Facilities’ was chaired by Ian Barclay, Partner at Torkildsen Barclay Leisure & Sports Consultancy. The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Trudy Bowen, was also in attendance and said a few words about the success of the new Wolverhampton leisure facility before the presentations began.

Cathy Page, Head of Private Finance - Lottery, Communities and International Division at the DCMS, began by presenting an overview on leisure PFIs, success stories and issues that need to be addressed. She also covered the Comprehensive Spending Review and proposals for the future of leisure PFIs.

Giving advice to those local authorities considering leisure PFI projects, Page emphasized that the DCMS expects: “Sufficiently thought out bids that fit the desire to get the best value for money, and evidence of option appraisal to support the view that PFI is the right way of delivering required outcomes.” As well as providing evidence that the authority has the capacity and capability to deliver the project, Page also stated that she would like to see evidence that partnerships had been explored. She gave the example of procurement through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contract for leisure facilities – stand alone or on school sites, or joining with Community and Local Government on the Joint Service Centres (JSC) PFI programme to get leisure facilities into community buildings, including partnerships with PCTs etc.

The next session outlined the background to the Wolverhampton project. Alistair Merrick, Chief Service Development Officer at Wolverhampton City Council, discussed how members and officers decided upon the ambitious vision to develop a new state of the art facility for the local community using the PFI framework. He concluded: “Wolverhampton has a good product delivered within budget. Customer satisfaction within the facility is high and usage figures are being met.”

Merrick also had advice for delegates about the ownership and management of a PFI project, including: “Documenting points as they are agreed. Selecting a contractor not only on the technical expertise and innovation but also the robustness of their commercial proposals and the degree to which you can trust them. And don’t take back the contractor’s responsibilities and risks during the construction and the operation of the facility.”

The final presentation was delivered by Peter Kirkham, Development and PFI Director at DC Leisure, who examined how DC Leisure turned the Wolverhampton City Council dream into reality. The processes were discussed as were the pros and cons of the legal partnering arrangement and how the project reached financial close. The design process, how DC Leisure delivered a high quality facility for £12.5M and how participation from all sectors of the community is now exceeding expectations were also covered.

The event concluded with a panel discussion which wrapped up the three presentations, summarising the lessons learnt and giving delegates the chance to ask questions. A tour of the facility and a networking buffet lunch completed the day and delegates left with an in-depth insight into the opportunities, issues and challenges facing the future of leisure PFI projects.

FitPro Conference Brings A World Class Education Programme To LIW 2007

The Annual FitPro Business Conference being showcased at Leisure Industry Week (LIW - 25-27 September, NEC) promises something for everybody in fitness industry with an exciting programme of International presenters covering topics including service and retention, sales and marketing, personal training and management and, new for this year, technology.

In addition, there is a special series of seminars aimed at local authorities – for example, coaching with confidence, great customer service and radical thoughts on public sector management.

The FitPro 2007 programme is one of a plethora of education events being planned for this year’s LIW, Europe’s biggest showcase of ‘everything for everyone in the out-of-home leisure industry’.

Heading up the new technology seminar on Tuesday September 25, and a ‘must see’ for those involved in managing health clubs, will be Michael Scott Scudder – the "renegade" and "industry trendist" who will be talking about the breakthroughs in club management technology software and how it can help business.

The Wednesday September 26 schedule includes service and retention, management, and sales and marketing, with the Fitness Industry Association and keynote presentation by Dr Steve Bull, author of ‘The Game Plan’. A chartered psychologist with a PhD in applied sciences, Dr Bull was awarded an honorary doctorate as a sports psychologist in 2006 and he returns to LIW this year by popular demand.

The Wednesday evening will end with the Annual FitPro Business Dinner and Flame Awards at the National Motorcycle Museum, and this again promises to be the industry’s social highlight.

Thursday’s conference schedule will feature sessions by Robert Cappuccio, a leading international presenter in the fitness industry, Dennis Kieser a fitness industry pioneer, and Nic Jarvis, an NLP Master Practitioner.

Other speakers include, Matt Barker from K2 Performance Systems; Clive Gross, a visiting lecturer at Sussex Downs College; Rowena McEvoy, author of ‘How to be Happy’; consultant Will Phillips; Justin Tamsett, managing director of Active Management in Australia; and industry sales specialist Paul Woodford.

Visit www.fitpro.com/conference07 for further details of the conference sessions – and the programme’s new flexible and affordable format that will allow delegates to mix and match seminar sessions.www.liw.co.uk for an up-to-date LIW exhibitor list or call 020 8232 1600 for more information. colin@wildishpr.com.

LIW, incorporating Sports Development Week, is co-located with the National Licensed Business Show and is supported by industry-wide trade associations including FIA and BALPPA.


COUNTY SPORTS PARTNERSHIP ROLE FOR DC LEISURE’S SPORTS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight County Sports Partnership (CSP).

As one of the largest CSPs in England, it provides the strategic lead for Hampshire and the IOW and has the overriding aim of increasing activity through sport. It is made up of a number of partners, which include 15 local authorities, 32 National Governing bodies, local education authorities, school sports partnerships, Sport England, Sportscoach UK, the Youth Sports Trust and the English Federation of Disability Sport.

The CSP facilitates opportunities for everyone to take part in a wide variety of sports from badminton to rugby, girls’ football to triathlon, and covers those wanting to become more active as part of their daily life through to potential stars of the future. It also has a number of schemes designed to provide straightforward funding and support for athletes, coaches, clubs and volunteers in sport.

Richard Millard has worked in the leisure industry for nearly 30 years. He joined DC Leisure in 1991, and has held a number of positions including Regional Operations Director. In his current role as Client Relations and Sports Development Director, he works closely with local government as well as the National Governing Bodies of Sport.

On his appointment, Richard says: “It is a privilege to be Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board, and I hope to offer practical advice on how to deliver increased participation in these exciting times, particularly as the 2012 Olympics approach. Working for a management company, I also bring a commercial balance to the Board, whilst being fully committed to the principles of equitable opportunities for all members of the community to share in the many benefits of sport.”

Serco Receive a ‘BIG TICK’ !

Serco Leisure is thrilled to be awarded the prestigious ‘Big Tick’ award as part of the Business in the Community (BiTC) Awards for Excellence 2007. The Big Tick was awarded in the Man Group International Climate Change category for companies taking a strategic, comprehensive and innovative approach to tackling climate change.

Serco Leisure was one of nine companies receiving the award. Other award winners in this category include B&Q, Barclays, British Sky Broadcasting, Tesco and Scottish Power.

The Big Tick Award was presented at the East Midlands Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner held on 14th June.
This is how the award was won….

Faced with the global impact of climate change and soaring energy costs, the Board of Serco Leisure challenged sites to making savings of 5% on energy consumption during 2006. Many initiatives were implemented throughout the year to exceed this target by a significant amount, thereby saving costs and reducing the carbon footprint.

Actions taken across the sites include more effective use of plant, e.g. boilers, plus other measures such as lighting strategies. Staff have also come up with innovative ideas, e.g. the use of bubble wrap to insulate swimming pool filters and as a pool cover – inexpensive, yet effective ways of maintaining water temperatures and saving energy.

The efforts of ALL staff have made it possible to reduce energy consumption by 14.5%. They have truly engaged in the challenge, resulting in a change in culture and attitude towards the impact of climate change. This has also been recognised by Serco Leisure’s clients who are predominantly local authorities and trusts.

Serco Leisure is very proud to receive the Big Tick Award. Keith Thomas, Managing Director said “It’s fantastic and we’re delighted that the efforts of our staff, for the benefit of our customers, clients and the community, have been recognised in this way”.

Serco Leisure is part of Serco Group which provides support services across diverse business sectors. Serco is a FTSE 250 business and currently employs over 47,000 staff worldwide with revenue exceeding £2.5bn. Serco Leisure employs 2,880 staff across 64 sites in the UK and Jersey, with a turnover of £45m. Serco Leisure’s support office is located in Meridian Park, Leicester.

The Awards for Excellence enables companies to show how behaving in a responsible way really does create successful and sustainable businesses. Independently assessed, the Big Tick is only awarded to those companies that have demonstrated leadership and the positive, measurable impacts of their corporate responsibility programmes.

Business in the Community is a unique movement of over 750 member companies committed to improving their positive impacts on society. A further 2,000 companies are engaged through BiTC programmes and campaigns.

DC LEISURE AND WYRE FOREST DISTRICT COUNCIL CONTINUE PROGRAMME OF INVESTMENT

Refurbishment of the Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre in Kidderminster has reached completion. The project, which was jointly funded by DC Leisure and Wyre Forest District Council, has seen over £975,000 invested in the facilities to enhance the services available and improve energy efficiency.

Councillor Nathan Desmond, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services, says: “This is an exciting time for The Glades. The centre can now compete with the best leisure facilities in the country. We are delighted to continue working successfully with our partners at DC Leisure and we look forward to hearing what residents think of the new facilities.”

The main area of refurbishment has been the upgrade of the leisure pool changing facilities with new lockers, flooring and lighting, as well as the addition of family and disabled changing facilities. A new Health Suite has also been built, which comprises a Helo steam room, sauna and walk-in wet room with special effect lighting throughout, and IFI accredited male and female changing rooms. In the pool hall, an improved lighting scheme has been installed and both flume rides have been redecorated. The centre has had new lighting, ceilings and flooring throughout, while the introduction of more efficient mechanical heating controls and air handling units are intended to reduce costs and save energy.

Stuart Booton, Contract Manager at Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre, adds: “We’re delighted to see the completion of this major project. We think visitors will be really impressed by the whole package here at the Glades, as it means people of all ages and levels of fitness can enjoy a visit. We look forward to welcoming many new faces as well as our present members.”

Facilities at the leisure centre, which celebrates its 21st birthday this year, include a 1,350-seat arena, 75-station gymnasium, dance studio with sprung floor, leisure pool with wave machine and flumes, two squash courts and a café. As well as the Wyre Forest Glades centre, DC Leisure also manages two other facilities under this contract with Wyre Forest District Council, Bewdley Leisure Centre and Stourport Sports Centre.

Something for everyone at River Park Leisure Centre


Winchester City Council's River Park Leisure Centre is bringing new and exciting sporting opportunities to residents, starting this month.

Working in partnership with the council's Sports Development department the Gordon Road leisure centre is now offering squash sessions for nine- to 14-year-olds, coached swimming for over 16s and, helped by the Neighbourhood Wardens, Saturday night football for 13- to 17-year-olds.

Squash.
The new Mini & Junior Squash sessions are an ideal opportunity for children who have never played squash to try their hand at a new sport and have some fun at the same time. They will get an introduction to the game while developing and building on core skills such as catching, throwing, co-ordination and movement.

Starting on April 25, the sessions will take place every Wednesday from 4 to 4:40pm for nine to eleven-year-olds (school years 4, 5 & 6) and 4:40 to 5:20pm for 11- to 14- year-olds (school years 7,8 & 9). The sessions cost just £1 and will be run by licensed squash coach Diana Gillen-Buchert (pictured teaching). It is hoped that young people from these sessions will go on to represent the Winchester District at the Hampshire Mini and Youth Games to be held in June.

Swimming.
River Park Leisure Centre, managed by DC Leisure, has teamed up with Sport Hampshire & IOW to offer free weekly coached swimming sessions to adults.

Funded by the Hampshire Return to Sport programme, the sessions are open to anyone aged 16 or older so are ideal for people who haven't been swimming since school or don't feel particularly confident in the water. There are four sessions a week: on Tuesday 12noon-1pm, Wednesday 9pm-10pm, Thursday 9pm-10pm and Friday 11.30am-12.30pm.

Saturday Night Football.
The City Council's Neighbourhood Wardens are working with Winchester District Sport and Physical Activity Alliance to host an evening of five-a-side football on Saturday 28th April, from 7pm-9pm at River Park Leisure Centre.

The evening is aimed at 13- to 17-year-olds who have little to do on a Saturday night and will hopefully engage young people in exercise while helping to reduce the anti-social behaviour problems associated with bored teenagers.

Funding to support this trial project has been made available through the newly established Winchester District Sport and Physical Activity Alliance. If the trial is successful the alliance will be looking to run further sessions.

FAKENHAM SPORTS AND FITNESS CENTRE TEAM SMASH RECORD FOR 48HR CHARITY TREADMILL RUN

Staff and members at Fakenham Leisure Centre have completed an amazing 48 hour treadmill challenge and set a new unofficial world record in the process. The run, which was undertaken in March as part of this year’s Comic Relief, smashed the existing record of 509km by 46km and also raised over £1,500 for charity.

The DC Leisure site always supports Comic Relief and this year decided to do something a bit more adventurous. The team of 12 consisted of ten men and two women, who each took it in turns to run half hour shifts. Pat Dodd, Fitness Manager at the Centre, explains: “Our request for volunteers generated a lot of interest, although unfortunately we had some people drop out and we had to recruit replacements at the last minute – including our General Manager, Colin Brzeczek! Very few of the team are experienced runners, but everyone did brilliantly, particularly those who came in at short notice and had done very little training.”

Pat continues: “This challenge has been a great success in lots of different ways – it was good fun and raised a substantial amount of money for a very worthwhile cause, yet it has also helped develop a real sense of camaraderie in the centre and bought us closer together as a team, which is great.”

Jeremy Boreham, Area Manager for DC Leisure, adds: “I would like to congratulate Pat and all of the team at Fakenham for this tremendous achievement. It took a great deal of planning and co-ordination to ensure the event took place, not to mention the determination and will-power to keep going for 48 hours.”

The team is now planning to repeat their efforts later in the year with an attempt to set an official Guinness world record.

Serco Leisure in Bolton

Labour pledge

The labour party in Bolton recently strengthened their majority by focusing on a pledge to provide free swimming for all under 16's and free leisure for all Bolton residents over 65. Bolton Community Leisure, via their agents Serco Leisure, have agreed a revised management fee for the rest of the contract term until 2019. Sheldon Phillips, Chair of Bolton Community Leisure said ' This is a great opportunity for many of the residents of Bolton to increase their participation levels. We will aim to encourage mums and dads to swim alongside their children and grandparents to bring their families with them to the Centres so we maximise the impact of this initiative across the whole population.'

Wii all get active in Bolton

Bolton Community Leisure, a charitable Trust operated by its agents Serco Leisure, has recently had storming success attracting large numbers of children, many from the BME community, to one of it's leisure centres using the very latest in video game technology. During the recent half term Sharples Leisure Centre used it's new Hi Tech Dance Mats and Nintendo Wii's to attract children and the result was the Centre was packed throughout. The new Isospa Express gym also saw brisk business as it caters for children from 8 years upwards and the pool had to resort to a queuing system to cope with the number of kids wanting to combine swimming with their workout. The facilities were promoted using the 'Quid a Kid' strapline and worked a treat. BCL has installed 5 Isospa Express gyms across it's nine dual use sites. (attach photos)


Bolton Community Leisure with Serco win Leverhulme Park Community Leisure Centre contract

Bolton Community Leisure, a charitable Trust with Serco Leisure working as managing agents has recently been awarded the contract to operate Leverhulme Park Community Leisure Centre in Bolton for 10 years after Serco successfully opened and operated the Centre directly for the first two years. The Council have been delighted with the way Serco have taken on the community ethos of the Centre and grown participation enormously since opening the Sport England funded centre nest to the existing outdoor athletics track. The Centre consists of a indoor sprint track and pit, function rooms, isospa fitness suite, Dance studio, meeting rooms, PCT facility, Children's Services operated crèche and will shortly have a brand new Children's Drop in Centre added to the mix.

DC LEISURE INVESTS IN ENERGY CONSERVATION

DC Leisure has appointed Chris Williams to the role of Group Environmental and Utility Manager. With over 25 years experience in the energy industry, he is well placed to help the company become more environmentally friendly and manage its utilities more effectively. His remit is to raise awareness of the importance of the company’s environmental policy, educate staff about ways to conserve energy and implement energy saving measures across the group.

On his appointment, Chris says: “I have found DC Leisure very open and willing to embrace these changes. We are taking a very proactive approach and working closely with the senior managers at each centre and our clients to implement best practice. Our aim is for a minimum 5% reduction by March 2008, although I am confident that we will beat this target. Not only will these initiatives help protect the environment, they will also contribute towards reducing our costs.”

Among the options being introduced are the use of pool covers, increased insulation within the plant room, improved lighting control, the addition of speed/inverter control for pumps and fans and better use of Building Management Systems. Other options also being considered for future site upgrades and new developments are solar power systems, water harvesting and recycling, as well as water saving schemes in the showers and toilets.

With national targets to be met by 2050, all local authorities have been tasked by the government to play their role in responsible environmental management, making these initiatives particularly pertinent to DC Leisure’s client agendas.

Steve Philpott, Chief Executive of DC Leisure, adds: “Hardly a day passes without climate change or its effects being in the news. This is such an important issue and one that is only going to become more so. It’s imperative that we act now and look at different and innovative ways, such as renewable energy sources, to achieve our targets.”

More Active Life for MP at Aquadrome

Maria Miller, MP commemorated the success of the Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust, on 9th June 2007 with the presentation of a plaque marking its achievements. The Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust, established on 1st April 2006, have worked hard over the past year to achieve their objectives. The Leisure Trust oversees the management of the facilities, have focused on; Providing training for people over 50 to help them to work in the leisure industry, Encouraged people over 50 to use the facilities at the Basingstoke Aquadrome and Tadley Swimming pool and to increase childhood activity levels through the provision of a community gym.

The Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust’s aim is to provide quality leisure and recreational facilities, which will serve all parts of the community of Basingstoke and Deane. The Trust has maintained the focus on increasing childhood activity levels and to help reduce childhood obesity. The community gym has been successful and is already working in partnership with schools and sport groups in the Borough. The Trust has continued to actively encouraging people over 50 to use the facilities at the Basingstoke Aquadrome with their ‘Life begins’ Active Lifestyle programme with success.

Hazel Tilbury, Trust Chair person, says: “The Trust has worked hard to provide quality facilities at the Aquadrome and Tadley Swimming pool over the past year. We have seen an increase in Active Lifestyle people using the facilities and provided training opportunities for the 50 plus to work in the Leisure centre. By adding a Community gym, we have increased activity levels in children and provided this facility for designated users to exercise in a supportive environment.”

SERCO LEISURE MAKES A PLEDGE TO HELP COMMUNITIES FEEL GREAT THIS SUMMER!

Serco Leisure in partnership with 19 local authority clients across the UK, made a pledge to help local communities Feel Great This Summer. The Feel Great This Summer campaign aimed to raise awareness of the importance of increasing the level of participation in physical activity across all age groups and particularly in the traditionally harder to reach BME communities.

The high profile 6 week campaign supported by several local newspapers and radio stations across the country launched on 8th May; was available to all visitors to Serco Leisure facilities and also offered a 3 month membership plus a pair of Tanita body fat scales.

All visitors were encouraged to take part and make their ‘Feel Great Pledge’. Hundreds of different pledges were received from new users looking for support in achieving their personal health and fitness goals. All those that pledged to Feel Great This summer had their personal progress closely monitored and received expert advice from dedicated Feel Great fitness instructors about the benefits of regular exercise.

The campaign was well received by both Serco Leisure’s clients and customers alike:
One client said of the campaign: “Many people don’t realise that small lifestyle changes can make a real difference. Government guidelines stipulate that just 30 minutes of exercise, five times per week will have a positive effect on health. This campaign is all about helping people to achieve this in a way that is fun, effective and sustainable.”

BRAVE HANNAH CHOSEN FROM THOUSANDS TO WIN TOP AWARD

Tenterden youngster Hannah Marsden is making a splash after she received a top award for swimming. On Saturday 20th May, Nine-year-old Hannah attended Southern Waters Learn to Swim Achiever of the Year award ceremony at Bewl Water near Lamberhurst.
Hannah, from Tenterden, is Dyspraxic and Dyslexic and finds co-ordination really difficult but this has not stopped her learning to swim.

Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew presented Hannah with a medal, a certificate and a bag of swimming goodies at a special ceremony. The awards are given to children who have shown great courage in overcoming particular difficulties or for exceptional performance. Hannah is one of only 50 children to receive the award out of the 40,000 children taught annually on the scheme.

Hannah has been learning to swim at Tenterden Leisure centre; which is managed by SERCO Leisure, on behalf of the Tenterden Leisure Centre Trust, for the past four years. Angela Seymour, Swimming co-ordinator at Tenterden Leisure Centre said: “Although Hannah struggles, she always tries her hardest. She finds co-ordination very difficult, but has reached a high level of swimming and is determined to keep up with her sister who is also currently having swimming lessons at the centre. Hannah deserves her recognition and is a very worthy winner of the award.”

Duncan Goodhew said: “Despite her problems Hannah has made excellent progress on the Learn to Swim scheme. Swimming lessons help children like Hannah gain confidence, learn new skills, keep fit and have fun in a safe, supervised environment”

DC LEISURE ROLLS OUT MEND PROGRAMME

Demonstrating its commitment to helping tackle the problem of childhood obesity, DC Leisure is rolling out the MEND Programme at three of its sites, with another ten to follow later in the year. As the largest integrated childhood obesity programme in the UK, MEND is set to benefit over 25,000 children plus their parents and carers over the next four years.

As a leading local partner, DC Leisure will be running more MEND Programmes than any other leisure centre operator. Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Eastleigh, as well as Alton and Trowbridge Sports Centres, launched the initiative in May and are already seeing some fantastic results.

The aim of MEND is to transform the lives of overweight and obese children and their families by encouraging healthy eating and active lifestyles based on a scientifically researched programme that empowers children and their families with the knowledge and skills to beat obesity. Each programme focuses on the elements that make up MEND – Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it! It comprises 18 two-hour group learning and physical activity sessions, typically run in the early evening hours across a nine-week period during the school term, with pre- and post-programme measurement sessions.

Councillor Cathie Fraser, Cabinet Member for Health at Eastleigh Borough Council, comments: We are committed to projects which improve the health of our community. The mix of theory and practice at each session, delivered by experts in their fields, is working really well and we’re very happy with the development of the scheme. The delivery of the programme is a real team effort between the council, DC Leisure, the PCT and the MEND Programme professionals and it’s great to see all our hard work coming together to provide such a valuable initiative.”

MEND combines all the elements known to be vital in treating and preventing overweight or obese children. These include family involvement, practical education in nutrition and diet, increasing physical activity and behavioural change. With an emphasis on practical, fun learning, the programme is designed to deliver sustained improvements in families’ diets, fitness levels and overall health.

Richard Millard, DC Leisure’s Client Relations and Sports Development Director, said: “At DC Leisure we place sports development and increasing the physical activity and health of our local communities at the heart of business thinking, so the MEND programme is perfectly aligned to our corporate ethos and values. We’re very proud to be rolling out such a tremendous initiative and it’s reassuring to know that we’re playing a small part in improving the future health of our nation.”

Harry MacMillan, Partnership Director for the Mend Programme, said: “Our aim is for every suitable overweight and obese child in the UK to have access to a local MEND Programme to receive the support and knowledge required to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. The development of effective working partnerships is pivotal to the successful achievement of this objective and that’s why we’re grateful for the support of national organisations, like DC Leisure, which share our aims and aspirations.”

PROMOTE DELIVERS PR TRAINING TO DC LEISURE MANAGERS

Demonstrating its conviction in the power of public relations, DC Leisure has invested in PR training for 60 of its contract and general managers. Four one-day workshops, delivered by Promote PR, are being held at DC Leisure sites around the country in May and June.

“By combining tutorial and practical sessions, the PR Training Workshop shows delegates how they can use a variety of different ‘PR tools’ to communicate news effectively and build strong relationships with their local media,” said Katie Start, Promote’s Training Manager. “The DC Leisure team are also learning how to identify stories from their sites with media appeal and, just as importantly, measure the ongoing success of their PR activity.”

Richard Millard, Client Relations and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, said: “We feel that it’s incredibly important to provide our staff with a basic understanding of local PR and to equip them with the knowledge needed to compile and deliver an effective annual programme at their facilities. Whilst many sites are already doing a wonderful job of securing positive media coverage, we felt that calling upon Promote’s expertise, would ensure that we maximise all potential opportunities, standardise procedures and share best practice across the group.”

Workshops have already been held at Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre in Kidderminster, River Park Leisure Centre in Winchester, K2 in Crawley and the final course is being held today at Arena Leisure Centre in Camberley.

Pete Leamore, Contract Manager at DC Leisure and course delegate at the River Park Leisure Centre, commented: “The workshop was highly informative and very useful. Promote had clearly taken the time to understand how our business works on an operational level, so all the training was tailored to our specific needs and requirements and it was easy to see how the PR principles could be directly applied at site level on a day to day basis.”

In addition to the local PR training, DC Leisure has retained Promote to manage its company PR in the leisure trade press for the past two years.

 
 
 
April/May/June 2007
DC LEISURE SIGNS FIVE YEAR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH THE AMATEUR SWIMMING ASSOCIATION

In a bid to continue maximising the potential for providing its members with top quality swimming activities and programmes, DC Leisure has signed a five-year partnership agreement with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).

David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, said: “Historically the ASA has predominantly worked with local authority operators and now recognises the growing influence of the private sector and the need to develop strong working partnerships. With its commitment to placing sports development, in particular swimming, at the centre of business thinking, DC Leisure is an ideal partner in this regard, and we’re confident that, with our backing, its highly successful teaching programme will continue to go from strength to strength.”

David continues: “As well as focussing on the development of elite athletes in search of gold medals, our aim at the ASA is to drive increased participation at grass roots level. To achieve this requires a culture change within the leisure industry - we need better facilities, quality management and a better workforce.

“These are all goals that DC Leisure is continually striving for. And whilst there’s still a long way to go in driving up standards across the board, DC Leisure sets the bar high and continues to raise it, as it challenges itself on an ongoing basis.”

Under the terms of the agreement, DC Leisure’s Swimming Academy, which runs in 65 sites across the country, will continue to follow the ASA National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS) for the next five years. This provides a comprehensive, progressive teaching programme, from complete beginner to pre-competition development, based upon sound technical and educational principles.

Following the presentation of over 100,000 badges and certificates to its pupils last year, DC Leisure’s Swimming Academy will also continue to employ the Kellogg's ASA Awards Scheme, which is the most successful sports awards programme in the world, and links directly to the NPTS. In addition, Aquamark, the ASA’s Programme Quality Scheme, will be rolled out across the group, providing DC Leisure with a framework to ensure that it is delivering a high quality, best value scheme in terms of teaching, administration and customer communication.

Ensuring that DC Leisure’s Swimming Academy continues to be supported by the employment of highly skilled and professional teaching and coaching staff, the ASA has become its official training provider. The organisation will provide ASA Teaching and Coaching Qualifications, a structured CPD programme, career development opportunities for lifeguards and Institute of Swimming (IoS) membership for teaching and coaching staff.

Mark Haslam, DC Leisure’s Swimming Group Manager, comments: “This partnership with the ASA is great news for DC Leisure. With our commitment to swimming development, as evidenced by our recent Quest sports development achievement, our organisations enjoy a great synergy and I’m sure that, with the ASA’s support, we will ensure that our team of swimming teachers and coaches across the group continue to deliver consistent service excellence.”

Serco is Britain’s Most Admired Support Services Company

Serco has been named as Britain’s most admired support services company for the third year running, and thirteenth most admired company overall in an independent survey of the UK’s largest listed companies.

The Management Company Today survey, run in conjunction with Nottingham Business School, involved questioning over 200 of the largest public companies in the country to evaluate their peers.

Serco was the leading company from outside the FTSE 100 in the ‘value as a long term investment’ and ‘community and environmental responsibility’ criteria. Performance was also rated against seven other criteria; quality of management, financial soundness, quality of services, ability to attract develop and retain top talent, capacity to innovate, quality of marketing and use of corporal assets.

Serco Leisure, one of the divisions that operate within Serco manage 65 leisure facilities on behalf of 21 Local Authorities and Community Trusts.

Serco recognise staff’s performance

Serco, Britain’s most admired service company employing 45,000 people worldwide paid tribute to seven of its leisure staff as part of the Chairman’s awards.

Chris Molliison, Maidstone Leisure Centre and Steve Jacklin, Horwich Leisure Centre received awards in the community section. The award is for the development of a community or volunteering project, or a specific fundraiser initiative that has had a direct benefit on the community in which we operate. Chris has embraced Serco’s entrepreneurial culture by expanding the basketball club beyond all recognition, taking kids off the street and generating additional income for the contract. Steve raised over £23,000 to purchase an oscillatory ventilator for Tameside general Hospital in the hope that it will save lives.

In the environmental section the leisure team headed by the Senior Technical Managers, Mark Coleridge and Mark Rutherford one the award has a result of making substantial savings on energy costs (19.8% on utilities in 2006).

Eddie Harman, Steve Bedford, Pauline Preece and Emma Clough also received commendations in the community section.

ALAN CROWTHER WINS INDOOR ADAPTIVE ROWING CHALLENGE

In a Celebration of DC Leisure’s Partnership with the Amateur Rowing Association

Marking the ongoing success of DC Leisure’s partnership with the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) to help identify and train adaptive rowers for the next Paralympics in Beijing 2008, an exciting Internet Indoor Adaptive Rowing race was held, in conjunction with the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) and Concept2, at the IFI Conference in December. With the help of an internet link, World Class GB adaptive rowing athletes from three different UK locations raced each other over 500m.

The athletes, located at the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre, Rushcliffe Arena in Nottingham and the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster, were cheered on by delegates at the IFI Conference, including the Minister for Sport, The Right Hon Richard Caborn MP, who viewed the race on a large television screen within the main exhibition room.

Alan Crowther of Nottingham Rowing Club was victorious in a time of 1:40.02, narrowly beating Alastair McKean of Herne Bay Amateur Rowing Club in to second place. Naomi Riches of Marlow Rowing Club came through, with encouragement from the crowd, to take third place in 1:45:00.

Chris Easton, IFI Assistant Director and Conference Manager, said: “We would like to thank DC Leisure, the ARA, Concept2 and all the athletes for making this exciting event possible. It was a great vehicle for showcasing the adaptive rowing programme that DC Leisure is undertaking in partnership with the ARA to increase the profile of, and participation in, rowing for disabled people at a recreational, as well as high performance level.”

Louise Kingsley, Projects Officer for High Performance Programmes at the ARA, said: “DC Leisure has been working alongside us for the last eight months to assist with the promotion of both our participation and Talent Identification Programmes. Their efforts to date have allowed us to reach a broad cross-section of potential Paralympic rowers. And in so doing, they are helping us to promote the fantastic sport of rowing to everyone – regardless of age, gender or ability.”

Lisa Taylor, Group Fitness Manager at DC Leisure, comments: “With 17 IFI accredited centres, more than any other leisure organisation, we’re in a great position to assist the ARA in identifying and training potential Paralympians. This special rowing challenge, apart from being great fun, has allowed us to highlight the wide appeal of this terrific sport and I’d like to thank Chad King at the ARA for making it all possible.”

Jimmy Carr autographs his stools!

Serco Leisure auction a signed ‘Gig’ stool for Comic Relief.
Maidstone, Kent, 8th March, 2007:
After his recent show at Maidstone Leisure Centre’s Mote Hall, Jimmy Carr was kind enough to autograph his stool so that it could be auctioned off for Comic Relief.

Jimmy played to a sell out crowd on Saturday 3rd of March as part of his ‘Gag Reflex’ tour. Serco Leisure staff had the idea of getting Jimmy to autograph the stool which he used during the show and they have then put it up for auction on EBay.
The stool went up for auction on ebay on Friday the 9th March and raised £100. The money raised was forwarded to Comic Relief.

Jon Hymus, the Maidstone Leisure Centre General Manager, said “This was an excellent idea that was thought up by one of my members of staff. Jimmy was really pleased to be able to help, and putting it on EBay means that everyone in the UK has a chance to bid for his autographed stool and raise money for a great cause”.

Serco Leisure operates over 60 Leisure Centre’s in the UK and run Maidstone Leisure Centre on behalf of the local council and Community leisure Trusts. Serco staff around the UK are encouraged to get involved in charitable activity and staff at the Leisure Centre will be also intending hold a number of other events in March to raise money for Comic Relief.

CAMBERLEY’S ARENA ANNOUNCES OUTSTANDING QUEST RESULT

Camberley’s Arena Leisure Centre, which is managed by DC Leisure on behalf of Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC), is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in its Quest assessment. This achievement places the facility among the top Quest scoring sites in the country as well as giving it the accolade of highest scoring DC Leisure site in the southern region.

Eamon Ryan, Head of Leisure Services for SHBC said that the partnership with DC Leisure had produced a superb result: “The centre has one of the highest levels of usage in the country, so to maintain this quality of customer service with such high usage is outstanding. The management systems are excellent and there is good morale and good focus.”

The Mayor of Surrey Heath, Keith Bush, paid a visit to the centre on Thursday January 18 to congratulate the staff on their achievement. Commenting on the Quest result, he said: “Arena is a very successful asset for the borough - this is its third accreditation by Quest.”

During his visit he was shown the new gym equipment, which has recently been purchased by SHBC. This investment forms the first stage of a £1.4M refurbishment of the Arena, which will be managed under the highly successful income-sharing partnership with DC Leisure. It is anticipated that the building refurbishment work will start later in the spring.

Dave Jolliffe, Area Manager for DC Leisure, was delighted with the highly commended score of 76%, which represents a significant improvement on the facility’s first score of 68%. He commented: “We have been undergoing Quest assessments for a few years now and are extremely proud to have made it into the list of top scoring centres in the whole country. The Arena is shortly undergoing a refurbishment and that will certainly help with our next score as Quest is based on the quality of facilities as well as the quality of management.”

Dan Walker, DC Leisure’s Contract Manager at the Arena, added: “It is a fantastic result and credit must go to everyone in the team for all their effort and hard work. This award recognises our commitment to continuous improvement and customer service so that we can maintain the highest standards of leisure provision for the residents of Surrey Heath.”

BOLTON LEISURE CENTRES ACHIEVE QUEST ACCREDITATION AND INVESTORS IN PEOPLE

Bolton Community Leisure Trust has recently achieved Quest accreditation for ten of the leisure centres in Bolton and has also achieved Investors on people.
Leisure centres that have achieved the accreditation are: Farnworth Leisure Centre, Harper Green Community Leisure Centre, Hayward Community Leisure Centre, Horwich Leisure Centre, Ladybridge Community Leisure, Little Lever Community Leisure Centre, Sharples Community Leisure Centre, Turton Community Leisure Centre, Westhoughton Leisure Centre and Withins Community Leisure Centre.

Sheldon Phillips, Chair of the Bolton Community Leisure Trust, said “It’s great news for the people in Bolton. The Trust was formed in 2004 to work closely with Bolton Metro borough Council and its operating agent, Serco Leisure, to update the leisure services and facilities across the borough. The partnership will deliver an ambitious programme of investment into leisure and fitness sites over the next 15 years. The work that we have done so far has been rewarded and it’s a great achievement for us. We will continue to build on this success in the future”.

Further Quest success has been achieved at Maidstone, Swallows and Loughborough Leisure Centre’s where the teams have achieved scores of 79%, 78% and 78% respectively.

NEW CLIMBING WALL IS OFFICIALLY OPENED AT ALTON SPORTS CENTRE

As Refurbishments are Completed at DC Leisure’s Hampshire Sites

A new climbing wall has been officially launched at Alton Sports Centre and a new gym unveiled at neighbouring Taro Leisure Centre following refurbishments totalling £200K. The sites are run by the East Hampshire Leisure Community Association (EHLCA) on behalf of DC Leisure, on behalf of East Hampshire District Council.

The building of the climbing wall was a joint venture funded by the EHLCA, the council and High Sports, the first climbing company to establish a chain of climbing centres including K2 and Elmbridge.

Danny Churcher, DC Leisure’s General Manager at Alton Sports Centre, said: “At 10m high, the climbing wall, complete with overhangs and challenging terrain, provides a very impressive spectacle at the centre and is the first of its kind in the area. Suitable for beginners as well as the more experienced climber, the wall has been extremely well received by the local climbing community who have tipped the ‘bouldering wall’ as the best in the south of England.”

The 430m2 gym at Taro Leisure Centre has been upgraded with 90 stations of CV equipment from Precor and strength training machines from Technogym. The facility is now working towards IFI accreditation building on the good practice example set by Mill Chase Leisure Centre, East Hampshire’s third DC Leisure site, which achieved the IFI standard following a refurbishment last year.

These latest refurbishments, are part of an ongoing programme of investment which included the installation of new boilers at Alton and Taro last year, as well as a complete upgrade of the wet and dryside changing rooms at Alton Sports Centre.

Noni Entwistle, Leisure Management Co-ordinator at East Hampshire District Council, said: “We have a ten-year ‘Lifecycle Fund’ and associated maintenance programme at EHLCA which ensures that our three facilities continue to be of the highest quality, offering the very latest in health and fitness provision for the local community. This is underlined by the fact that all three sites are Quest accredited, with Alton and Taro achieving highly commended scores.”

DC LEISURE STRENTHENS FITNESS MANAGEMENT TEAM

DC Leisure has announced that Steve Little has been appointed to the role of Regional Fitness Manager. He will be covering the Southern region and heading up a team of 22 Fitness Managers.

Steve joined the company at the start of January from LA Fitness, where he was General Manager of the Burnham club. He spent 8 years with Dragons, prior to their acquisition by LA Fitness, during which time his roles included fitness instructing, fitness management, personal training and general management.

On his appointment, Steve says: “I was keen to get back into the fitness side of management and am delighted to be in position. The calibre of fitness team is very high and it’s very refreshing to see the level of investment being made.”

Chief Executive of DC Leisure, Steve Philpott, adds: “I am very pleased to welcome Steve to the company. He brings a wealth of experience, and further demonstrates our commitment to providing a strong management structure, which supports both our employees and our clients.”

DC LEISURE RAISES OVER £30,000 FOR CHARITY

With 23 of its sites participating in Swimathon 2006, DC Leisure has announced that it has raised £31,969 as a result of the charity initiative. This sum of money will be divided between NCH and The Swimathon Foundation. Following the event’s success in 2006, DC Leisure has doubled the number of leisure centres taking part in Swimathon 2007.

Diccon Loy, National Pools Manager for Swimathon, comments: “DC Leisure has long been a supporter of Swimathon and has helped us raise thousands of pounds for charity over the years. We were delighted that the DC Leisure board decided to commit their entire estate to hosting the event again in 2007 and their help will be invaluable if we are to achieve our target of raising £1.5m for Marie Curie Cancer Care.”

Mark Haslam, Swimming Group Manager for DC Leisure, says: “We’re delighted to have raised such a significant amount of money for one of the UK’s leading children’s charities as well as a range of smaller, local charities. Our centres always get behind the Swimathon event and thoroughly enjoy the challenge. A special mention must go to The Arena Leisure Centre, Camberley, which won the best team award and raised the most money across the group.”

Swimathon proved so successful for DC Leisure last year that there are already over twice the number of centres taking part this year. Mark continues: “So far we have 51 centres signed up to Swimathon 2007, which this year will be raising funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We’re committed to placing sports development, in particular swimming, at the heart of business thinking and as a result we invest a lot of time and resources to encourage increased participation via special events, programmes and challenges. So it’s reassuring to know that this focus is also helping to make a substantial contribution to worthy causes via Swimathon.”

As the world’s largest swimming fundraiser, Swimathon is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year and will take place between March 22-25. To date it has attracted over half a million swimmers who have cumulatively swum over 570,000 miles (the equivalent of 23 times around the earth). In addition, it has raised over £24 million for more than 33 charities.

KPMG Congratulates South Ribble Borough Council, the Community Leisure Trust and their partner Serco Leisure

On 1 June 2005 South Ribble Borough Council (‘the Council’) entered into a partnership agreement for the provision of leisure services for a period of 15 years and 10 months. South Ribble Community Leisure Limited, a Leisure Trust, became responsible for providing leisure services at six leisure centres across the Borough. Serco Leisure Operating Limited (Serco Leisure) was appointed as managing agent by the Leisure Trust and is responsible for the day to day operations and maintenance and repair of assets.

KPMG concluded following a recent review that the leisure partnership is working effectively and is providing value for money. In particular, they found that:
• The governance arrangements in place over the partnership are strong.
• Adequate reporting arrangements have been established between the Council, the Trust and Serco Leisure.
• The level of informal communication between the three parties is frequent and open.
• A good relationship between the Council, the Trust and Serco Leisure has been formed which has helped the partnership to make good progress to date.
• The quality of the facilities offered at each centre have improved.
• The level of performance of the leisure centres has improved since the start of the partnership. These improvements have been achieved whilst the costs incurred by the Council have reduced. Therefore, the partnership has provided an improvement in the value for money provided by the leisure centres.

DC LEISURE’S LISA TAYLOR WINS FIRST FITPRO INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL AWARD THIS YEAR

Lisa Taylor, Group Fitness Manager at DC Leisure, has been awarded the first FitPro Industry Professional Award of 2007. The award, which is sponsored by Technogym, is designed to acknowledge the work of fitness industry managers who, via their pursuit of operational excellence, are helping to shape the future of their organisations as well as the leisure industry as a whole.

With a background in fitness and a distinguished track record in public and private sector management, Lisa Taylor has become one of the industry’s foremost member retention specialists. Over the last 2½ years at DC Leisure, Lisa has devoted much of her time to implementing the hugely successful Kinetika Journey programme, which has improved retention levels and is producing excellent results for customer in achieving their personal goals.

Her work with a number of retention systems throughout her career means Lisa has acquired a profound understanding of what works in terms of fostering loyalty and extending the lifespan of the average member. The key to her success is that she has been able to convey that information into practical systems and procedures that operators can use to drive retention.

The FitPro Industry Professional Award Panel said of Lisa: “The results of her work have, in many cases, been quite spectacular. Much of what Lisa does is based on the simple premise that members who feel consistently valued stay longer; the real genius lies in creating an operational environment in which this happens more often than not, and establishing an evaluation platform that allows the environment to be constantly adapted to meet members’ needs. Simple, but not easy. Lisa has been a huge contributor to this industry over the past twenty years and she thoroughly deserves this recognition.”

BBC FILM AT WHITE HORSE LEISURE & TENNIS CENTRE

White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre member Margaret Brown was asked by the BBC’s See Hear programme to be interviewed for a feature about “Access for Deaf People to Gyms & Health Clubs” that aired in early February 2007. 

Margaret, who herself is Deaf, joined the Centre in 2003 and since introducing some of the staff to British Sign Language now comes to the Centre about two or three times a week to go to the gym, RPM classes and occasionally have a swim.  

Margaret Brown and the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre came to the attention of the BBC See Hear staff through the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) website. The IFI scheme supports not for profit fitness facilities such as this Centre to become more inclusive and help break down barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in physical activity in a gym environment.  An article about Margaret published last summer on the WHLTC website was later published on the IFI website. During their research, this led the BBC to White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre to film Margaret in December of last year.  

The story of how Margaret began her fitness journey is an inspirational one. During filming, she told the BBC, “I had breast cancer in 2002 and shortly after I had the operation it was discovered that I had osteoporosis. My doctor referred me to the Leisure Centre where I had a gym induction and brought a Sign Language Communicator with me so that I could follow what the Instructor was explaining about each piece of equipment.” 

“Julie in the gym was interested in learning sign language,” Margaret continued, “so I started teaching her and if I was not sure of what I was supposed to do she would explain through sign language. Julie joined the British Sign Language Level 1 class and has just taken her third unit exam!”   

Marie, one of the Centre’s RPM Instructors, has been helping Margaret to continue in the RPM classes by writing down what she explains to the others. “That has been a great help,” says Margaret. “I was introduced to RPM earlier this year and the Instructor moved the bike to the right place so that I could see better and was able to join in.” 

Margaret added, “The staff at White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre have been very supportive and I enjoy going there. It was a good experience being interviewed by the BBC and I hope more Deaf people will join the Leisure Centre.” 

Yarborough Leisure Centre’s Aerobic Capacity Doubles!
 
 
With the third phase of improvement work completed, customers have voted with their feet!

Demonstrating their support for the addition of a brand new aerobics studio, customers now have double the choice of classes compared to the end of 2006; and the classes are an overwhelming success.

Stuart Blackbourn, CLS Contract Manager for Yarborough Leisure Centre commented: “For visitors to the Centre, the new aerobics studio means we now have a workout timetable of 34 classes every week.  New classes include Body Pump, Body Combat and Groove FX (a high energy dance workout), Pilates, Over 50’s Swim & Bike and many more.

“This development has provided us with an enhanced product that meets the needs of our members and pay as you play customers.  In consultation with our customers over 85% expressed an interest in our aerobic timetable.  Now with the new facility we can significantly develop and increase our current programme.  It also provides a further opportunity for us to expand our programme for the over 50’s and under 16’s, focusing on more user groups.”

Clare Kennedy, CLS' Chief Executive added: "CLS is delighted with this third stage of our investment in Yarborough Leisure Centre, and as we head into our third year of working in partnership with City of Lincoln Council we are looking forward to continuing to seeing how the enhancements benefit the community.”

CLIENT SURVEY NETS GREAT RESULTS FOR DC LEISURE

Reflecting its commitment to the ongoing improvement of its service delivery and partnership approach, DC Leisure commissioned Leisure-net Solutions Ltd (LNS) to conduct a survey to provide an independent platform for clients to provide their opinions about DC Leisure. As well as yielding impressive results, the survey has provided DC Leisure with invaluable, constructive feedback from its clients to ensure that its partnerships continue to strengthen in the future.

David Albutt, Business Development Director at LNS and Lead Consultant on the project, said: “The indicators in the questionnaire on the overall view of DC Leisure were generally very positive, highlighting that overall the clients regard DC Leisure as a good partner and would recommend them to other councils.”

LNS interviewers conducted a 20-30 minute telephone interview with 27 of DC Leisure’s clients, during which a standard questionnaire, requiring a mix of quantitative and qualitative responses, was completed.

An average score of four out of five was awarded to DC Leisure for the two key measures of ‘communications’ and ‘service standards’. And 41% of its clients said that they would ‘strongly recommend’ DC Leisure to others – a powerful measure of customer loyalty. In addition, every client either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement: “DC Leisure aims to provide a bespoke service and solution to meet the individual needs of each particular client and contract.”

Encouragingly, asked how their relationship with DC Leisure had changed over the last 18 months, every client said that it had either ‘stayed the same’ or ‘got better’.

Richard Millard, Client Liaison and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, said: “It’s always very pleasing to hear positive feedback from our clients, but perhaps more importantly, the survey has proved invaluable in highlighting a number of priority areas that our clients require from the partnership over the next three years.

“As a result, we shall be focussing on the following: the continuation of quality assurance and continuous improvement at the centres; programming and sports development to reach inaccessible groups; future investment; increasing participation, both in general and of target groups; performance measurements; and the continuation of ‘partnership working’ within the contract.”

KINGSWAY LEISURE CENTRE SCOOPS QUEST AWARDS

Mike Wells, DC Leisure’s Contract Manager at Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes, was presented with two awards at last week’s Quest North West Benchmarking Seminar. The proud manager scooped certificates for ‘The Highest Score in Service Development and Review’ as well as ‘The Overall Highest Score of 79%’ in Quest for facilities management in the Sport England North West Region 2006.

Commenting on the presentations, Mike said: “I was thrilled to pick up these awards and would like to thank my team for their ongoing efforts. It’s always great to receive recognition for hard work and these certificates are testament to the fact that we are fully committed to working in partnership with Halton Borough Council to provide the highest levels of facility and service for the local community. This is part of a journey to continuously improve the leisure experience of all our customers.”

Kingsway Leisure Centre was awarded Quest accreditation in July last year and the team are now working towards their re-assessment in summer 2008.

Richard Millard, Client Liaison and Sports Development Manager at DC Leisure, says: “We have a corporate commitment to quality standards and continuous improvement at DC - this achievement by Mike and his team at Kingsway Leisure Centre is a perfect example of this commitment in action.”

The facilities at Kingsway Leisure Centre include a 25m swimming pool and learner pool, Kinetika Gym, eight-court sports hall, squash courts and crèche. DC Leisure is three years into a ten year contract to manage Kingsway Leisure Centre, as well as Brookvale Recreation Centre and Runcorn Swimming Pool, on behalf of Halton Borough Council.

DC LEISURE IN RUNNING FOR TENTH PFI/PPP PROJECT

Bristol City Council has named DC Leisure as one of three companies shortlisted for the chance to design, build and manage a £21m sports and leisure facility at Hengrove Park in the south of the city. The centre will form part of a trailblazing ‘Healthplex’ which will feature an innovative connection with neighbouring health facilities, making it one of the leading projects of its kind in the UK.

DC Leisure, together with Community Solutions for Leisure and Parkwood, has been invited to submit a detailed proposal for the development of the facility. The successful bidder will be announced in May 2008.

The facility will be funded through the government’s PFI scheme, with significant capital investment anticipated from Sport England, subject to formal Regional Sports Board approval.

Peter Kirkham, Development and PFI Director at DC Leisure, comments: “We are extremely pleased to have been selected to proceed to the competitive dialogue phase of this high profile and forward thinking project. We have a proven track record in the delivery of successful leisure PFI schemes and are committed to the development of a strong proposal which will significantly improve the quality of leisure provision for the local community.”

Facilities at the new complex are likely to include: an eight-lane, 50m swimming pool, suitable for family, fitness and competition swimming; leisure and learner pool, Jacuzzi and steam room; 100-station Health and Fitness suite; aerobics studio; four-court sports hall; ‘Healthy Living Zone’ with a café and crèche, set in an attractive ‘winter garden’; an indoor landscaped area connecting the centre to the surrounding parkland; meeting and conference facilities.

Visitors to the site will be able to access advice on healthy living and there will be an information point giving access to other council services. In addition, the centre will be linked, via a new public open space, with the neighbouring South Bristol Community Hospital. This will form the state-of-the-art Healthplex, which recognises the critical relationship between fitness and good health. It will be served by cycle and car parking and a new bus terminus to deliver improved public transport links.

Subject to final planning approvals, work on the Healthplex will start at the end of 2008 and it will open its doors to customers in spring 2010.

DC LEISURE LAUNCHES SPORTS DEVELOPMENT QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to sports development and continuous improvement, DC Leisure has launched a Sports Development Quality Management System (SDQMS). This announcement comes after the company became the first leisure operator to achieve Quest Sports Development accreditation across the entire group last year.

“Our mission is to put quality sports development at the heart of increasing participation, through Sport England’s ‘start, stay and succeed’ pathways,” says Richard Millard, DC Leisure’s Client Relations and Sports Development Director. “These pathways will help us to improve sports development practice and consistency across the group.”

A number of factors have resulted in the launch of the SDQMS, Richard explains: “Last year’s in-depth Quest Sports Development process, as well as feedback from our clients, led us to introduce this initiative. There is also a general, industry-wide move towards unifying sport, education and health, and the SDQMS will help us to achieve this by working with key partners from a variety of sectors at local, regional and national levels.”

The first phase of the SDQMS consists of the development and distribution of a series of manuals. The first gives an overview of sports development, while the second is an in-depth swimming development manual. These are currently being used by general managers across the company’s 118 sites, after being introduced via in-depth workshops. The next in the series, which is being rolled out gradually, is a guide to sports development in other sports, and completing the set, is a manual which will take a broader look at the role of sports development for health living.

Richard concludes: “Using the manuals, our general managers will be able to spread the principles and raise the profile of sports development policy. It will assist them to implement a Quest Sports Development action plan for specific sports and provide a framework for the development and training of coaches in line with Sports Coach UK (scUK) principles. We also hope to create the right environment for accredited sports clubs to flourish, maximising volunteerism, as well as aligning programmes and procedures with the social inclusion policies of our clients. Ultimately it’s all about increasing participation in the communities we serve.”

DC LEISURE INDUSTRY EXPERT TO CHAIR SWIMMING CONFERENCE

DC Leisure’s Mark Haslam is to chair the Amateur Swimming Association’s (ASA) inaugural Swimming Teaching Conference at Walkers Stadium, Leicester on Thursday 26 April.

David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, said: “As Swimming Group Manager for DC Leisure, Haslam has forged a strong relationship with the ASA and runs the National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS) across 65 sites. His wealth of knowledge and experience of swimming teaching and development make him the ideal choice for chair of this important event.”

Commenting on his appointment, Mark said: “I’m honoured to chair the ASA’s first ever swimming teaching conference. The fact that the ASA has invited a commercial partner to play a part in the day shows how much the organisation has moved forward and how much it values its business partnerships.

“I’m excited to be involved at the unveiling of the new National Plan and I’m looking forward to finding out how it will enhance our current swimming provision.”

Centred on the presentation of the new NPTS, the conference will explain the rationale behind the new structure, how it will be implemented nationwide and how it underpins the new UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) teaching qualifications planned for launch in September.

British Swimming Performance Director, Bill Sweetenham, will open the conference and underline the importance of quality learn-to-swim provision to produce gold medallists. The day-long event will also include presentations on school swimming, Approved Education Centre Status and teacher and coach licensing, as well as an inspirational session with Olympic bronze medallist, Steve Parry.

Affiliated ASA and Institute of Swimming (IoS) members can attend the conference for just £45 and delegates will receive a certificate worth five points towards the ASA Licensing scheme. To book your place or to find out more about the conference please visit www.britishswimming.org.

Avalon Leisure Ltd

Mendip praises private partners

Mendip District Council has praised the efforts of its private sector partners in achieving award-winning standards.

In March the council was announced the cleanest district in Britain and then also heard that its leisure facilities were among the best managed.

Chief Executive David Thomson said “This is a major achievement since the [cleanest district] award covered how each council copes with litter and other related problems such as fly-posting, dog fouling, chewing gum, cigarette litter and much more. Mendip was able to achieve success through its partners, particularly its contractor, Connaught.

A few days later we heard the results of the public satisfaction survey, and more good news there. Satisfaction with leisure facilities has risen by four per cent on the same time three years ago. The result also recognises the close working in partnership with Avalon Leisure”.

Over this period Avalon Leisure has achieved some of the best Quest (UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure) scores in the country. Strode Swimming Pool in Street has recently achieved a rare ‘highly commended’ score and was runner up in the UK swimming pools category in 2005 out of 194 pools.

Wells Leisure Centre has been runner-up in the UK ‘FLAME’ awards for management excellence and Frome Leisure Centre achieved one of the UK’s highest first-time Quest assessment scores in 2005.

Avalon’s Managing Director, Peter Gilpin, said “Since starting our new contract with Mendip in 2003 the performance of the centres has gone from strength to strength, and the public satisfaction survey confirms this. We are very proud of the awards that we have achieved which all come down to the quality and dedication of the teams running these centres.

On the back of a strategic review we are just completing a half a million pound refurbishment programme and are looking forward to working even more closely with Mendip over the coming years in what has become a very successful partnership approach”.

Leisure centre campaigners crack open bubbly

CAMPAIGNERS battling to keep their leisure centre open have received £60,000 from the district council.

Keep Leisure in Cricklade (KLIC) have been working hard over recent weeks to win support and funding to save the town's leisure centre for the community after it was slated for closure by North Wiltshire District Council.

Yesterday the council gave KLIC the money, which will be used for the running of the leisure centre. This was the final hurdle, which needed to be cleared before the group takes over the centre on April 1.

Father-of-two Depak Lal 45, an energy consultant from Cricklade and a member of the KLIC committee, said: "My whole family use the leisure centre all the time, and one of the reasons I moved to the town was because of the centre. I don't want to have to drive seven miles to Swindon every time I want to use the gym.

"I would not have been happy with myself if I had not done my bit to help to keep the leisure centre, and I am delighted that we have done it."

Steve Dye, chairman of the Cricklade Youth football teams, said: "The news is still filtering down to the team managers and the players, but it is fantastic news.

"For weeks the players have been coming up to me and others and asking about where they should go and what they should do, and the future has been so uncertain. We really thought we would have to stop the teams, so it's been a really challenging time for all of us, "We have 240 youngsters playing in the teams, and probably 90 per cent live within walking distance of the leisure centre so losing it would have been tragic."

Alastair Smith, 60, an oil worker who lives in Cricklade, said: "What KLIC have done is a great achievement, but what is needed now is for people to come along and support the leisure centre now more than ever. That way they can make it work in the future."

In the coming days KLIC members will be hitting the streets of Cricklade to offer a new membership scheme for the centre, while a further meeting today between KLIC and North Wiltshire District Council will further firm up the process for the takeover on April 1.

Campaigner Gary Walker, the leading light behind the project, said: "The hard work really begins now for us. Only one of us has experience in the leisure industry so the next few weeks are going to be a real crash course for us.

"Fortunately, the council have given us access to a leisure officer in the council and that will be a huge help in what we are doing."

 

Jan/Feb/Mar 2007
 

LMCA fully supports the establishment of ISPAL

Extract of article from Paddy Corcoran (chair of ILAM national council and an ISPAL board member):

With the passing of the resolution at the EGM in January, the name of ILAM will pass into its rightful place of honour in the history of our profession.

ILAM began in 1983 with the coming together of the IPRA, ARM, IME & IRM with aspirations to build a strong professional body and for members to gain the wider professional knowledge and expertise required by the profession as a whole, through the provision of a wide variety of services to members; training programmes, conferences, information services, qualification scheme and examinations. I want to place on record my thanks to all the staff who, over time, have given excellent service to the membership, and to thank all the members who have given their services, unpaid and unstintingly, serving the Institute on Council and its committees, as representatives on regional committees and other bodies, as experts, respondents, examiners etc.

We are now entering another phase in the development of our goals. ISPAL will become the professional institute of high repute for people working in leisure, sport and physical activity, play, fitness, parks and open spaces. It will become the professional body of choice for those working in the sector; establishing and maintaining high professional standards and, as such, will ensure recognition by government by being at the forefront of shaping UK policy for the sector. ISPAL will become the recognised improvement agency for the sector; ensuring the management and delivery of a comprehensive CPD programme.

ISPAL will have a dynamic professional core with a working presence in the Home Nations, regions and in London, be close to its members with a clear focus on members' needs; be proactive not just reactive with an active outward and internal focus, and will be a self sustaining organisation, independent of government.

ISPAL will be engaging our industry, meeting needs and driving improvement. It will deliver the agenda for sport, parks and leisure as a catalyst for community cohesion, regeneration and improvement in quality of life. It will enhance the profile of the industry's potential to offer a meaningful and rewarding career (skills shortages, poor pay, poor image, etc) greatly increasing the emphasis on raising standards and enhanced professionalism within the sector and with a clear emphasis on the utilisation of relevant QCA-approved National Occupational Standards to inform its CPD programme. ISPAL will be creating a new, respected role in relation to government and its agencies with the aim of providing expert input to policy-making.

ISPAL will be establishing a broader cross-sectoral focus but with clear targeting, developing strategic alliances with other representative bodies. It will be a flatter more dynamic organisational structure focused on business development and customer service; a technology-driven business to improve access, and an empowerment strategy to involve members in shaping policy and services.

Avalon Leisure Ltd move their offices

From Monday 15th January, Avalon Leisure Ltd will be located at 141 High Street, Street, Somerset BA16 0EX. New phone numbers will be available here.

Mixed messages for Mendip

Mendip District Council is reacting to the Active People survey published last week by Sport England which places it at the top of the league in Somerset in terms of activity levels but still shows nearly half of the population are inactive. In the Sport England table of results, Mendip was ranked 81st out of 354 local authorities. Ian Munday MILAM (left), leisure officer with Mendip DC, discusses the results of the survey with Councillor Harvey Siggs and regular gym user Jo Truckle.

All of Mendip District Council’s leisure facilities are managed by Avalon Leisure. Councillor Harvey Siggs, the portfolio holder for leisure, praised the efforts of the company: Avalon Leisure has been instrumental in assisting the Council achieve such good results, which have no doubt contributed to their excellent Quest scores recently awarded’. Quest is the leisure industry’s quality assurance award.

NATIONAL ACCOLADES FOR AVALON LEISURE

Avalon Leisure, based in Bridgwater, Somerset, has recently received national accolades for its management and service standards.

The company manages Strode Swimming Pool, Street, and Wells Leisure Centre on behalf of Mendip District Council and Western Community Leisure (a leisure trust). These two facilities have recently been re-assessed under the most sought after leisure industry award, Quest, and been awarded scores that place them amongst the best in the UK.

The facilities were the first in the South West region to achieve the prestigious award after it was launched by Sport England ten years ago. Wells Leisure Centre has now increased its score to 74% and Strode Pool to 75%. The facilities are assessed against a comprehensive range of management standards, including a ‘mystery shopper’ visit by independent experts.

Strode Pool’s score places it in the Highly Commended category – making it one of only a small number of facilities to achieve this accolade. In 2005 Strode Pool’s score of 73% was high enough to win second place in the swimming pools category from 194 UK assessments, so the company is hopeful that it will see a similar placing – or better - in 2006.

Avalon’s Operations Manager, Rob Taylor, is proud of the outstanding results.

“We are all absolutely delighted at the level of achievement and the elevated status our scores have given us in the leisure field – the staff are to be congratulated on their commitment to the process and their determination to demonstrate continuous improvement for the residents of Mendip.”

Ian Munday, Mendip District Council’s Leisure Officer, commented “Avalon’s commitment to continuous improvement is deservedly recognised in these recent Quest scores, especially with Strode Swimming Pool moving in to the Highly Commended category. Mendip District Council looks forward to the continued success of its leisure facilities with Quest “.

Avalon’s Managing Director, Peter Gilpin, sees a need for quality leisure management systems to extend into the independent leisure sector and has developed a licensed support package for single site and smaller operators: ‘The industry is now under intense scrutiny and subject to onerous health and safety guidelines and regulations. The comprehensive management standards and systems we have developed would be very helpful to any leisure facility operator”.

50th DC LEISURE SITE ACHIEVES QUEST ACCREDITION

Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Surrey has become the 50th DC Leisure site to attain Quest accreditation. This landmark achievement underlines the company’s corporate commitment to quality standards and ongoing improvement. A further 23 DC Leisure facilities have scores pending or assessments booked before December.

Fiona Nugent, Kingston Facilities Partnership Manager was formerly General Manager of the Kingfisher Centre. She says: “We are thrilled to have been successful on our first time through the accreditation process. The whole team has invested an enormous amount of time and commitment throughout our preparations. It has been incredibly motivational and really enabled us to focus on identifying areas for improvement. There’s a terrific buzz around the centre and I’m sure our users can see and feel it too.”

Fiona continues: “Quest is an excellent hall mark for leisure. It’s relevant to all our day to day operations and has helped us to develop a working action plan on what we can do better and how we hope to achieve it.”

With Tolworth Recreation Centre also recently attaining Quest, and Kingsmeadow Fitness and Athletic Centre, as well as the Malden Centre due to be assessed within the next few weeks, all four of the sites which form DC Leisure’s contract with the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames should have achieved Quest accreditation by the end of October. If successful, it will contribute to the council’s aim to achieve TAES – Towards An Excellent Service – for itself and all its services.

Not only are the standards and levels of service being evaluated and improved, there is also considerable investment being made in the facilities themselves during an 18-month programme of refurbishment. Tolworth Recreation Centre and Kingfisher Leisure Centre have already had new IT equipment installed, with Kingsmeadow Fitness and Athletic Centre and the Malden Centre due to be upgraded shortly. The Malden Centre is currently being refurbished and will have a new reception area, extended and redecorated gym and studio - including new equipment and air conditioning. While Tolworth Recreation Centre is scheduled to have a new kitchen and improved changing rooms later this year, and the Kingfisher Leisure Centre will have an upgraded kitchen and gym.

Fiona adds: “We have an excellent partnership with the council and are both fully committed to providing the highest levels of facility and service for the local community.”

BUSINESS AS USUAL DURING DEVELOPMENT WORKS AT YARBOROUGH LEISURE CENTRE

Community Leisure Services (CLS) Ltd has begun a £90,000 development project at Yarborough Leisure Centre, Lincoln.

The developments will include a 100 sq. metre studio and a 23 sq. metre meeting room; to enhance the existing facilities which were added to and improved at the commencement of CLS’ partnership with the City of Lincoln Council in May 2004.

The new studio will take the centre’s class workout programme to 32 classes per week and is scheduled to open at the end of January 2007.

This is the third part of the phased programme at Yarborough Leisure Centre; coming hot on the heels of the original 2004/2005 investment providing a Health & Fitness Suite, improved changing facilities and a larger improved reception area including a café and then earlier this year the new All Weather Pitch replacement.

Stuart Blackbourn, CLS Contract Manager for Lincoln, commented: “This development will provide us with an enhanced membership package. In consultations with our customers, 85% express an interest in our aerobic programme and this allows us to significantly develop and increase our current programme.”

Blackbourn continues; “The addition of two facilities also provides a further opportunity for us to expand our programme for the over 55’s and under 16’s.”

Clare Kennedy, CLS' Chief Executive added: "CLS is delighted at the commencement of this third stage of our investment in Yarborough Leisure Centre and are looking forward to the enhancements that will be available to benefit of the local community, as we head into our third year of management of City of Lincoln Council’s leisure centres. We will be working to ensure all our customers are able to continue accessing all facilities during the building works."

Pool shuts for revamp

The swimming pool at Kidderminster’s Glades Arena leisure centre will close until next year during a £525,000 revamp - the first in its 20 year history.

The popular centre in Bromsgrove Street will be closing its swimming facilities from October 30 and will not be reopening them until January 2.

The cost is being met by Wyre Forest Council, which will pay £350,000 and owners DC Leisure, which will fund the rest.

Builders will install a new health suite, including sauna, steam rooms and improved swimming pool changing facilities.

The water slides, lighting and showers will also be refurbished - the first time since Princess Diana officially opened the centre in March 1986.

Arrangements have been made with Stourport Leisure Centre to take on school swimming lessons and water aerobics classes during the closure.

The existing health and fitness suite, dance studio, sports arena, squash courts, gym training room, sun beds and cafe/bar facilities will be open as normal.

The centre was designed and built by Wyre Forest District Council and was one of the first of its kind in the country. It now it attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year.

Glades contract manager Stuart Booton said: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the closure of the pool but we are sure visitors will be delighted with the new facilities and improvements.

“We are long overdue a refurb and we are really looking forward to the new-look centre opening in the new year.”

The council’s cabinet member for leisure services, Nathan Desmond said: “The new facilities will bring The Glades up to a 21st century leisure centre providing a lot of fun for current customers and attracting more people to the area.

“We have been able to carry out these improvements because of our successful partnership with DC Leisure.”

LEISURE SECTOR POOR ON HEALTH AND SAFETY
A new survey of 130 employees by AXA Insurance in October

Leisure sector employees face poor levels of health and safety in the workplace, says AXA Insurance.

It surveyed 130 employees who have been injured whilst working in the leisure and hospitality sector over the past five years.

Accidents in the kitchen accounted for most of the injuries to leisure employees with 74 out of the 130 (57 per cent) injured there, while, 105 of the people injured (81 per cent) suffered cuts or burns. However, despite the number of injuries only half of them (65 respondents) claimed to have received health and safety training.

Whilst the study found accidents in the kitchen to be the most common cause of an accident, 30 leisure employees interviewed (23 per cent) had taken a fall or tripped over, nine (7 per cent) had been injured by lifting heavy items and a further nine developed repetitive strain injury from their working environment.

Employees in the leisure industry were less likely to take time off to recover from their injury. Just 66 per cent of leisure employees took no time off at all compared to just 52 per cent on average across all industries.

Doug Barnett, risk strategy manager for AXA, said: “Employees in the leisure industry need to be particularly aware of the hazards they face in the workplace and should be fully briefed on health and safety procedures.

"Good health and safety procedures are vital to the running of a successful business. Not only is there a legal requirement to meet minimum standards but these injuries can mean employees have to take time off work to recover and lead to compensation pay outs. In light of this, we are advising all employers, to assess the potential risks and dangers that the working environment may pose to their staff and take necessary action”.

Most common accidents and resulting injuries sustained in the leisure industry:

How accident / injury happened Number of people who have suffered this in the past five years

  • Fall, slip or trip 30
  • Lifting 9
  • Inappropriate working environment 9
  • Bitten 3
  • Kitchen accident 74
DC LEISURE ANNOUNCES CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH WANDSWORTH COUNCIL

DC Leisure is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a new contract to manage seven facilities on behalf of Wandsworth Council. Having operated the sites since 2000, the new contract started this month and will run for eight years. Under the terms of the agreement, over £6.2m will be spent developing and refurbishing the facilities at Tooting, Putney, Latchmere and Balham Leisure Centres, Tooting Bec Lido, and Wandle and Roehampton Recreation Centres.

Peter Robinson, Acting Deputy Director of Leisure and Amenities at Wandsworth Council, says: “The contract was put out to tender and DC Leisure was best placed to meet all our criteria. During the last six years, we have worked in partnership to enhance the leisure offering in the borough, increase activity levels, and in turn, improve health and wellbeing within the local community. I am sure that extending DC Leisure’s contract for a further term will enable us to build on this strong foundation.”

One scheme that has proved incredibly successful for both DC Leisure and the council is the Wandsworth Local Exercise Action Pilot (LEAP). The initiative, which is jointly funded by the Department of Health, the Countryside Agency and Sport England, has been running since July 2005. Its aim is to show that physical activity can be simple, fun and part of everyday living. It includes introducing physical activity clinics into primary care, producing an active opportunities map for local residents, increasing awareness of activity opportunities and offering professional advice. The scheme, which promotes walking and cycling, also includes the development of a peer mentoring programme so trained volunteers can act as walking partners for isolated older adults.

Another major success over the last six years has been DC Leisure’s project management of the council’s £9.2m investment in the four largest facilities, on budget and on time. This includes the achievement of IFI accreditation at the Wandle Recreation Centre. As a result, the number of visits to each facility has increased significantly.

Tom Goodhand, Regional Director for DC Leisure, explains: “We have enjoyed an excellent partnership with our client over the last six years, and I’m delighted that this is set to continue. We have already seen considerable investment in these sites and are committed to providing the highest quality facilities and levels of service.”

Tara Dillon, Wandsworth Contract Manager for DC Leisure, adds: “Among the refurbishment work due for completion by the end of 2006 is an extension of the gym facilities at Putney and Balham Leisure Centres, a new gym facility at Wandle Recreation Centre, and swimming pool refurbishments at Tooting and Putney Leisure Centres and Tooting Bec Lido.”

DC LEISURE IS COMMENDED IN DESIGN INDUSTRY AWARDS

DC Leisure’s marketing materials have been commended in the design industry’s prestigious Benchmark Awards, which recognise excellence in brand communications. The re-branding of DC Leisure, by CommsCentre, was announced as one of the top three design projects in the ‘Sport, Leisure and Travel’ category.

CommsCentre, DC Leisure’s print and design agency, managed the re-branding of the company’s marketing materials at the beginning of this year and were so pleased with the results that they decided to enter the project in to the Benchmark Awards. Rebecca Hellberg, Art Director at CommsCentre, says: “The aim was to bring inspiration and consistency to the communications activity of all DC Leisure sites. The company operates in a complex brand environment encompassing client/council brands, location-specific brands and activity-based brands, so all its materials required the use of a variety of logos.”

She continues: “We developed a branding system using typography, colour, composition, tone of voice and photography/illustrations. These elements combine to give the brand personality and reflect the quality and confidence of all sites. The composition is built by a template system, which splits the promotional material into a hierarchy of information, thus delivering a clear message.”

Catharine Simonds, Group Marketing Co-ordinator at DC Leisure, comments: “We’re delighted that our marketing materials achieved a ‘commended’ in the sport and leisure category. CommsCentre dealt very well with a difficult brief and are worthy winners of this accolade. We’ve been using the materials for quite a few months now and have had some great feedback from customers and staff, as well as our clients, at sites around the country, but it’s always great to receive praise from experts in the field.”

The annual Benchmark Awards are organised by design industry magazine ‘Design Week’ and comprise 20 different entry categories. These represent a huge variety of market sectors including financial services, petrochemicals, food and drink, telecommunications and electronic goods. The work of the winners and runners up in each category will be featured in a hard back, high quality publication which is sent to 6,000 influential marketing and design professionals as well as being available to purchase.

Serco
A sustainable sports development strategy

Dealing with obesity, active participation and crime and disorder

Serco is an international service company which combines commercial know-how with a deep public service ethos.
We improve services by managing people, processes, technology and assets more effectively. We advise policy makers, design innovative solutions, integrate systems and - most of all - deliver to the public. Formed in 1988, Serco a wholly owned British Company, has a turnover in access of £2B pa and employs 46,000 staff working in 35 countries.
Serco supports governments, agencies and companies who seek a trusted partner with a solid track-record of providing assured service excellence. Our people offer operational, management and consulting expertise in the aerospace, defence, education, health, home affairs, local government, science, technology, transport and the commercial sectors.

Serco Leisure

Serco has over 15 years experience in the operation of Leisure facilities, managing 65 facilities on behalf of 18 Local Authorities and Trusts.

Serco Leisure’s sites range from Community Leisure facilities to The Sovereign centre, a large pool and fitness complex on the south coast in Eastbourne, through to South Ribble Tennis and fitness Centre, one of the North West’s premier tennis facilities, to the Aquatics Centre in Manchester, venue for the Commonwealth Swimming event in 2002. All facilities are open to all sections of the community either through pay and play or through one of the exciting membership offers.

Serco Leisure is leading the way in customer experiences to the 15 million people coming through the doors each year. With strong links with PCT’s, Sport England and numerous sports development bodies, Serco continuously look to innovate in order to, increase active participation and reduce crime and disorder and obesity within the communities we work.

Key to attracting targeted groups into facilities and to help address key government initiatives are the Serco brands and in particular the Isospa, H2O and Community Leisure brands.

Isospa - Workout, Relax, You Choose

Isospa, Serco Leisure’s health and fitness brand, moulds the shape and feel of every one of the 43 gyms that Serco Leisure operate, from the colour of the finishes, quality of equipment, through to the music played.

30,000 health and fitness members and 20,000 casual gym users per week cannot be wrong.

We do not rest on their laurels however. A continuous planned programme of improvement and investment is maintained throughout the health and fitness estate over the term of the contracts we are engaged in.

Not content with just great equipment and great people, Serco leisure is already working to take Isospa to the next level. The new look and feel to the gyms is programmed specific to the requirement of different customers depending on the time of the day and the profile of the customers at that time. This allows Serco Leisure with its partners to deliver a great experience to every customer first and every time they visit the gym.

The team are currently developing products that will revolutionise the way the industry delivers children’s fitness. This product will not be exclusive to only those that can afford it, or whose parents have a membership at the centre. Arrangements will also be taken into primary schools and delivered as part of key stage 2. Trials are currently being run in the UK with a view to roll out across the Serco Leisure estate early in 2007.

Rest assured; if you want a “great” exercise experience, you will get that at Isospa!

H2O

Swimming on the decline?
Numbers of people swimming down?
Pools closing all over the country?

If you listen to the news reports, this is the consistent message coming out.

Well that is not the case in Serco leisure where we have seen significant increases in swimming attendances over the past few years. We believe that the increased interest is due to the many initiatives that have been implemented across our business.

Under H20, Serco Leisure’s aquatic brand, Serco Leisure deliver programmed sessions in its pools ensuring that it caters for all sections of the community. Seniors’ sessions are delivered in structured pools with a relaxing and social atmosphere. Junior sessions take place on a Friday and Saturday nights with disco’s pumping out the latest music at full volume. All sorts of weird and wonderful inflatables fill the pool, lifeguards are on poolside armed with huge water pistols and squirt guns. All this enables hundreds of children to have a fantastic time every week in their local swimming pool. This, we believe, is a positive approach to getting kids off the street and into active recreation thereby reducing the potential for crime and disorder

Educational swimming is also catered for with the extremely successful Swim Life programme. The programme now boasts over 25,000 children learning to swim every week on top of the schools educational swimming programme.

Community Programme

Considerable focus is placed on delivering specific activities to meet community needs. GP referrals, 50 plus sessions, women’s activities, disabled groups, the deconditioned market and activities for the young all feature as strong community products.

Serco Leisure also deliver a sustainable sports development strategy that is accessible to all sections of the community

Customer intimacy is key to all this success as indeed is our mission statement to provide:

“a safe, warm, clean, friendly, fun environment at affordable costs to the community”

Jamie’s school dinners have also put the spotlight on health eating. As part of the catering provision across the business, a healthy vending offering has been put into all the dual use sites (sites attached to schools) and many of the larger sites. The group catering manager is focused on delivering product offerings that are constantly updated to ensure that they remain fresh, healthy and deliver our customers want.


How can we help you?

Serco continue to work with all its partners to add value, provide continuous improvement innovation and service excellence and seek to provide a life enriching experience to the communities that we serve.

WOLVERHAMPTON’S £12.5M LEISURE COMPLEX NEARS COMPLETION

Wolverhampton’s new leisure complex nears completion on time and on budget, fourteen months after the construction work began. The city’s prestigious new £12.5M leisure complex is being built under a PFI scheme, which DC Leisure, the consortium leaders, have designed, built, and funded in partnership with Barclays Bank. DC Leisure will also operate the complex, on behalf of Wolverhampton City Council, over a 32-year period. The facility, in Wednesfield, will open to the public at 12 noon on Monday 4th December, following the official opening ceremony in the morning.

Peter Kirkham, comments: “The new leisure complex will offer a superb range of sporting and leisure activities for the local community and we are delighted to be working alongside Wolverhampton City Council on this project. With nine PPP/PFI leisure centres completed or underway, DC Leisure continues to demonstrate it’s supremacy in public/private leisure partnerships and this is yet another example of a successful project reaching fruition.”

The leisure complex, designed by GLR Architects, is being built by DC Leisure’s construction partner, Carillion plc, on reclaimed, former industrial land. It will feature a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a leisure pool with flume and wave machines, plus a separate teaching pool. The 5,000m2 facility will also have a health and fitness suite, including a 140-station gym with cardiovascular exercise equipment, as well as a group training studio, café and, children’s play area, together with further meeting rooms.

Councillor John Reynolds, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, said: “I am delighted that this complex is to open to the public shortly. The centre will provide a range of opportunities to cater to the needs of all of the community. Swimmers in particular will be pleased with the facilities on offer, including those who want to use it for training, those who swim for leisure and to relax, and children using the facilities during the school holidays.

“This will be a wonderful complex and its development reaffirms our commitment to providing excellent sporting facilities for the people of Wolverhampton.”

THEATRICAL MIX FOR GROVE THEATRE’S OPENING SEASON

As the finishing touches are being put to the building, the Grove Theatre’s much anticipated first season of events has been released by theatre operators Leisure Connection, and it is packed with shows spanning April to June 2007.

Following a star studded opening gala on Saturday 21 April compered by star of stage and screen Brian Blessed, the Grove Theatre’s brand new stage will be home to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sparkling family musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. For one week only from Monday 23 April Joseph will burst into Dunstable with all its unforgettable songs including Any Dream Will Do and Close Ev’ry Door to Me.

The following months are crammed with music events spanning the decades so whether you are a die hard Elvis (29 April) fan, want to go 'Halfway to Paradise' with The Billy Fury Story (15 June) or just thank Abba (24 May) for the music! there is something to suit many music tastes. Following their huge success at the Dunstable Folk Festival earlier this summer the legendary cockney duo Chas and Dave will be at Grove Theatre for one night only on 29 May.

Drama fans of all ages will not be disappointed as three engaging dramas grace the stage; From Monday 7 May Ian Dicken’s brand new production of JB Priestley’s Dangerous Corner will be keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. Nationally acclaimed Theatreworks are bringing adaptations of two classic books to the Grove with The Railway Children and Little Women. For younger audiences the delightful Railway Children also features live size puppets specially created for the production by the designer of Wooly and Worth the Woolworths puppets. All three dramas have star casting which will be announced soon...

The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas comes to the Grove Theatre direct from the West End and if you wish you’d swung with the hardest partying pack in town, now’s your chance from Monday 4 June. This “Absolutely Superb” (The Telegraph) production features all the classic standards with Mack the Knife, New York, New York, Fly Me To The Moon and many more.

If you prefer a tattifelarius evening that will have you laughing all the way home Ken Dodd’s Happiness Show on 2 June is just the ticket.

For the opera lovers among you Ellen Kent and Opera International present the celebrated Chisnau National Opera. Verdi’s epic Aida on 25 May and Puccini’s Tosca on 26 May are both lavish productions that have received national critical acclaim “Brilliantly Sung” (The Times) and “Visually and vocally gripping from start to finish” (The Independent)

Jo Ditch, General Manager of Grove Theatre said “It has been an exciting few months programming the very first season of performances. I hope with such an eclectic mix on offer everyone will find something for them, and I look forward to welcoming the local community to Grove Theatre during our opening season.”

The Grove Theatre isn't just about watching, you can TAKE PART in Education Events too. There will be a regular weekly youth theatre for 6 to 19yr olds starting in January 2007 and in April open auditions will be scheduled for 13 to 19yr olds who would like to be involved in the Grove Theatre Summer Musical, which will be performed on stage in the summer. Grove Theatre Education Events are not just for children, there are pre-opening events available to people of all ages. The two week opening projects will explore Drama, Dance, Music, Street Theatre/Mime and Opera and will be run by talented professional theatre practitioners, culminating with the chance to perform live on Grove Theatre stage!

If performing is not your thing why not book onto one of the theatre tours running the week of the 16 April, you can see behind the scenes of South Bedfordshire’s brand new venue and find out more about how shows make it onto the Grove Theatre stage. Tours are FREE of charge but places are limited so please call the Box Office to book your place.

With performances almost every night for two months, pre-opening events and theatre education there is too much to mention here so for a copy of the full brochure or to book tickets call the Box Office on 01582 60 80 20 or log onto www.grovetheatre.co.uk.

DC LEISURE CLAIMS AMATEUR SWIMMING ASSOCIATION’S SWIMTASTIC AWARD

In recognition of its outstanding commitment to teaching swimming, DC Leisure has been named as the Amateur Swimming Association’s (ASA) ‘Management Company of the Year’ for the third year running. DC Leisure’s Swimming Group Manager, Mark Haslam, was delighted to accept the Swimtastic Award on October 27 at the Holiday Inn, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, said: “DC Leisure thoroughly deserves this award – they are committed to placing sports development, in particular swimming, at the centre of business thinking and this has resulted in a highly successful teaching programme which continues to go from strength to strength.”

He adds: “As well as focusing on the development of elite athletes in search of gold medals, our aim at the ASA is to drive increased participation at grass roots level. To achieve this requires a culture change within the leisure industry - we need better facilities, quality management and a better workforce.

“These are all goals that DC Leisure is continually striving for. And whilst there’s still a long way to go in driving up standards across the board, DC Leisure sets the bar high and continues to raise it, as it challenges itself on an ongoing basis.”

DC Leisure has over 42,000 children enrolled in its Swim Academy, and over the last year, has presented more than 100,000 ASA Award scheme badges and certificates to its pupils, demonstrating its effectiveness in promoting the ongoing improvement of each child’s swimming ability.

Mark Haslam comments: “We’re very proud to receive this award again and I would like to thank all the swimming instructors and Co-ordinators across the group who invest so much energy and enthusiasm, week after week, to make our Swimming Academy such a success.”

The DC Leisure Swimming Academy, which runs in 65 sites across the country, follows the ASA National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS). This provides a comprehensive, progressive teaching programme, from complete beginner to pre-competition development, based upon sound technical and educational principles.

SEVENTEEN DC LEISURE STAFF GRADUATE FROM NATIONAL POOL LIFEGUARD QUALIFICATION TRAINER ASSESSOR COURSE

 

DC Leisure has just completed its first new National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) Unit 1 Trainer Assessor course. Seventeen DC Leisure staff successfully completed the five-day intensive course at K2, Crawley, enabling them to immediately start training lifeguards at their own leisure centres.

Steve Taylor, Director of the IQL, comments: “I’m delighted that the recent Trainer Assessor course that DC Leisure ran proved to be such a success. The new 50m pool at K2 is a fantastic venue for this training and it’s very encouraging to have such positive feedback from the trainer and the candidates.”

Alex Blackwell, Group Lifeguarding Manager at DC Leisure, said: “To have 17 successful candidates graduate from the course is a massive step forward for DC Leisure and the industry as a whole. Increasing the number of lifeguard trainers obviously helps us to continue meeting our obligations covered within the HSE publication, ‘Managing Health and Safety in Swimming Pools’, and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the highest standards of health and safety across all the pools in the group.”

He continues: “Due to the success of this course, we will shortly be launching a programme of NPLQ Unit 1 Trainer Assessor courses, which will be opened up to external candidates within the industry.”

As one of the largest IQL Approved Training Centres in the UK, DC Leisure employs over 2,000 lifeguards who work in the company’s 68 pools around the country.

Pycroft leads Technical Services at SLM

As part of the continued growth of SLM and the increasing requirement from new business to manage property assets, SLM are delighted to announce that Derrick Pycroft has recently joined the company as Group Technical Director

Following a track record of managing a number of facilities across the U.K. within the Sports and Leisure sector, ranging from traditional sports and leisure centres, to multi-functional world class venues, Derrick joins the company to lead the group in all aspects of Asset Management, Energy and Environmental Management, Property Development and Technical Services

LEISURE CONNECTION RECEIVES TOP INDUSTRY AWARD FOR QUALITY

Leading Leisure Management company Leisure Connection were delighted to be awarded a score of 85% in a recent Quest Assessment for Lilleshall National Sports Centre. This is only the second time a centre in the UK has received the status of ‘excellent’ within the Quest scoring system and reflects Leisure Connection’s continued drive to offer the highest standards in leisure provision. This result also places Lilleshall as the best scoring dry side centre in the UK.
This follows recent benchmarking scores which show Leisure Connection as having 60 accredited centres more than any other contractor or organisation. As if that was not enough the number of sites scoring with a rating of highly commended has doubled and across the board Leisure Connection centres consistently score above the national average.

Leisure Connection views the news as a credit to all the hard work and commitment which comes from the continuous improvement process which is applied at every site. The ongoing development of the Leisure Connection Quality Management System (LCQMS) also plays a key part in supporting Managements teams across the country to raise the standards we deliver to the local communities in which we operate.

Graham Farrant, Leisure Connection’s CEO is thrilled with the result. “We are delighted to have received this result at Lilleshall and we are looking forward to the centre playing a key role in the lead up to 2012. The achievement makes us even more passionate and determined to achieve similar scores across our other sites in the near future. We are extremely pleased with our accomplishments over the last year and plan to build on these successes and achieve even more in the next 12 months.”

Halabi Family buys Esporta for 460 mln stg, eyes further leisure acquisitions

LONDON (AFX) - The Halabi Family Trust is eyeing further investments in the leisure industry, having won the race to acquire the Esporta fitness chain from Duke Street Capital for around 460 mln stg.

A source familiar with the situation said that Syrian-born investor Simon Halabi was considering other investments in the leisure industry, not necessarily just in the fitness market.

Commenting on the sale, Esporta CEO Neil Gillis said he was very excited about Esporta's future.

'With Duke Street Capitals support we have turned the business into one of the leading premium health clubs in the sector,' he said. 'Esporta has a solid platform for further growth, and with the backing of the Halabi family trust is in a great position to realise its full potential.'

The auction process for the rackets and country club specialist was launched in response to a number of unsolicited offers for the company over the course of the summer, Duke Street said.

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY TAKES PLACE AT HEANOR LEISURE CENTRE

As DC Leisure Gets the UK’s Largest PFI Project Physically Underway

The Ground Breaking Ceremony to mark the start of the UK’s largest leisure PFI contract took place on Friday November 10 at the new Heanor Leisure Centre. The event marked the start of construction work on the Amber Valley Leisure Centre PFI Project.

Representatives from Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC) and DC Leisure celebrated the visible beginning of this important project which forms part of a £22M Design, Build, Operate and Finance initiative in partnership with Barclays Bank. As well as Heanor Leisure Centre, the project includes the demolition and rebuilding of Alfreton and Ripley Leisure Centres, which DC Leisure will operate on behalf of the council for the next 32 years.

Peter Kirkham, Development & PFI Director at DC Leisure, said: “After reaching financial close in April, this event marks another important milestone in the development of the project and helps us move significantly closer towards our ultimate goal of delivering quality leisure programming on behalf of Amber Valley Borough Council to support inclusive participation across the whole community.”

The project, which has been funded by Barclays in partnership with DC Leisure and AVBC, will include the building of three new, state-of-the-art leisure centres, which will include 25m swimming pools, teaching pools, fitness and aerobic suites, multi-purpose rooms and associated changing rooms. A new sports halls will be built at Ripley and the current sports halls at Heanor and Alfreton will be completely refurbished, as will the indoor bowls hall at Alfreton. The building programme will also include the upgrade of existing car parks and energy efficiency improvements at each site.

Focusing on the cross subsidisation of community use with income generation, the project has been developed in conjunction with a wide base of stakeholder groups including users, staff, community groups, Sport England, local sporting alliances and clubs, national sports governing bodies and statutory agencies including the police, Amber Valley PCT, FE colleges and the education service.

Kirk Monk, Leisure Partnership Manager at Amber Valley BC, comments: “The Amber Valley leisure centres are at the heart of the community and provide a range of services and activities which encourage inclusive participation beyond recreational and sporting use. The new facilities will provide an even greater range of high quality, affordable health and leisure opportunities for local people. Moreover, they will meet the aspirations of the serious athlete as well as the needs of a wide range of community groups, child care and social provision.”

The programme of phased building work will take 22 months to complete and throughout this period two leisure centres will remain open to the public at all times to ensure that user disruption is kept to a minimum. The main building contractor is Carillion and Pozzoni Design Group is the project architect.

HARROW WINS TWO FIA COMMIT TO GET FIT AWARDS

Highest number of membership sales "Leisure Centre“ AND Highest number of enrolments at a "Leisure Centre“

The NHS and Department of Health supported and celebrated the outstanding achievements of all Commit to Get Fit 2006 participants at the awards dinner, held on 26 October in London. The campaign, sponsored by BUPA, saw over 600 health clubs and leisure centres compete for the coveted awards which recognised those clubs and leisure centres which embraced Europe's leading fitness campaign and excelled in a wide range of areas from enrolments and membership sales, to fundraising.

The teams from Harrow and Harpenden were nominated and Harrow WON for achieving the most amount of sales and memberships during the national campaign this summer.

Leisure Connection sites offered the chance to try Harpers Fitness for 7 days for just £7. This literally drove thousands of new customers into the centres, over 70% of which were new to joining a gym which was really encouraging as this will have a real impact on helping improving the health of each individual community.

 KELLY HOLMES AT LODDON VALLLEY

Leisure Connection in partnership with Wokingham District Council are launching a 'Free Access for National Athletes' programme in Wokingham to help nurture budding athletes with 2012 in mind. The scheme was launched by Dame Kelly Holmes at the Loddon Valley Leisure centre where local primary school children completed an indoor athletics display.

To launch such a fantastic scheme with a great sporting role model is motivational
and inspirational to the community. The scheme will hopefully encourage local athletes to train to a national standard.

Achievements Recognised across CLS

Community Leisure Services (CLS) Ltd recently held their annual award presentation evening, recognising the contribution made by individuals and teams to the Charity and the success of its facilities.

Only three charity-wide awards are presented and nominations are received from all contracts. Each contract is able to nominate individuals or teams from across the charity, not just their contract and this was very much the case for the Outstanding Contribution from a New Colleague award.

Outstanding Achievement of the year
“This person/team epitomises CLS in their demonstration of positively living the CLS Lifestyle”

This individual/team has been receiver orientated, engaged others, celebrated success and used the CLS Lifestyle to review & set future goals in the quest for going from “good to great”.

This award was presented to Mathew Smallwood, Marketing & Sales Manager for Yarborough Leisure Centre, Lincoln.

Mathew was recognised for his contribution to the increasing usage at Yarborough, his consistent excellent team leadership and his excellent collaborative part in the development of the CLS Lifestyle Framework.

Outstanding contribution from a New Colleague
“This individual has displayed a consistent approach to ‘going the extra mile’ “.

As a new team member this person has show the willingness to make a difference from day one, assimilate themselves into the team, added value to the team & made a positive impact on his or her site.

This award was presented to Christian Duff, Contract Manager for Chorley.

Christian, joined CLS in March and, from the start, has embraced CLS philosophy of openness and engagement with all team members as well as demonstrating his ability to move his team forward positively, especially during the current building improvements.

Team of the Year
“This team has shown the value of working together to achieve a common goal or exceed expectations”

They have faced the challenge full on, formulated plans, played to their strengths, delivered outstanding results & shared the secret of their success with others.

This award was presented to the White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre, Abingdon.

The WHLTC team were recognised for their achievements in continuing to work positively as a team during the hiatus before their new Contract Manager, Paul Johnson, commenced his role; their subsequent support and enthusiasm for new ideas and ways of working and, of course, their fantastic achievement of winning the FIA Excellence Award for their Commit to get Fit Campaign.

The Awards Dinner followed two days of intensive training where the integral theme of full staff involvement was encompassed by the fact that over 40 staff and Trustees representing all areas of the charity were in attendance.

Bob Paton, CLS’ Chairman stated, “It was a fantastic night and I was very proud to be able to present the awards to the deserving winners”.

David Hughes, one of the new trustees; commented, “Having run a company with contracts spread all over the country, I can appreciate how difficult it is to engender a spirit of corporate togetherness - it appears that CLS has achieved this”.

MILL CHASE LEISURE CENTRE WINS IFI COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD

Mill Chase Leisure Centre in Hampshire was awarded the IFI’s Inclusive Fitness Award for Community Impact at the IFI’s first ever national conference, ‘Fit for Inclusion’ on December 13. Former power lifter Gary Jelen MBE presented the award to a very proud Danny Churcher, DC Leisure’s Contract Manager at Mill Chase Leisure Centre.

On receiving the award, Danny commented: “This award demonstrates that Mill Chase has gone above and beyond the requirements of IFI accreditation to offer outstanding provision for disabled users. It has been a real team effort to achieve this and another good example of an effective, proactive partnership working between East Hampshire District Council, the East Hampshire Leisure Community Association (EHLCA) and DC Leisure.”

Sue Lewis, IFI Activator at Mill Chase Leisure Centre, says: “Since gaining accreditation, we’ve promoted the facility by building important links with the local community and media. As a result, we’ve held some fantastic charity events and taster sessions that are accessible to all ages and abilities. Our aim is to keep introducing more disabled children and adults to exercise so they can learn about the benefits of physical activity to their health and wellbeing.”

She continues: “We’ve built up an impressive number of local success stories of disabled people who have literally ‘turned their lives around’ by participating in a suitable exercise programme catering for their specific needs and goals.”

Mill Chase Leisure Centre is just one of DC Leisure’s IFI accredited sites around the country. Commenting on the success of these schemes, Richard Millard, Sports Development Director for DC Leisure, says: “We are thrilled to have seen a huge increase in the number of disabled people using our IFI accredited sites across 19 contracts. It is always a great boost to receive recognition for your efforts and the team at Mill Chase thoroughly deserve this award. Support from the council has been unstinting and has undoubtedly been the key for another partnership success for the residents of East Hampshire.”

Chris Easton, IFI Assistant Director, said: “For a conference such as this to have been possible provides a real indication of how far the fitness industry has come in providing a high quality leisure provision for disabled people. I would like to congratulate Mill Chase Leisure Centre on winning the IFI Award for Community Impact. The centre is a credit to DC Leisure, one of the leisure operators which has really grasped the initiative nationally and continues to open up new opportunities for disabled and non-disabled people alike to get physically active.”

ENERGY SAVING PROJECT TAKES OFF AT EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL

Eastleigh Borough Council has embarked on the second phase of a novel energy saving project in conjunction with DC Leisure. The construction of a room to house a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) unit began at the beginning of this month at Fleming Park Leisure Centre and is due to be fully operational by February 1, 2007. The unit will supply energy for the leisure centre as well as the council’s civic offices.

The council has agreed a contract with Utilicom for the construction and operation of the £287,000 scheme, which has attracted a £100,000 government ‘Community Energy Programme’ grant and co-funding of £57,000 from Utilicom.

Cllr Louise Bloom, Eastleigh’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, explained that the council was continually looking to encourage the development of more environmentally friendly ways of producing energy. She said: “Eastleigh is at the forefront locally in developing initiatives and schemes that promote the sustainable use of energy. For several years we have explored opportunities for combined heat and power schemes and I am very pleased to announce that we have now completed an agreement that will see our own CHP unit generating energy for the Leisure Centre and the Civic Offices. The scheme should mean an estimated reduction of 160 tonnes in carbon emissions each year and we hope that it will encourage others to follow our lead.”

Peter Leamore, Area Manager for DC Leisure, adds: “We are delighted to be working with the council on this energy saving initiative. Not only will it reduce our energy costs, it also lowers our carbon emissions and the amount of green house gases produced, making it more environmentally friendly too. The CHP unit uses gas to generate electricity as opposed to buying it from the National Grid. We anticipate that we will save approximately £6,000 per year, so it really is more cost effective as well as efficient.”

The first phase of the project at Fleming Park Leisure Centre, which is now complete, included improved insulation of the boiler plant room, by adding better lagging, and fitting heat jackets to the pipe work and valves.

Across the group, DC Leisure has completed a series of surveys to recommend where energy saving capital expenditure should be allocated both by itself and its local authority partners. The company has also produced a booklet of Energy Saving Guidelines for each general manager and a basic monitoring and intelligence system has been set up for all sites, so that energy consumptions can be recorded and noteworthy trends identified.

Richard Millard, Client Liaison and Sports Development Director at DC Leisure, comments: “We are fully committed to developing our strategy to work with our sites and local authority partners to run our facilities more efficiently and become more environmentally friendly. These initiatives, like that being run at Fleming Park, also align with our client agendas, with all local authorities tasked by the government to play their role in responsible environmental management.”

Among the other energy saving projects underway at DC Leisure sites are improved lighting control, increased insulation within the plant room, the addition of speed/inverter control for pumps and fans, and improved use of Building Management Systems. In addition, all forthcoming site upgrades and/or developments at DC Leisure will be designed with minimum energy use in mind. Designs will incorporate water harvesting from the roofs, solar power systems, efficient lighting, and water saving schemes in the showers and toilets.

DC LEISURE TAKES OVER MANAGEMENT OF GODALMING LEISURE CENTRE

Waverley Borough Council has awarded DC Leisure the contract to manage Godalming Leisure Centre in Surrey. The leisure management company already operates three other sports and leisure facilities in the borough on behalf of the council.

David Gill, Sport and Recreation Manager at Waverley Borough Council, says: “We have been working with DC Leisure now for ten years and have been pleased with the standard of leisure provision they have offered the local community during this time. We believe that bringing Godalming Leisure Centre into the DC Leisure portfolio will provide us with a better value for money service, as well as ensuring that our residents continue to benefit from high quality sports and recreation facilities.”

The facilities at Godalming Leisure Centre include a 6-lane, 25m swimming pool; 40-station gym; two squash courts; dance studio; saunas and sunbeds.

Chris Godwin, Area Manager for DC Leisure, comments: “We are pleased to have won this contract, which reinforces our ongoing, strategic partnership with Waverley Borough Council. We are now able to offer our successful, national activity programmes, such as ‘Kinetika Journey’, our gym retention system, and ‘Swim Academy’ at Godalming Leisure Centre, which I’m sure will raise participation levels, as well as improving the continuity and quality of the leisure offering across the borough.”

As well as Godalming Leisure Centre, DC Leisure manages Farnham Sports Centre, Herons Swimming and Fitness Centre and The Edge Health and Fitness, Haslemere, on behalf of Waverley Borough Council.

SLM to manage 13 new leisure centres

SLM has recently secured ten year partnerships with Bristol City Council and London Borough of Havering, which both commence on October 1st 2006. The net effect of the two new partnerships means that the SLM group will grow by 13 leisure centres overnight, bringing its total to 56 leisure centres in the UK.

The addition of the Bristol & LB Havering partnerships tops off a great 2006 for SLM, having already added several other partners including Epping Forest DC, Borough of Poole and the Manor Community College, Cambridge. In addition, we have secured two extensions to existing partnership at Spelthorne BC & Blaby DC. In both cases we have been successful, within competitive procurement processes, in securing ten year extensions with long standing partners of SLM.  

John Oxley (Group Operations Director, SLM) commented “SLM’s vision is ‘To promote and enhance the health and well being of communities through exercise Fitness and sport.’ We will adopt an approach to these exciting new partnerships that encompasses our vision and ensure that through our actions