Archived Newsletters (text
only)
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| September/October/November
2008 |
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| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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| 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.”
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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!
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| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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| July/August/September
2008 |
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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| 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!”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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