Everyone Everywhere - June 2019

EVERYWHERE

FIRST LOOK AT 2019

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Issue 1: Spring 2019

CELEBRATING WITH FAMOUS FACES pg5

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

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GETTING SMART ON SUGAR pg12-13

Your source of the latest news from Everyone Active

MEET THE TEAM pg14

THIS SUMMER, CAN BE A SPORTING CHAMPION (COLIN SAYS HE’LL GIVE YOU A HEAD START)

SPORTING CHAMPIONS SPORTS DAY We’re working with our Sporting Champions to host activity days for primary school children across the country.

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of innovative activity offers to meet the demand for certain sports and offer additional value for members.

For example, our exclusive partnership with Max Whitlock is helping to engage thousands of children in grass-roots gymnastics, and our partnership with virtual aquatic coaching company, Swim Smooth, offers swimmers free access to a wealth of digital resources that keep them motivated and engaged.

A WORD FROM PAUL Since our last newsletter was sent in December, we have started four new partnerships with local authorities and hosted more than 29 million visits to our centres across the country.

This growth in the context of a challenging public service environment has not been achieved by chance. On the contrary, I believe it is the result of a very specific set of ingredients that, when mixed together, secure customer loyalty and local authority satisfaction that propels us towards a sustainable future.

The first key element is a strong, recognisable brand that clearly states the purpose and character of our organisation. In 2018 we unveiled a new-look brand that does exactly this. The ‘Everyone’ concept puts our customers at the heart of everything we do and helps us to outwardly promote our core values of inclusivity and improvement.

The ability to adapt to customers’ needs is also essential in securing growth.

On top of our core fitness and swim services, we have introduced a number

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In this increasingly digitalised world, it is also vital that our services can be accessed online. Since the start of the year we have developed our digital offering to allow swimming lessons to be booked via our website and app, made improvements to our digital user journey and updated our online tracker tools, all with the aim of improving accessibility for our customers.

The above ingredients are enhanced through the support of key suppliers, who share our commitment to improving lives through activity. This synergy ensures that increasing activity within communities remains the driving force behind everything we do, and assures the effectiveness of our services.

Binding all of these elements together is the quality of our services and facilities. We are committed to achieve the highest standards across all areas of our operation, which is demonstrated through our wealth of industry accolades. A number of our centres have also been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ accreditation during recent Quest assessments.

The most fundamental ingredient in the entire recipe however, is the hard work and dedication of our colleagues.

Every individual within our organisation is committed to enriching lives with exercise. This, combined with their willingness to embrace change and

adapt to new practises, underpins our continued success.

This mix of brand messaging, service innovation, digital development, supplier synergy, quality and colleague commitment creates the perfect recipe for sustainable growth and results in us surpassing the expectation of both customers and clients.

We are always looking for ways to improve and new elements to add into the mix. This forward-thinking approach makes me confident that Everyone Active will continue to expand and offer even more communities access to an unrivalled selection of services delivered from high-quality facilities.

Paul Dowling

“We are committed to achieving the highest standards across all areas of our operation”

This newsletter marks a new approach to keeping you informed, and we would love to hear your thoughts about how we can improve it. Please send your suggestions through to newsletter@everyoneactive.com

FIRST LOOK AT 2019 2019 HAS GOT OFF TO AN INCREDIBLE START HERE AT EVERYONE ACTIVE

Since the beginning of the year, we have taken on 13 new sites, meaning that we now manage a total of 190 leisure and cultural facilities across the country in partnership with more than 60 local authorities.

More than 500 new colleagues have been welcomed into the Everyone Active family as part of these new contracts, and we are delighted to have them on board.

On Monday 1 April, we began a new partnership with Harborough District Council to manage two leisure centres in the Leicestershire towns of Market Harborough and Lutterworth.

We simultaneously commenced a 10-year agreement with North Norfolk District Council to run three leisure centres and three dual-use sites. As part of this contract, we will work with the Council to oversee the construction of a new £10.7million leisure centre that is being built to replace the 30-year-old Splash Centre in Sheringham.

An extension of our long-standing partnership with Blaby District Council also officially began on 1 April. The new 10-plus-five-year agreement will see us

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continue to manage Enderby Leisure Centre in Leicestershire, as well as take on the operation of the Pavilion Leisure Centre in nearby Huncote. More than £5million is being invested into the two centres in order to introduce a range of improved facilities and new activity opportunities for the community.

On Wednesday 1 May we started a 25-year partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council to manage Hood Park Leisure Centre in Ashby de-le-Zouch and Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick. The latter is due to be replaced by a new state-ofthe-art centre in Coalville in 2021. We submitted plans for this development as part of our winning tender, and will be constructing the new site when work begins later this year.

As a company that started out over 30 years ago running a single site in the Midlands, it is especially significant to have begun so many new contracts in this part of the country.

All four contracts fall under the remit of regional director, Paul Dowling, who said: “This is an extremely exciting time for Everyone Active and our partners, and we’re delighted to have been

chosen to provide more people in the country with the means and motivation to get active.

“Despite our growth, we remain unwavering in our commitment to provide leisure services and facilities that meet the unique needs of individual communities. All our partners share our ambition of improving lives through activity, and I’m excited to support them to achieve their health outcomes and improve the wellbeing of local communities.”

We have also been announced as the preferred leisure partner of Taunton Dean Borough Council and Winchester City Council in partnerships that will begin later this year and in 2021 respectively.

CELEBRATING WITH FAMOUS FACES It has also been a star-studded start to the year, with a number of famous faces helping us to celebrate investments made in facilities across the country.

In January, former international Rugby player, Max Evans, attended Taro Leisure Centre to mark the completion of a £2.8million renovation project.

In partnership with East Hampshire District Council, we have vastly improved the facilities on offer to our members at the site, who are now benefiting from an extended gym, refurbished changing rooms and a brand new reception and soft play area.

We also recruited England football legend, John Barnes, to unveil the impressive refurbishment of Watford Woodside Leisure Centre in February.

The former left winger spent time

coaching children in taking penalties and even treated guests to a rendition of his famous ‘World in Motion’ rap.

Professional dancer, Ian Waite, also visited the site to welcome users to the new Toning Suite, which includes a selection of power-assisted equipment to help older people and those with additional needs to get active.

Olympic silver medallist and ambassador of our Sporting Champions scheme, Colin Jackson, joined families at Watford Central Leisure Centre during the same weekend to celebrate the improvements that have been made there. In partnership with Watford Borough Council, £1.8million was invested into the two centres, ensuing that customers across the town benefit from modernised, state-of-the-art facilities.

John Barnes

Max Evans

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Jackson, who made his name competing in the 110-metre hurdles, also visited Bracknell Leisure Centre in March to take part in a community open day held to mark the completion a £2.8million refurbishment.

Cyclist Dani Rowe, who won gold at the London Olympic Games in the team pursuit, returned to her hometown of Hamble to help us unveil significant improvements made to Hamble Sports Complex in partnership with Hampshire County and Eastleigh Borough Councils.

And finally, X-Factor and I’m A Celebrity star, Fleur East, entertained crowds at K2 Crawley during an event to celebrate our new partnership with Crawley Borough Council.

Colin Jackson

Ian Waite

Fleur East

WHAT’S NEW? We are committed to supporting our local authority partners to improve lives through activity. Replacing aging leisure stock with modern, fit-for-purpose facilities is one way of achieving this goal and meeting the needs of growing

communities into the future.

2019 has already seen us introduce two brand new leisure facilities into the communities of Dagenham and Slough.

Olympic swimmers Rebecca Adlington, James Goddard and Steve Parry at the opening of the 50m pool

50-METRE POOL IS MAKING WAVES We’ve been making a splash in the world of aquatics after delivering a global first in swimming pool design as part of our partnership with Barking and Dagenham Council.

Becontree Heath Leisure Centre in Dagenham welcomed the first swimmers to use its new £2million, 50-metre modular swimming pool in January following a 12-month build. The Olympic-length pool is the first of its kind and cost in the world, and is already gaining attention from organisations across the globe that are looking for faster, more costeffective ways to deliver pool space into communities.

The pool was officially opened by Olympic champion, Rebecca Adlington. It was jointly funded through our partnership with the Council and delivered by specialist pool developer, Total Swimming Pools.

As opposed to traditional concrete pools that are set into

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the ground, the modular alternatives are steel and assembled above ground level, negating the need to dig costly foundations. The pipework is also laid above the ground, making it easier to access and maintain throughout the pool’s lifecycle. Unlike many modular pools that have been used as short-term solutions, Becontree Heath’s has been designed and engineered to provide the community with aquatic activities for the next three decades.

It is the only Olympic-length swimming pool in East London, outside of the London Aquatics Centre, and the additional 500 tonnes of water has already helped thousands more people in the local community to access aquatic activities.

The public now enjoy more than 50 additional hours of weekly water space, and moving clubs to train in the 50m pool has freed up space in the centre’s existing pools to deliver swim lessons to almost 100 more children every week.

The winner of our ‘design a swim hat’ competition at The Centre open day

SAY HELLO TO THE CENTRE We officially opened the doors to Slough’s new flagship leisure centre on Monday 25 March.

The Centre is the largest project to be completed as part of Slough Urban Renewal’s £62million leisure regeneration, which has seen the Council invested considerably in improving facilities across the borough and encouraging local people to lead healthier, more active lifestyles.

We are very proud to be supporting the Council on this mission, and The Centre’s contemporary, industry-leading facilities will play a key part in achieving this outcome.

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The new building has replaced Montem Leisure Centre, which we had managed on behalf of the Council since 2017. It offers a diverse mix of facilities, including two swimming pools, a 115-station gym, pool-side sauna and steam room, three exercise studios and a café, as well as ample changing space and a large car park. The floor in the four-court sports hall is also innovatively illuminated using LED lights, which change depending on the sport being played.

More than 2,000 people attended its official open day, showing just how in demand this type of facility is in the borough.

WELCOMING MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT

We are determined to support the causes that are close to the hearts of both our colleagues and customers. This is why we have launched a new partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support for the next two years.

“At Macmillan, we know how a cancer diagnosis can affect everything and we’re here to support people from the moment they’re diagnosed, through their treatment and beyond.

The agreement, which officially began in April, will see us work together on a number of exciting projects to raise much-needed funds for the charity and help to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

We’re so proud to be working with Everyone Active and we’re excited to develop some amazing fundraising ideas with colleagues nationwide, which will help us reach even more people from the moment they need us.”

Macmillan’s ambition is to be there for every person living with cancer and provide them with tailored support when they need it most. While cancer is not always life threatening, it’s almost always life changing, and having the right support can have a huge impact on a person’s physical and emotional well-being, as well as significantly improve a patient’s recovery.

Colleagues in our East region kicked off the fundraising efforts by taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in April.

Kay Hetherington, Corporate Partnerships at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “I’d like to thank colleagues at Everyone Active for choosing Macmillan Cancer Support as their charity partner for the next two years.

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More than 50 colleagues climbed the hills of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent in the Yorkshire dales, with the winning team completing the challenge in eight and a half hours.

WORKING WITH SWIM ENGLAND TO CREATE A NATION OF SWIMMERS

We are delighted to have launched an exciting new partnership with Swim England that aims to turn the tide on inactivity by creating a nation of swimmers.

Having worked closely with the National Governing Body for a number of years, we officially formalised our collaboration in January by committing to a three-year partnership. This has allowed us to take a more strategic approach to tackling inactivity and encouraging increased participation in swimming. Over the course of the partnership, we will be focusing on a trio of key subjects in order to make improvements across all areas of aquatic activity.

Our ambition for year one is to engage more people in water-based activities and achieve 10 million swims across our 120 swimming pools. To do this, we have launched a #10MillionSwims campaign, which will raise awareness of all the fantastic public swimming activities we offer and break down the barriers that prevent people from participating.

While swimming lessons, clubs and aqua classes play

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a vital role in helping swimmers to progress and maintain their engagement, activities such as family swimming, inflatable play and other non-competitive sessions are essential in securing people’s early enjoyment of the water and integrating swimming into their lives and exercise habits. The #10MillionSwims campaign will encourage more people to get involved in these activities and showcase the fun that can be found in swimming.

It is well documented that swimming is a fantastic way of keeping active. However, there is still a reluctance from many people to get into the pool. This may be because they aren’t fully aware of the many health and social benefits swimming offers, or there are misunderstandings about the skills needed to enjoy the water. As part of the #10MillionSwims campaign, we will be working with Swim England to educate people about the benefits of swimming and provide proof of the positive impacts it can have for people of all ages and abilities.

Look out for our #10MillionSwims campaign on social media and check out our partnership video here: www.everyoneactive.com/swim-partnership.

DIGITAL Innovation is a key part of our strategy moving forward.

The adoption and implementation of new technology is fundamental in ensuring a better experience for our members and making sure we work as efficiently as possible across all aspects of our operation.

An example of this is the work we have done to bring our induction process online, using digital resources to fasttrack the process. This includes an online Personal Goal Setting Session, where members can tell us what it is they want to achieve before our system recommends training plans and workouts to help them attain those goals. We have also developed our online gym induction with step-

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75% of sessions sold digitally

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by-step instructions on how to use each piece of fitness equipment.

Further to this, we have brought our swimming lesson joining process online, alongside our fitness memberships, making the process easier and more convenient for our members and colleagues.

We’ve also recently introduced our member benefits area, which gives customers access to a massive range of nearly 50 exclusive offers and deals from a host of renowned shops and retailers across a variety of sectors – including travel, health foods and sporting goods.

65%

68%

of fitness memberships sold online

of swimming lessons sold digitally

82%

group fitness classes booked digitally each month

19,000 people doing online

inductions each month

N O I T A M R O F S N A R T We’ve also made it so much easier for our members and payas-you-go customers to book and pay for their classes either online or via our bespoke mobile app.

On top of this, we offer customers access to an extensive digital content library to inform them about our services as well as support them on their activity journeys. It helps them to better understand all the activities we have on offer, gives advice on workout techniques and offers expert health tips too. The content includes in-depth articles, blogs from industry experts and tutorial videos.

25,000 people using the member benefits each month

Our other digital products include a profile area for our members where they can track their activities, take part in monthly challenges against other members at separate sites and make use of our extensive library of training plans.

Everyone Active is always looking for the next way to make our members’ lives easier, but we won’t innovate for innovation’s sake. There has to be a clear benefit to any upgrade we make to our digital platform before we go forward with its development.

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companies in the member benefits scheme

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T R A M S G N I T T E G R A G U S N O For the first time ever, there are more people in the world who are overweight than underweight.

We want to help more people reach a healthy weight, not just through what we offer in our gyms, swimming pools and exercise studios, but also in our cafes.

In 2017 we announced our involvement in the Sugar Smart campaign, alongside participating councils, by pledging to remove more than three tonnes of sugar from our food and beverage products over the next three years.

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Less than two years on and we have already exceeded this target, reducing the amount of sugar in our offering by more than four tonnes in 2018 alone.

Sugar Smart is a nation-wide initiative led by charity, Sustain, which aims to inspire a large-scale change in people’s eating habits and improve the nation’s health. We are working with our Sugar Smart-compliant partners and core suppliers to replace high-sugar products with low-sugar alternatives and give customers the means to make healthier choices.

We continue to work with our partners to reduce sugar year on year, with both our beverages and snack vendors ensuring we are ahead of the recommend Government standards. In partnership with councils that have obtained the ‘Sugar Smart’ standard, we have:

Introduced a core children’s range of no-added -sugar, sugar-free and school-compliant products

Made 80% of our Britvic and Lucozade Ribena Suntory drink products either sugar-free or low-sugar, resulting in a reduction of more than three tonnes of sugar. A further 17% are specialist sports drinks, with the remaining 3% offering customers the freedom to select a sugary alternative

Ensured water, low-calorie and zero-sugar products are included in every vending plan across our entire estate

Worked with Nestle to ensure all chocolate bars meet the Government standard of under 250 calories, with Nestle also looking to reduce the sugar in its products by 30% in the next three years

Replaced chocolate and sweets with alternative sugar-free snacks and standard crisps with popcorn or lighter options

The future looks healthy at Everyone Active, and we will continue to work closely with the Environmental Health Office and Trading Standards departments to ensure we lead the way in sugar reduction and help our members to make healthier choices.

Worked with supplier, Fulfil, to removing 1.5 tonnes of sugar from our cake range

For more information about becoming a Sugar Smartaccredited local authority, visit www.sugarsmartuk.org.

Supported Southwark Council in its Fizz Free February initiative by removing all carbonated products from vending machines and cafes in nine centres for the entire month.

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We believe any organisation that offers food options to the community has an obligation to provide healthier alternatives and help people to understand the small changes they can make that have a big impact on their overall health and wellbeing.

Our vending planograms have been a particularly effective way of supporting people to make healthier decisions without eliminating their choices. We have reviewed the placement of products across all our vending machines to ensure drinks that are high in caffeine and sugar feature less prominently. We have also successfully implemented a ‘traffic light’ system to drive customers towards low-sugar options by assigning products a green, amber or red sticker in line with their sugar content.

MEET THE TEAM

Our central Everyone Support Hub teams are essential in ensuring the smooth operation of our communitybased facilities and services. They provide vital assistance to in-centre colleagues and allow them to focus on our core ambition of getting more people more active.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in our IT Infrastructure Team, who protect the security of our 4,000,000 members and keep colleagues across the organisation equipped with the technology needed to effectively carry out their day-to-day tasks.

We sat down with the team’s manager, Wes Dryden, to understand more about the role they play.

GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM We manage the IT hardware across our 190 sites and Support Hub. We are also responsible for delivering the core technical services that keep our business functioning, such as email, servers, applications and, perhaps most importantly, the security of our networks and data.

On top of these ongoing tasks, we are involved in project work, including the mobilisation of new sites and the introduction of new systems.

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WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES?

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

There are 11 of us in total, all with our own area of expertise.

For the safe, ongoing operation of the business, the security of our IT systems is essential, and it is vital that we keep abreast of the latest standards and legislation, such as the rules surrounding GDPR and PCI DSS.

IT helpdesk coordinator, Kevin Roberts, primarily oversees the provisioning of laptops, mobile phones and user accounts. He is supported by Jordan Corbett, who also provides hands-on support to our Support Hub teams. Both colleagues offer additional on-site support when we take on new centres.

Our two IT infrastructure engineers, Danny Miller and Kai Rood, provide in-depth technical expertise to maintain and improve our core infrastructure, and are key to us successfully implementing service updates or introducing new systems.

Our regional teams offer support directly into centres and deal with ongoing maintenance, as well as sitespecific projects. Tony Cook heads up the South East team, which includes Joe Hardy and Stewart Miles, with Shane Williams taking charge in the East and West, overseeing the work of Josh McGuire and Lewis Goundry.

We also work with several managed service suppliers to operate a 24/7, 365-day IT Helpdesk and assist in the maintenance, support and development of our systems.

Protecting customer information and securing ourselves against data breaches are two of the most important elements of what we do. Through the continuous improvement of our services and ongoing reviews into our processes, we have been able to implement robust systems that do this effectively.

NAME YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS The team has achieved a huge amount recently. Their key successes include implementing a new security monitoring platform, upgrading our core storage to improve performance, refreshing our photocopier devices and improving WIFI at our facilities.

We have also successfully mobilised our IT systems into 23 new sites and assisted on numerous refurbishments of existing centres.

I am extremely proud of my team for the role they play in the successful operation of the business.

EVERYONE ACTIVE SPORTING CHAMPIONS

CELEBRATING SPORTING TALENT In November, we celebrated the achievements of our 800 Everyone Active Sporting Champions when we hosted the scheme’s inaugural awards ceremony at London’s prestigious Porchester Hall.

Winners on the night included Commonwealth paratriathlon champion, Jade Jones-Hall, who took away two awards including the coveted ‘Sporting Champion of the Year’ accolade.

During her acceptance speech, Jade was eager to praise the scheme for the impact it has had on her in recent years, saying: “I’m very grateful to be recognised in this way. From a personal point of view, the practical support it has given me has been fantastic. I train in the pool and gym, as well as out on the road, so having access to top-class facilities has been invaluable.

“I’m also grateful for what Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme

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has done to showcase and recognise excellence in para sport and the hard work put in by its athletes.”

Other winners included European silver medallist diver, Matthew Dixon, racing driver, Emily Linscott and champion climber, Katie Fischer.

LOOKING FORWARD

centres and promote their sporting successes. They will also be involved in a number of sports initiatives that are being launched at both a local and national level. These events will see them provide motivation and support to other aspiring athletes and inspire primary school children to find the fun in being active.

As an organisation, we have long been committed to supporting talent from grass roots level all the way through to elite standard. The Everyone Active Sporting Champions scheme has enabled us to formalise this support and make a real difference to the lives and careers of budding sports stars.

When the scheme launched in 2016, we pledged to support 1,000 athletes

by Tokyo 2020. We are delighted to say that this target has already been surpassed, with a new intake of athletes coming on board in May. In the 12 months to come we will be working closely with our athletes to establish their profile within our

Jade Jones-Hall

FEATURE SITE: FAREHAM LEISURE CENTRE

Name: Fareham Leisure Centre Location: Fareham, Hampshire Local Authority Partner: Fareham Borough Council Opened: Fareham Swimming Pool opened in 1979 with the dry-side facilities being added in 1986 Managed by Everyone Active since: May 2005 Members: 6,300 Fitness members, 2,900 on the Learn to Swim programme and 500 swim-only members Facilities: • • • • • • • •

25m Main Pool Training pool 120-station gym Three exercise studios Two squash courts Eight-court sports hall Crèche Café

With more than 50,000 visitors passing through its doors every month, Fareham Leisure Centre provides an essential service to the local community and plays a pivotal role in upholding the health and wellbeing of local people.

In partnership with Fareham Borough Council, we offer award-winning facilities and innovative activity programmes that support people to find the fun in physical activity and stay active throughout their lives.

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AWARD-WINNING FACILITIES AND SERVICES Fareham Leisure Centre is the only facility of its kind in the country to have earned the Quest Outstanding accreditation during four consecutive assessments.

Quest is the UK’s quality benchmarking scheme for sports and leisure. It defines industry standards and encourages the ongoing development of facilities and services. Fareham Leisure Centre has been through rigorous inspection processes in order to achieve the accolade, including mystery visits and on-site assessments to evaluate all aspects of its operations and management.

The award not only recognises the consistently highquality services delivered by colleagues and the top-class facilities on offer, it also acknowledges the immense effort that is made in Fareham to engage with the community and improve individuals’ health and wellbeing through fun, affordable activity.

UNRIVALLED OUTREACH Colleagues at Fareham Leisure Centre have an unrivalled ability to reach into the community and inspire the inactive, making the centre an irreplaceable asset for the borough.

Over the past 12 months, the team has successfully secured external funding to deliver six community outreach

programmes, all of which have engaged inactive audiences.

They include swim sessions specifically aimed at people of certain faiths, dedicated girls’ football lessons and parent and baby yoga classes.

where both adults and juniors can try their hand at a multi-sport event in a fun and supportive environment.

Last year, the team launched an innovative ‘adopt a school’ scheme, giving local primary schools access to a month of free activity. This includes in-centre sports programmes, educational talks and free membership for both students and parents. So far the scheme has helped in excess of 2,500 children to develop healthy habits that can keep them active throughout their lives.

We have enjoyed a fantastic working relationship with Fareham Borough Council for the past 14 years. Our mutual commitment to enhancing lives through activity has seen us undertake a number of improvement projects at the centre.

In September 2016, we also joined together to opened the new £9million Holly Hill Leisure Centre, bringing much-needed swimming provision to the western part of the borough.

The team has also been working alongside a number of different local groups to create a Home Educated Sports programme, which provides opportunities for children who are home schooled to enjoy physical activity alongside other young people.

Executive Member for Leisure and Community for Fareham Borough Council, Cllr Sue Bell, said:

Fareham Leisure Centre is also home to one of our most successful GP referral schemes, supporting more than 500 patients every year to use exercise as a way of preventing or alleviating health concerns. The scheme has grown so successful due to the strength of our colleagues’ relationships with local GPs and other healthcare providers.

We also host Fareham’s annual Sprint Triathlon, which is a staple event in the town’s sporting calendar. Owing to its popularity, the triathlon has grown into a two-day festival

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A SHARED VISION

“We have a strong working relationship with Fareham Leisure Centre and together we can help improve the health and well-being of our residents.

“The Centre is a hive of activity with fantastic facilities right in the heart of our Borough. I would urge as many residents as possible to take advantage of this first-class leisure centre and get fit and healthy.”

Fareham Leisure Centre is a flagship site within our 190-strong estate and a fantastic example of what can be achieved when colleagues work to ensure the benefits of sports and activity are felt beyond the centre walls.

EVERYONE ACTIVE NEWS MORE AWARDS SUCCESS 2018 ended on a high at Everyone Active after we were awarded the coveted Medium & Large Employer of the Year accolade at ukactive’s Active Training Awards.

The award recognised our commitment to supporting colleagues in their career progression, attracting and developing apprentices and spearheading innovative new coaching qualifications.

We were delighted to be recognised in this way and want to thank all our colleagues involved in winning this award for their continued hard work.

We also celebrated an award win in Slough, where our newly-renovated Slough Ice Arena topped the regional Public Service Building category at the LABC Building Excellence Awards.

The Arena’s striking semi-circular structure was built around the shell of the existing ice rink. It underwent extensive renovations to incorporate expanded facilities, including a gym, climbing wall and café.

Hamble Sports Complex also walked away victorious from the Eastleigh Sports Awards in February after winning the Project of the Year accolade for its Walking Netball programme.

Led by Walking Netball Host, Mo Edwards, the sessions take place every Thursday and regularly attract more than 50 players aged 35 all the way through to 70.

The scheme was named as one of the most successful in Hampshire and praised for its ability to get people of all ages and abilities rediscovering the fun of activity.

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MAKING OUR CENTRES DEMENTIA FRIENDLY

PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH

It is our mission to ensure our centres and services are accessible to everyone.

That’s why we have put hundreds of front-line colleagues through specialist training with the aim of transforming our sites into dementia-friendly environments.

Our colleagues are huge advocates of being active and, as well as supporting others on their fitness journeys, can often be found undertaking their own activity challenges.

The training educates colleagues about the needs of customers with dementia and helps them to remove barriers that may deter people with the condition from visiting our sites.

A number of our centres have also introduced specific dementia-friendly classes, which offer dedicated support to those with the condition. A particularly successful example of this is our weekly Living Well session at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, which is delivered in partnership with Stowmarket Dementia Action Alliance.

The class offers a mix of social activities and exercise for customers aged 60 and over. It is delivered by a speciallytrained instructor and supported by a team of eight volunteers, who offer additional assistance to those with dementia.

The session is regularly attended by more than 20 participants, and its popularity within the area earned it a visit from High Sheriff of Suffolk, George Vestey, who said: ‘It was one of the most uplifting visits I have made during my time as High Sheriff and it was a joy to see such camaraderie, enjoyment and commitment from all involved. I was seriously impressed by Bob’s exercise class, he is brilliant, and it was so good to see everyone giving it their all.”

In January our personal trainer, Dean Porter, ran 22km every day to raise awareness around mental health as well as funds for Combat Stress, a charity that works to support the mental wellbeing of veterans.

Dean, who was formerly in the military himself before joining our team at Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre, ran a total of 682km during the month and raised almost £2,000. He ran his final kilometre on our Jarman Park Athletics Track, where he was joined by his colleagues to celebrate his fantastic achievement.

A number of our colleagues also took part in the London Marathon at the end of April.

James Tierney, community development manager in Southwark finished his first London Marathon in three hours 33 minutes, raising £1,600 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Regional IT Engineer, Joe Hardy ran the race for the fourth time to raise over £2,400 for the British Lung Foundation.

He was joined by his sister who was participating in her first marathon. The pair crossed the line together in just under six hours.

Area contract manager, David Love, raised more than £2,500 for Stepping Stone DS, a local charity that supports the families of children with Down Syndrome. He crossed the line in five hours 16 minutes.

Slough Ice Arena

Rachel Chard Two colleagues from our central Everyone Support Hub also took part. Rachel Chard and Ben Enston competed in their fourth and first marathons respectively. Rachel set a personal best of three hours 33 minutes, with Ben crossing the line in just over five and a half hours.

Finally, web and digital executive, David Ward, completed the Stratford Marathon on the same day. He battled a knee injury to cross the line in four hours 19 minutes.

SERVING UP AN ACE IN SUNDERLAND Some of the country’s leading tennis stars headed to Silksworth Community

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Dean Porter Pool, Tennis & Wellness Centre in April to take part in a men and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour.

The Tour encompasses all Pro Circuit and Junior Circuit tournaments and serves as the player pathway between the junior game and the elite levels of professional tennis.

The international event took place across six days in Sunderland, at the end of which Britain’s number four, Harriet Dart, was beaten in the women’s final by Laura-Ioana Paar, while Finland’s Emil RuusuvuorI took home the men’s trophy.

HELP FOR THE HOMELESS While physical activity is at the heart

David Love of Everyone Active, we are also determined to make a difference to the wellbeing of people within our local communities in any way we can.

During the cold winter months, colleagues at Easton Leisure Centre collected clothes donations for the Wild Goose Drop-In Centre in Bristol, which is run by homeless charity, the Crisis Centre Ministries.

The drop-in centre provides free hot meals, shower facilities and toiletries for those facing homelessness in the city. The clothes donated by Everyone Active were given to service users to help keep them warm over the winter.

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