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EVERYWHERE

SUMMER OF INVESTMENTS P5

AWARDS NIGHT SUCCESS P7

REGENERATING SLOUGH

SPORTS DAY ROAD SHOW

EVERYONE ACTIVE NEWS

P12

P16

Your source for the latest news from Everyone Active

Issue 3: Autumn 2019

IF MICHAEL CAN, As a diabetic who had a heart bypass 10 years ago, 69-year-old Michael Weyman recognised he needed to start looking after his health. He now visits the gym five times a week, has lost nearly four and a half stone (so far) and admits he has become a bit of an addict. “I used to hate exercise, but I couldn’t live without going to the gym now and I actually miss it if I don’t go!” If you’re aged 65 or over, you can use our facilities for FREE between 28th October and 1st November - so come and be active with EVERYONE.

CAN

A WORD FROM JON Everyone Active has been incredibly busy this summer. We’ve taken on the management of new centres, concluded a company-wide branding project and invested heavily in our existing leisure stock to ensure it’s continuing to meet the needs of our customers. All of this is helping towards our mission of providing fit-for-purpose leisure facilities that will support growing communities for years to come. Underpinning our mission is the theme of sustainability. Whether it’s in relation to the health of an aging population, the wellbeing of entire communities, our ability to attract new members or our impact on the environment, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important element of what we do. It’s an interesting time to work in sports and leisure. The definition of what constitutes health and wellbeing is changing. Where it once narrowly focused on an individual’s physical health, it now encompasses all elements of wellness. This includes mental health and means our services must address wider issues, such as social isolation and emotional wellbeing. Healthy individuals are the linchpin of healthy communities, so our ability to successfully support their wellness is fundamental in the creation of a sustainable society. Our role is not just about facilitating the habits of already-active members of the community – engaging the inactive population is equally as important. The

sustainability of our services relies on our ability to attract new customers from all walks of life, with all interests and of all ages, to take part in activities that positively impact their overall wellbeing. This requires us to expand beyond the traditional parameters of our centres and deliver a diverse range of services directly into communities. We are also committed to environmental sustainability. An increasing number of our partners are making zero-carbon commitments and we are exploring ever more environmentally-conscious practices to support this, including renewable energy and the transfer from traditional fuels to electric. I expect to see these topics feature more prominently in our partnership agreements over the coming years. I’ve worked in the sports and leisure sector for more than 25 years and witnessed a lot of change during this time. However, I predict that the next five years will see more change than the previous 25. The rate of change will be accelerated by the prominence of activity on the national health agenda, as well as the digitalisation of services that enables us to reach a wider audience outside of our centres.

Leisure operators are increasingly becoming the cornerstone of local authorities’ health strategies. At Everyone Active, we relish this role and I am excited to be working with partners across the country to create healthy, sustainable communities.

Jon Senior Jon Senior Regional Director

WELCOME ABOARD

Since our last newsletter in May, we’re delighted to have welcomed aboard another five fantastic facilities. We started a 10-year-and-eight-months contract with Somerset West and Taunton Council on 1st August. The partnership has seen us take on the management of Blackbrook Leisure Centre and Spa, Wellsprings Leisure Centre, Wellington Sports Centre, Taunton Pool and Vivary Golf and Adventure Centre.

Speaking of the Council’s decision to select us as its leisure partners, Cllr Richard Lees, SWT’s Executive Member for Sports, Parks and Leisure, said: “We are committed to providing first-class sport and leisure facilities for everyone to enjoy. We want to ensure high levels of customer service in clean, well-maintained facilities.

We didn’t waste any time in bringing the sites up to our usual high standards. Alongside the Council, we’re investing £1.2million into improving facilities across the centres, starting with an overhaul of the fitness suite at Wellsprings Leisure Centre. Similar renovations are also in motion across Blackbrook Leisure Centre and Wellington Sports Centre.

“Everyone Active has the proven ability to deliver these highly valued services and we look forward to building a long-standing part nership with them, encouraging more people to live healthier and active lifestyles.”

SUMMER OF INVESTMENT It’s been a summer of investment at Everyone Active, with a number of our sites undergoing significant renovations. We’ve been investing particularly heavily into our fitness suites to ensure these spaces are catering for members of all abilities, experience levels and ages, and offering them access to the industry’s latest equipment. After starting a new partnership with East Staffordshire Borough Council last November, we set about breathing life back into its facilities, starting with Meadowside Leisure Centre. We overhauled the fitness suite, which now features 120 Technogym stations as well as a new functional training area, and introduced our new gym branding, designed to create an inspiring environment for members. It’s our aim to provide activity opportunities for people of all ages and interests. We’ve also installed a new three-storey soft play area and Clip ‘n’ Climb wall, making Meadowside Leisure Centre a destination for the whole family. The four centres we manage in partnership with Sutton Council have also undergone a £1 million renovation project over the summer. We have significantly improved the fitness suites at the Phoenix Centre, David Weir Leisure Centre, Westcroft

Leisure Centre and Cheam Leisure Centre. Customers are enjoying access to a greater range of fitness stations as well as new Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) equipment, ensuring the gyms are accessible to all members. Our members at Daventry Leisure Centre are also benefitting from a £100k investment in their gym, which now provides the space for a more varied workout after updated kit and a functional training area were installed. Northolt Leisure Centre has also received a new £110,000 soft play area, which is helping to attract more families through the doors. There has also been a flurry of gym improvements across our centres in Leicestershire. The fitness suite at Enderby Leisure & Golf Centre has been totally transformed as part of a wider £4.5 million being invested by ourselves and Blaby District Council.

The swimming -pool and sports hall will both receive refurbishments and a range of new facilities will be introduced, including a spa, group cycling studio and 3G football pitches. Hood Park Leisure Centre, part of our new contract with North West Leicestershire District Council, is also benefitting from an extensive refurbishment. The gym is being renovated and new group exercise studios are being built, while the poolside changing area, foyer and external aesthetics are also being modernised. Finally, Parklands Leisure Centre in Oadby has unveiled an upgraded fitness suite. £250k was invested to install treadmills, cross-trainers, rowers and climbers, which include TV consoles. The functional area has also been updated to include a singlelane track with resistance sled and a multifunctional training suite.

PUTTING ‘EVERYONE’ AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO We were delighted to launch our new brand video at the beginning of September. It tells the story of our mission, celebrates the diversity of our members and showcases all the ways that we support them to be active. The video is the culmination of a wider brand refresh we’ve been undertaking over the past 18 months, with the aim of engaging our audience more effectively and re-establishing our mission and values in a crowded market. As well as updated marketing and signage, we’ve enhanced the experience of gym-goers by modernising the look and feel of our fitness environments. We’ve recently unveiled a number of new-look fitness spaces, which have been designed to engage users of all ages, abilities and interests, re-enforce our values and create more inspirational workout settings. The brand refresh centres on the concept of ‘Everyone’ and represents the diversity of our members while uniting

them under common goals and shared aspirations. Local authority leisure centres provide services and facilities for entire communities. This means we are catering for extremely diverse demographics. From baby boomers through to Generation Z, our brand must have the ability to speak to people of all ages and abilities and inspire them all to get active. ‘Everyone’ creates an atmosphere of inclusivity, which is key if we are to engage whole communities. Shifting away from the body-beautiful imagery previously used across the industry, we have instead focused on our own customers as the subjects of our brand film to celebrate the gritty, imperfect nature of getting active. From young fitness fanatics to silver-haired swimmers, all our members are now represented, with their faces adorning everything from our online marketing to gym walls.

The ‘Everyone’ concept also uses a specific brand rhetoric to promote a sense of togetherness. Whether it’s frustration at leaving your headphones at home, or determination to reach that 30-minute timer on the treadmill, our use of language represents the real-life thoughts of our customers and reinforces the sentiment that members are treading common ground while working towards individual aims. We have a clear mission – to help all members of local communities to be active. This message needs to be at the forefront of our brand experience, from our digital channels to our gym floors. The ‘Everyone’ concept reinforces this and creates a simple brand narrative that customers can feel part of. We’re really proud of our refresh and the story our brand video tells. See what you think by watching it here: www.everyoneactive.com/BrandVideo

THREE’S A CHARM AT AWARDS NIGHT

We were delighted that our work to keep communities active earned us a trio of accolades at the ukactive Active Uprising Awards in June. The first award was given to Lammas Leisure Centre in Ashfield for the work it does to tackle health inequalities among young people. The Kids Award acknowledged the wealth of programmes offered at the site that support children to develop healthy lifestyle habits and protect their longterm wellbeing. The second accolade was awarded in recognition of our advanced digital approach, which has made activities such as swimming lessons more accessible to customers. The Digital Transformation of the Year Award also recognised our use of technology to maintain the engagement of children on our award-winning swim scheme and allow both teachers and parents to track their progress more accurately. Finally, we were given the Insight of the Year Award for a project that has

resulted in an increase of one million visits to our pools. We conducted research into the swim habits of adults and discovered that a reluctance to be seen in swimwear was acting as a barrier to their participation. As a result, we introduced a new swimwear policy that allows more modest items, such as t-shirts and leggings, to be worn over the top of traditional swim attire. We are very proud of these successes and the dedication of our teams in achieving them. Alongside our local authority partners, we work extremely hard to improve the wellbeing of local communities and we’re delighted that the positive impact of these partnerships has been recognised on a national stage. These awards cement our status as one of the most progressive and forward-

thinking operators in the sector. We will continue to build on this and employ innovation as a means of helping more communities benefit from activity.

“ We are very proud of these successes and the dedication of our teams in achieving them ”

REGENERATING LEISURE IN SLOUGH Slough Borough Council has carried out an extensive £62million leisure regeneration project with the aim of reigniting the town’s passion for activity and reducing health inequalities among residents. We are delighted to have supported its ambitions and helped to introduce new and improved opportunities for local people to be active. The regeneration of Slough Borough Council’s leisure facilities is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through innovation and investment. Whether it’s renovating, transforming or creating from new, the project has used all forms of development to deliver a diverse mix of facilities that will serve the community for years to come.

a new, state-of-the-art leisure facility has been created to replace an ageing centre. Developing fit-for-purpose leisure facilities was a key element in the Council’s plan to tackle local health inequalities and ensure that everyone who lives and works in the borough has access to physical activity opportunities. We have used our extensive experience of delivering leisure regeneration projects to support this vision and oversee the centres’ development. We’re now delivering exceptional services to match the high-quality facilities.

Slough is the tenth least active council area in England. To address this, the local authority has worked alongside Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd under the partnership of Slough Urban Renewal to drive leisure regeneration across the town. We joined the alliance in 2017 as part of a 10-year partnership to manage four leisure sites.

Slough Ice Arena was the first facility to be completed as part of the project, reopening its doors in April 2018 following a 17-month refurbishment.

Two existing leisure centres have been extensively renovated, a former ten-pin bowling alley has been transformed into a unique family activity centre and

Its existing facilities were significantly revamped. A new ice pad was installed along with spectator seating for up to 724 people, and the changing rooms,

SLOUGH ICE ARENA

reception area and café have been extensively refurbished. New facilities were also introduced, including a climbing wall and Clip ‘n’ Climb, along with a 25-station fitness suite. As a result, participation at the centre has grown enormously and the additional facilities are attracting customers with broader needs and interests.

SALT HILL ACTIVITY CENTRE The next facility to open its doors was the reimagined Salt Hill Activity Centre. The building was formerly home to a ten-pin bowling alley before being stripped back to its shell and reinvented as a family activity centre. Against the backdrop of a growing population and high levels of inactivity, Salt Hill is inspiring residents to keep moving by providing novel activity opportunities for people of all ages. It offers a unique range of facilities,

including soft play, a trampoline park, high ropes, bowling and caving. The site has been designed to engage entire families and offer them activity experiences that maintain the fun of exercise on every visit.

LANGLEY LEISURE CENTRE Langley Leisure Centre reopened in June 2018 having undergone a yearlong renovation, which resulted in a significantly extended gym, revamped fitness studios, newly-tiled pool and updated spa.

As a more traditional leisure facility, Langley provides core activities to the east of the borough. It caters for more than 3,300 fitness members and teachers over 1,150 children to swim every week as part of an award-winning learn to swim programme.

THE CENTRE The regeneration project culminated with the opening of Slough’s flagship leisure facility in March 2019. The Centre is the largest single project to be completed as part of the £62million investment and was built to replace

Montem Leisure Centre, which was more than 40 years old. It provides residents with contemporary mix of facilities, including two swimming pools, a 115-station gym, four-court sports hall with an innovative LED floor, pool-side sauna and steam room, three exercise studios and a café, as well as ample changing space and a large car park. The Centre is already having a major impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Slough by providing them with modern, state-of-the-art facilities.

HELPING FAMOUS FACES TO MASTER A LIFE-SAVING SKILL We’re teaching two famous faces to swim as part of our #10MillionSwims campaign.

Athletics legend, Colin Jackson, and BBC Breakfast TV presenter, Naga Munchetty, are learning to swim with us at the ages of 52 and 44 respectively. According to research carried out by Swim England, one in five adults in Britain are unable to swim. Colin and Naga are determined not to be part of this statistic and have joined our Learn to Swim programme to build their skills and confidence in the water. They have set themselves the goal of participating in a charity swim next year, where they will have to conquer at least 400 metres – 16 lengths of a standard 25-metre pool. Colin’s athletics career spanned more than 15 years and saw him achieve multiple medals and titles on the world stage. Despite his penchant for sport, he admits that swimming is not a skill he ever mastered. Naga is also a keen sportswoman but, like Colin, has never been a competent swimmer.

Through our adult swimming lessons, we are supporting Colin, Naga and her husband, television director James Haggar, to become more confident in the water. They are taking part in weekly one-on-one lessons, which will help them to master basic skills before advancing on to develop their strokes and technique. Their journeys are being promoted as part of our #10MillionSwims campaign, which we have launched in partnership with Swim England to encourage more people to be active in water. Both Colin and Naga outlined safety as one of their primary reasons for wanting to improve their swimming skills, as well as ensuring that they don’t miss out on experiences and activities due to their lack of ability. We want to help more adults who share these concerns to start reaping the benefits of learning

to swim. By supporting adults to improve their aquatic skill, we can also have a positive impact on younger generations’ abilities to stay safe in water. It is fantastic that Colin and Naga have decided to learn to swim with us and share their journeys. Their stories prove that you’re never too old to learn to swim, and we hope that more adults will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

WHAT MAKES A DESTINATION CENTRE? The words ‘destination centre’ are being used increasingly often to describe local authority leisure facilities, but what does it actually mean? How does using this terminology change a customer’s expectation and what do leisure operators need to do to meet this? We spoke to our business development director, Pete Williams, about what a ‘destination centre’ is and what we’re doing at Everyone Active to make all our 190 sites destinations for local communities.

increasingly common additions to our sites and last year we opened the doors to Salt Hill Activity Centre in Slough – an indoor adventure park offering a ten-pin bowling, a trampoline park, high ropes and caving. “This diversification of facilities is providing novel activity destinations where whole families can spend a day exploring different leisure experiences under one roof. “However, defining a destination facility solely on its variety of activities fails to acknowledge the status of some of our most popular and well-attended centres. “Tinside Lido in Plymouth is an iconic 1930s art-deco pool, open annually from May to September. Last year it hosted a record-breaking 34,500 visits, with people travelling from all over the South West to enjoy its natural saltwater pools. Coral Reef Waterworld in Bracknell is one of our busiest centres all year round, with more than half a million visitors passing through its doors in 2018.

“There isn’t a single, industry-wide definition of a ‘destination centre’. One option is to base it on the variety of activities provided under one roof. Fitness suites and swimming pools remain the linchpin of our service offering, however we’re providing an increasingly diverse mix of facilities within our sites, which often deviates from what’s traditionally expected of a local authority leisure centre. This is helping us to meet customers’ changing needs and clients’ changing expectations, brought about by the expanding definition of what constitutes health and wellbeing services. “We’ve recently introduced a number of soft-play areas into our centres, giving children access to exciting features such as slides, ball pits and trampolines. Climbing walls, virtual group exercise classes, and spas are also becoming

“These sites are certainly destinations, despite their activity offering centring almost exclusively around swim. Therefore, while the variety of activities available can play a role in constituting a destination centre, I believe the focus should be more on the quality of activities and experiences offered. “To label something as a ‘destination’ assumes a certain level of investment from its visitors. It suggests that customers have made a decisive effort to be there, as opposed to simply attending due to proximity or ease, and have invested both time and money in that process. Customers who visit Coral Reef will travel up to 90 minutes. Whereas the majority of people visiting a more traditional leisure facility in the same town live well within a 20-minute drive. As a result, you would expect a customer’s expectation of a destination centre to be higher, and leisure operators

must respond to this by offering a quality experience. “From the reverse perspective, leisure operators can transform centres into destination facilities by surpassing expectations and providing high quality experiences that justify customers’ investment. The phrase ‘destination centre’ is often attributed to new developments, where there is greater scope to include more facilities. However, with continuous investment and innovation, traditional leisure facilities can also achieve the status of destination centres. “We have recently invested in new inflatables, detachable water slides and aquatic wall graphics in a number of our swimming pools to make existing waterbased activities more exciting. Similarly, the updates we’re making to our gyms and fitness equipment are improving customers’ enjoyment of what’s on offer. These investments do not fundamentally change the activities available, but they do create environments that are more attractive to customers and provide them with a reason for choosing to visit that site. “In an increasingly competitive market, it should be the aim of all operators to make their centres destinations of choice. At Everyone Active, we respect our customers’ decision to use our facilities, and reward their investment by delivering a worthwhile, memorable experience. Whether our centre offers a diverse facility mix that caters for all interests, or concentrates its offer on a single activity, the golden thread that ties together all destination centres has to be the quality of the experience on offer.”

SPORTS DAY ROAD SHOW INSPIRES 3,000 CHILDREN TO GET ACTIVE Nearly a third of children aged two to 15 in the UK are overweight or obese. As a nationwide operator, we are in the position to tackle this on a large scale and reduce health inequalities in the communities we work with. We teamed up with our Everyone Active Sporting Champions to host a Sports Day Road Show that inspired children across the country to develop healthy, life-long activity habits. More than 3,000 children took part in the events, which were held in nine sites across our three regions. They were joined by a number of high-profile athletes from the scheme, who were on hand to motivate the children and offer them tips and advice while taking part.

Commonwealth champion, Jade Jones-Hall, Olympic medallist, Marcus Ellis, and British record holder, Brock Whiston, were among the athletes in attendance. They represented sports as diverse as wheelchair racing, badminton and para-swimming respectively, and gave insights into their careers to prove what can be achieved by getting active. The Sports Day Road Show is one of the ways weâ€™re helping to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic and help young people discover activities that can keep them active throughout their lives. The events introduced participants to a range of different sports, many of which are not made widely available to children until they

attend secondary school, including netball, tennis, hockey and athletics. Childhood obesity is a real challenge to public health. Research shows the importance of engaging young people in physical activity before the age of 11 to increase their chances of staying active into later life. These events supported us to do just this and we are aiming to spark a love of sport in the children who took part. The Everyone Active Sporting Champions scheme has been immensely successful in supporting talented athletes to fulfil their potential. Three years in and we are delighted to expand its impact by using our partnerships with athletes to inspire young people to get active.

MEET OUR SPORTING CHAMPIONS More than 1,000 athletes are supported through our Everyone Active Sporting Champions scheme, meaning we have already exceeded the target set when it launched in 2016. As we get closer to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the support offered through the scheme is more important than ever and is helping both current and future sports stars to achieve their dreams. We support athletes of all abilities across a wealth of sports disciplines. Read more about some of the scheme’s stars below.

Tin-Tin Ho Tin-Tin Ho is an international table tennis player and has established herself as a key member of both the England and Great Britain teams. At the age of 21, Tin-Tin already has a number of national and international medals to her name, including two Commonwealth Games silver medals. Tin-Tin got her first call up for Great Britain during June’s European Games. She is now aiming to represent Team GB again at Tokyo 2020 and will be taking part in qualifiers early next year in a bid to achieve this. Off the court, Tin-Tin has just completed her first year at Nottingham University where she’s studying medicine. She is balancing her sport and studies by taking a gap year in preparation for the Olympics. Tin-Tin receives gold-level support from Everyone Active Sporting Champions and regularly trains at our sites in Westminster. She said: “The majority of the competitions I train in are selffunded, so the help I receive from the scheme is really valuable. “Everyone Active’s facilities are great and have really supported my training. The scheme has also supported me with physiotherapy when I’ve been injured, all of which is helping towards my journey to Tokyo.”

Zack Bobrowski Zack is a 16-year-old badminton player from Berkhamsted. Despite only picking up a racket five years ago, he is already a familiar face on the European circuit. He has broken into England’s top 20 rankings for both U17s singles and doubles, and is Hertfordshire’s top-ranked U17s player. Zack has achieved all of this while studying for his GCSEs. He is now beginning a Sports Science course at college, which will allow him to train for 20 hours every week alongside his academic studies and receive the one-to-one coaching he needs to continue his success. This is the first year that Zack has been supported through Everyone Active Sporting Champions. In June he attended a sports day held at Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre alongside fellow badminton player and Olympic medallist, Marcus Ellis. “I was really happy to be involved in the sports day and encourage a younger generation of potential badminton players to get into the sport”, Zack said. “I was first introduced to badminton through my grandparents, and once I’d picked up a racket I never looked back. I hope that we inspired children on the day to feel the same.”

Brock Whiston 22-year-old GB para-swimmer, Brock Whiston, has been supported through the scheme for two years, during which she has achieved some incredible feats in the pool. 2019 has been a fantastic year for Brock. She started by setting a European record in the SM8 200m Individual Medley before breaking two world records in the SB8 100m and 50m breaststroke. In September, she also set a world record in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM8 at the World Para Swimming Championships. She is now aiming to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and is hoping to get the call up next year. Brock has hemiplegia, a condition that effects the movement in the left side of her body, and competes as an S8 swimmer. She trains at Becontree Heath Leisure Centre and receives complimentary access to our facilities as well as financial support towards her training and competition costs. She recently attended one of our sports day events in Havering where she tried her hand at a number of different activities. “I really enjoyed being part of the sports day,” Brock said. “I had never even held a hockey stick before so it was really fun to get involved with a new sport alongside the children. “Sport can have fantastic benefits for young people. I was happy to be involved in an event that gave young people the chance to find a passion for sport at a young age.”

FEATURED SITE: STRAT Name: Stratford Leisure Centre Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Local Authority Partner: Stratford-on-Avon Council Opened: 1974 with an extensive refurbishment in 2015 Managed by Everyone Active since: 1990 Members: Over 3,000 fitness members Facilities: • 100-station gym • 33-metre main pool • Teaching pool • Climbing wall • Eight-court sports hall • Four group exercise studios • Three 3G football pitches and one multi-sport surface • Health suite • Cafe Our longest-standing partnership is with Stratford-on-Avon District Council, who we are proud to have worked with for just shy of 30 years. During this time, we have successfully increased sports participation across the district, introduced a number of new activity programmes and invested extensively in local leisure facilities, services and sporting talent. The flagship centre in the four-site contract is Stratford Leisure Centre. It provides top-quality fitness facilities for more than 46,000 visitors every month and is the cornerstone of activity for the community.

refurbishment, which saw certain areas upgraded for the first time in more than three decades. Two swimming pools were updated, a sauna and steam room were installed, and the sports hall was revamped along with other areas of the site. A new £289,000 climbing wall was also introduced to offer a wider range of activity opportunities. The centre-wide overhaul was followed by a £250,000 upgrade to the fitness suite in 2016.

We also manage Studley Leisure Centre, Southam Leisure Centre and Shipston Leisure Centre to deliver essential sports and leisure provision into the district’s more rural communities.

This commitment to investment earned Stratford Leisure Centre the coveted Leisure Centre of the Year accolade at the 2017 ukactive Flame Awards (now the Active Uprising Awards). Judges were impressed by the centre’s high-quality facilities as well as its dedication to improving health and wellbeing in the local community.

ONGOING INVESTMENT

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Stratford Leisure Centre has received significant investment in recent years. In 2015, we joined the Council to unveil the site’s new look following a £5million

Stratford Leisure Centre’s facilities help to keep everyone, from first-time gym-goers to elite athletes, active and socially connected.

It runs an extremely successful Walking Netball programme. Since the beginning in May 2018, the sessions have grown to cater for more than 20 players every week, many of who had been previously inactive. Following this success, the centre introduced a day-time Back to Netball session that has proved equally as popular. Players have been eager to praise the programme for its social benefits as well as the physical workout it provides, with one participant crediting it with helping her to overcome anxiety and depression. Colleagues at Stratford Leisure Centre are also working closely with the County Sports Partnership – Think Active to ensure the site is accessible to those with dementia. More than 25 colleagues attended a series of dementia awareness courses to educate them about the needs of customers with the condition. The overall objective was to ensure people feel comfortable and confident to get active regardless of their personal circumstances.

FORD LEISURE CENTRE

Area Active Communities Manager, Adam Mundy, has also become a Dementia Champion. He can now deliver dementia workshops to colleagues and the public to help them create even more inclusive environments. Stratford Leisure Centre also plays a key role in supporting local sporting talent. More than 60 Everyone Active Sporting Champions are supported across the contract, 43 of which train at Stratford. They range from triathletes to badminton players, and all benefit from free access to the site’s fantastic facilities. We are also proud to have supported the Council in hosting the 2019 Stratfordon-Avon District Sports Awards. Olympic bronze medallist and Sporting

Champions ambassador, Steve Parry, hosted the event, which recognised the sporting excellence of local people as well as the hard work of the coaches, teachers and volunteers across the district.

neutral targets in wake of its ‘climate emergency’ announcement. We have banned single-use plastic shoe covers from our pools, which we predict will eliminate approximately 85,000 plastic covers across the four sites.

AN ENDURING RELATIONSHIP

Craig Bourne, Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s contracts manager, said: “We have a well-established partnership with Everyone Active, the result of which has increased participation in sport and physical activity and promoted inclusivity, particularly amongst identified underrepresented groups. The Council is grateful to Everyone Active for taking a lead by putting measures in place to help make Stratford-on-Avon District carbon neutral by 2030.”

The longevity of our partnership with Stratford-on-Avon District Council is a result of our shared commitment to improving lives through physical activity. Over the past three decades, we have significantly enhanced the physical activity opportunities available to local people and supported each other’s missions through collaborative working and shared investment. Most recently, we have supported the Council’s move to achieve carbon

EVERYONE ACTIVE NEWS

Support hub colleagues on go green day

GOING GREEN FOR MACMILLAN

OUR QUEST TO BE OUTSTANDING

On Thursday 1 August, our centres across the country swapped their traditional red, white and black brand colours in favour of Macmillan’s green to raise vital funds and awareness for the charity.

We’re delighted that six of our leisure centres have been awarded the status of ‘Outstanding’ by Quest – Sport England’s leading national quality scheme.

Go Green day was the latest event in our two-year campaign to raise £140,000 for the charity, which would be enough to fund two Macmillan professionals for the whole year, enabling them to provide support to more than 500 patients. Our associate director, Ben Beevers, also raised more than £6,000 for Macmillan when he took on the challenge to bike the height of Mount Everest, 8,848metres, in 24 hours. Ben’s connection with Macmillan goes beyond Everyone Active’s partnership after they supported him through a cancer diagnosis in 2014. He said: “I know first-hand how vital Macmillan’s services are in supporting people through all stages of their journeys with cancer, and I’m delighted that as a business, we have chosen them as our charity partner. “With 190 leisure and cultural facilities across the country, we have the capability to raise a phenomenal amount of money and make a real difference to those effected by cancer.”

opportunity to be active. We recently held both the Dacorum and Ealing Sports Awards. Colin Jackson hosted the event in Dacorum and para swimmer, Alice Tai, presented the winners of the Ealing awards with their accolades.

Fareham Leisure Centre, Plymouth Life Centre, Watford Leisure Centre – Central, Watford Leisure Centre – Woodside, Spelthorne Leisure Centre and Westgate Leisure Centre have joined the handful of centres across the country to achieve the scheme’s highest accreditation.

Events like this are essential in promoting the importance of sport and the role it plays in creating healthy, active communities. We’re delighted to have the opportunity to support so many local sports awards across the country.

Quest is the best-known improvement programme within the leisure industry. Its assessments look at all aspects of a leisure centre’s performance, including customer services and the quality of its facilities. Members are also asked to give their opinions and the sites undergo rigorous inspections before being given the final stamp of approval.

We’re fortunate to work with incredibly talented and passionate colleagues, and it’s important to celebrate their successes.

A large number of our centres have also attained the status of Excellent and Very Good. We’ll now be working to build on this and support more centres to achieve the Outstanding mark.

CELEBRATING SPORTING TALENT We’re committed to supporting local sporting talent, as well as the teams, clubs and individuals who invest their time in making sure everyone has the

SWIM TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We recently announced the winner of our Swim Teacher of the Year accolade. Lammas Leisure Centre’s Anna Wood and Hart Leisure Centre’s Christine Port took home the awards for the East and South East regions respectively, while the west region winner, Suzanne Verralls, took home the overall title. Suzanne was surprised at Shipston Leisure Centre by Olympian Rebecca Adlington, who presented her with her award. She has been teaching at Shipston for the past decade and has helped thousands of adults and children to improve their swimming skills during that time.

The award recognised Suzanne’s commitment to continuously bettering her own teaching skills, as well as her ability to help people of all ages to build their confidence in the pool and enjoyment of swimming. Her students progress from her classes with fantastic abilities, proving the quality of her teaching.

of them children - took part in the fundraising challenge, scaling the height of the climbing wall 356 times, totalling 4272m. The funds enabled Stacey to complete her It’s OK To Say website ahead of her own climbing challenge to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Suzanne is also known for her positive outlook and for always going the extra mile for her customers and colleagues.

There was a lovely sense of community throughout as colleagues, members and visitors came together behind this important local cause.

LEICESTERSHIRE’S FIRST ‘HEALTH HUB’

NATIONAL DEMENTIA CARERS’ DAY

Earlier this year an Urgent Care Centre opened at Enderby Leisure Centre, becoming one of the first in the country to be located within a leisure facility and providing Leicestershire with its first ‘health hub’.

During the weekend of Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 September we offered those with dementia and their carers free-ofcharge access to our gyms and public swimming sessions.

We worked with Blaby District Council and East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to introduce the facility, which provides patients with healthcare services at times when GP practices are closed.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Climbers at Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre in St Albans raised £545 in support of Stacey Turner, the founder of local children’s mental health awareness charity It’s OK To Say.

Colleagues in Slough Go Green

The goodwill gesture was made in support of National Dementia Carers’ Day, which recognises the vital role of carers and the tireless work they do to look after their loved ones. An estimated 850,000 people in the UK are currently living with dementia, and many of those rely on the support and care of friends and family.

Colleagues in Uttoxeter Go Green

As well as the physical benefits of being active, exercise can offer valuable opportunities to socialise, which is beneficial to both those with dementia and their carers.

An impressive 119 climbers – many

Westminster Lodge climbers

Colleagues at Spelthorne receiving their Quest accreditation

Swim Teacher of the Year, Suzanne Verralls

IMPROVING OUR FITNESS JOURNEY WITH COACH AI Innovation is a fundamental part of our growth strategy and we’re always on the hunt for new technology that provides better experiences for our members. We recently became the first national operator to trial CoachAi – a virtual fitness motivator that helps members to stay focused and encourages their continued participation in activity.

Members can enter into virtual dialogue with their digital coach and receive real-time motivation based on their personal fitness goals – maximizing their chances of success.

CoachAi interacts with members via their smartphone and helps them incorporate exercise into their weekly routines. It uses proven behavioural science to accompany them throughout their journeys, offering the support they need to become regular gym users.

We are piloting the technology in three of our centres and will be monitoring the impact it has on customer satisfaction, engagement and retention. Watch this space!

SAY HELLO TO OUR NEW FINANCE SYSTEM The continuous improvement of our internal processes is essential if we are to maintain robust and efficient business practices. Over the past 10 months, we have been working with Wax Digital to install its Source To Pay system into our finance and procurement process. We are in the final stages of testing, with the roll out planned for December. The system will improve the efficiency of our internal procedures as well as streamline our supplier interactions by making payment processes more transparent. Source To Pay is a proven system. Wax Digital already supplies it to a number of other large, multi-site organisations, including the NHS and Santander.

Our suppliers can use the system from December to access a new userfriendly Supplier Portal. Through this, they can submit invoices, monitor their status, review orders and access information to help manage their cash flow.

The new system will also allow us to introduce BACs as our standard method of payment. Cheques will still be available if required. It is fully GDPR compliant and has undergone an Data Protection Impact Assessment.

The portal will be especially beneficial for smaller or self-employed suppliers. It will result in significant time savings when submitting their invoice and reduce the need for administrative support.

Ahead of December, all suppliers will be provided with log-in details and user guides. Colleagues will also be providing training and support on how to use the system.

From an internal perspective, the system will modernise our processes, reduce time spent administering additional documentation and eliminate duplication. Queries can also be submitted via the portal, making it a one-stop-shop for all supplier liaison.

There has been an immense amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure the system meets all our needs. We’d like to thank colleagues for their hard work and look forward to seeing the positive benefits the system brings come December.

MEET THE TEAM We recently rebranded our Head Office as the Everyone Active Support Hub, reflecting the central teams’ roles in providing essential support to the wider business. Our Accounts Payable Team plays a vital part in ensuring the smooth operation of our facilities and services.

We are also responsible for setting up in excess of 50 new suppliers on the system every month and managing their profiles, as well as producing monthly payment forecasts to help monitor expenditure across the business.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR THE TEAM?

We sat down with Accounts Payable Manager, Daniel Sharman, to find out more about his team and how it facilitates our continued growth and success.

The variety of tasks we undertake, coupled with the volume of colleagues and suppliers we talk to, means that no two days are the same.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE TEAM AND WHAT ARE THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES?

We start each day by clearing Sysaid – the system that verifies all invoices and queries. This helps us to meet our target of responding to all enquires within 48 hours.

We’re a team of 12, comprising myself, two accounts payable assistant managers, one colleague in supplier payment services and eight accounts payable assistants. Together, we cover a huge remit. Fundamental to what we do is ensuring our 6,000-plus suppliers are managed effectively. We process invoices and credit notes, issue payments and manage direct debit accounts. Successfully actioning all of this is essential in keeping our services and facilities functioning. The team is also responsible for building robust relationships. We work closely

with colleagues at our centres to resolve their queries and maintain strong links with suppliers through continuous communication.

The team are always busy on the phone, answering queries in real-time and reacting quickly to any issues that develop. They undertake a variety of daily tasks, which include all the responsibilities outlined above. On top of this, the team is responsible for ensuring the quality and accuracy of Everyone Active’s accounts. They monitor approvals, produce weekly reports and manage any outstanding payments.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TEAM? There are big changes planned for the team with the introduction of our new

finance system in December. Over the next three months, we will be visiting our sites across the country to train colleagues and suppliers, and test the system, ensuring a seamless roll-out when it goes live. The new system is being introduced in recognition of our rapid growth and gives us more flexibility to cater for the wide variety of services and facilities we manage. It will lead to better financial understanding and reporting of our activities, and means the team can continue to offer efficient, high-quality support to our centres as Everyone Active expands.

WHAT’S BEEN THE TEAM’S BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS? We have enforced the rule that all suppliers must quote a valid order number for invoices to be processed. Although it sounds simple, this change has had a huge impact on efficiency by helping us to cut down on duplication and ensure coding is more consistent. We’ve also worked to bring our accounts up to date and clear any aged balances. In doing this, we’ve been in regular contact with our suppliers, which has helped us to build great relationships with them. We now enjoy a scenario where we work in unity with our suppliers, supporting each other for to achieve the best possible outcomes.

If you have any questions about this newsletter or would like to offer any ideas about how we can improve it, please email: newsletter@everyoneactive.com