More Leisure Centres Join UKFN

Free swimming scheme sees record numbers in Croydon’s pools

The success of the free swimming scheme is more than apparent from recent figures which show that, in Croydon, nearly 15,363 free swims were taken by young people aged 16 and under, and 9,928 swims were recorded in the 60-plus category.

More than 36,500 free swims have been recorded since the free swimming scheme started last April. The second quarter total was up by more than 1,000 on the previous quarter, for people aged 60 and over, taking up the free swims.

Claire Martin, duty manager at the New Addington Leisure Centre pool said, "One month saw twice the number of young people coming to the pool, which is a great testament to how this scheme is tapping into a desire among people to get active."

All Croydon's pools are involved in the scheme, and anyone aged 60 and over, or 16 and under, can swim free by registering at their local centre.

"It's been hugely popular," says Claire. "We've had a good 50% more youngsters using the pool as a result of the free swimming." Purley Leisure Centre, too, has recorded nearly double the number of young people swimming.

The scheme is jointly funded by five government departments, and is being delivered in partnership with local authorities, the Local Government Association, Sport England and the Amateur Swimming Association.

People can register for the free swims by collecting a £2 membership card from one of the leisure centres, completing an application form, and proving their date of birth.

Free weights area at Crowborough gym upgraded

Freedom Leisure has introduced new gym equipment at Crowborough gym following customer feedback. The new gym equipment will be arriving for the popular free weights area in March and will feature a variety of equipment including the two most requested items: an adjustable crossover (an exercise machine which consists of two weight stacks allowing the lifter to do exercises with horizontal resistance) and a preacher curl (which is used to build up the upper arm muscles).

The new additions to the gym will allow customers more choice when lifting free weights resulting in a more varied work out, making it easier and more enjoyable to reach their goals.

Steve Collins, Fitness Manager said, "Crowborough is an ideal place for people who want to get results and train in a motivational environment. We have responded to customer feedback and provided additional equipment to our free weights area, giving customers even more choice in their workouts."

Freedom leisure is a not-for-profit leisure trust managing 19 leisure and fitness centres across Sussex and Kent, including K2 Crawley, one of the country's flag-ship leisure centres.

GLL awarded Social Enterprise Mark

GLL has become the first leisure operator in the UK to be awarded the prestigious Social Enterprise Mark, following the scheme's launch earlier this month.

The Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises.

The Mark identifies businesses which meet defined criteria for social enterprise and consumers will recognise that businesses displaying the Mark are trading to benefit people and the planet.

Social Enterprise Mark Champion, Lucy Findlay commented: "We are absolutely thrilled that GLL has gained the Social Enterprise Mark. As one of the largest social enterprises operating in London, GLL will raise awareness of the Mark with the many thousands of people they serve and work with every day.

The Mark is about raising awareness of social enterprise and the benefits they offer to as many people as possible, and we're very pleased to have such a great social enterprise as one of the first wave of new Mark holders.
We are very proud to have them on board because they have proved easily that they are a business that delivers huge social benefits through their leisure facilities."

Mark Sesnan, GLL Managing Director said: "We are delighted to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark -- it is a strong endorsement of the fact that we are meeting our social goals and clearly distinguishes us from purely commercial enterprises.

"Our approach is to ensure that the leisure services we operate continually improve and provide a basis for increasing the opportunity for all local residents to participate in affordable sport, leisure and health activities whilst developing our people and minimising our impact on the environment."

Since its launch at the beginning of February 2010, 20 organisations have successfully applied for and received the Mark, while a further 43 applications are currently being processed.

For more information about the Social Enterprise Mark see their website

Still Working Out Aged 91

Vivian Ezra was born in 1918, but still believes in strength training at least three times every week at the Jubilee Hall Trust gym in Covent Garden, which he joined twenty years ago (aged 71).

To help him celebrate his 91st birthday, Jubilee Hall Trust Chief Executive, Phil Rumbelow, presented Vivian with a free life membership.

Vivian said:

'I have always eaten a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, but I am also a firm believer in lifting free weights regularly to stay healthy. I love this gym which has a great range of equipment and I wish that more older people would exercise more often.'

Phil Rumbelow said:

'Across our four clubs, we have more than 400 gym members over 60, but not many over 90! Vivian is a great example to people who think that they are too old to exercise, but we also appreciate that lifting weights is not for everyone. That is why we have been working in partnership with Westminster City Council to deliver a programme of five free community classes per week for older adults which includes activities such as ballroom dancing, salsa and Bollywood Dance.'

Give it a go in Camden today!

Give it a Go!

In order to get more people more active more often, the NHS in the London Borough of Camden have launched their ground-breaking Give It A Go! Scheme. Operated in partnership with two UKFN Trusts - Jubilee Hall Clubs and GLL, who between them manage four leisure centres in the Borough - the scheme offers tangible incentives to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles.

The project targeted Camden residents on low incomes and gave them free access to the four gyms during the month of March. Participants who attended more than once a week through the month qualified for 6 months free membership at the gym of their choice.

Almost 2,000 people signed up for the scheme and, of those, over 70% qualified for the 6 month free membership. I met Mrs Masseron, a youthful-looking 72 years old and Give it a Go! enthusiast, at the Armoury gym - managed by the Jubilee Hall Clubs charity - in Hampstead.

She has high blood pressure and had been urged by her GP to take more exercise, but also has an arthritic knee and admits ‘I'm a couch potato - I'll find any excuse'.

Mrs Masseron is adamant that ‘free offers work' and is already appreciating the benefits of exercising at the gym. ‘I feel much better. Maybe it's the psychological uplift, but I've lost half a stone and my knee has improved. The instructor worked out a programme for me and the exercises have had a profound effect on my arthritis'.

Having qualified for 6 months free membership, Mrs Masseron is now committed to keeping up her three times a week routine. ‘Once you start, you do get drawn in. Now I've seen the benefit and enjoy it'.

Another participant who has been ‘drawn in' is unemployed architect Seamus Slack who maintains that the offer of free access motivated him to join the gym, initially with the intention of losing some weight. ‘When you start to notice a difference, you start thinking about other things like diet and maybe reducing alcohol'.

Seamus is looking forward to his further 6 months free membership and is clear about what he wants to achieve. ‘Goals are a bit of a no-brainer. You take more exercise, you increase your well-being, you sleep better. When you get a bit older you can't always do the things you used to, but increasing your physical activity is like taking 10 years off your age'.

Manager of the Armoury, Mukhtar Mukhtar, is overwhelmingly positive about the project. The Give it a Go! scheme fits in well with the centre's community objectives which include after-school classes for obese children and a cardiac rehab programme. ‘Making it free for people to use the gym has removed the barrier of the cost and over 75% of people who initially signed up have qualified for the 6 month membership'.

NHS Camden's Head of Public Partnerships, Clare Wilson commented, "We are still analysing the success of the scheme and we will be monitoring people's progress over the next 6 months, but the indications are overwhelmingly positive. If we can remove the barriers to help people improve their lifestyle, and it produces demonstrable health benefits, then we are doing our job".

The UKFN is growing......9 new centres join this month.

From 1st November 2009 UKFN members can now use the following new centres:

Wanstead Leisure Centre - E11 2JS (Vision Leisure Trust)

Olympos Haywoods Heath - RH16 1LY (Freedom Leisure Trust)

Olympos Burgess Hill - RH15 8WA (Freedom Leisure Trust)

Hassocks Sports Centre - BN6 8LP (Freedom Leisure Trust)

Abby Sport Centre - OX10 7NR (Nexus Community Leisure Trust)

Didcot Wave - OX11 8NX (Nexus Community Leisure Trust)

Henley Leisure Centre - RG9 1PA (Nexus Community Leisure Trust)

Thame Leisure Centre - OX9 2BB (Nexus Community Leisure Trust)

The Park Sports Centre - OX33 1QZ (Nexus Community Leisure Trust)

Please also note that from the 1st January 20010 the following centres are withdrawing from the UKFN:

Central YMCA (CYMCA) & Columbo Centre (Jubilee Halls)

UK Fitness Network Empower Staff

The UK Fitness Network (UKFN) held its inaugural staff conference on Tuesday 15^th September at the fantastic K2 Centre in Crawley.

The UKFN is a collaboration of the UK Leisure trusts, whos ambition is to join up the UKs trust run leisure centres and clubs, born out of the successful London Fitness Network which launched January 2004, the UKFN is a group of 15 likeminded not for profit leisure trusts operating 126 leisure centres across the UK.

The UKFN was formed in February this year and agreed to make communication and the sharing of ideas and best practice a number one priority for 2009.

Over 150 trust staff attended the event, ranging from Receptionists to Fitness Instructors, and from Sales staff to Duty Managers. The content was delivered by a group of the trusts senior managers; sessions included a keynote speech by Olympic swimmer Steve Parry, an active team building session, interactive planning sessions on sales and marketing, with the event including the 2009 UKFN Staff Awards.

The conference winners were Nikki Robertson, Receptionist of the Year from Redbridge Sports Centre and Jonathan Clarke, Sales Consultant of the Year from The Rainbow Leisure Centre in Epsom. Jubilee Hall received the Trust of the Year award. 

Following a comprehensive evaluation on the event over 90% of delegates wanted to see a yearly UKFN conference, so the UKFN team are now busy planning the 2010 conference! 

More benefits for members - access sauna and steam facilities as part of your membership

Members can now enjoy the use of sauna and steam facilities across the UK Fitness Network.

Although facilities vary across the network of centres and clubs many offer a sauna and/ or steam. We do advise that you contact the centre of your choice in advance to aviod disappointment.

Gym upgrades across the UKFN

Enjoy improved gym facilities at many centres across the UKFN in 2009.

Jubilee Hall Clubs have r-equipped their iconic Covent Garden club with Nautilus strength equipment. The installation includes products from the complete Nautilus strength range, including a full circuit of Nautilus ONE™, Nitro Plus, XP Load and the F3 Free weight range.

Chief Executive of Jubilee Hall Clubs, Phil Rumbelow said:

 “Nautilus was the only company who could provide us with the range of equipment that matched our needs. At our Covent Garden club, the user base has traditionally been male-dominated and we are known for the quantity and quality of our plate-loaded equipment and free weights. It was very important that the equipment supplier we chose could help us to retain these members, but at the same time provide us with a product that would attract de-conditioned and female users. With Nautilus, we knew that we were buying from a company with a rich history in the industry and were impressed with their attention to detail. In addition, Nautilus ONE provides us with a product which combines revolutionary design with ease of use and low maintenance.”

Jubilee Hall was originally built in 1896 as a flower warehouse and, when the Covent Garden Market was re-located in the 1970’s, the local community successfully campaigned to save the building from demolition. The Jubilee Hall Clubs charity now operates four clubs in London, including the prestigious Westminster Gym in the House of Commons.

Jubilee Hall Clubs’ Group Operations Manager, Jon Giles, said:

“As a personal trainer myself, I know the importance of having the right equipment. I particularly like the biomechanics and industrial quality of the XP Load plate-loaded range as well as the Freedom Trainer, which is unique to Nautilus. “

Joining the UKFN increases activity levels

In the 2008 UKFN member survey in the London area 29% of members flet that by joining the UKFN their activity levels had increased.