College gym in the running for top award

Dominique Casey from Rochdale who is on a BTEC in Sports Science. As part of her programme she is required to complete consultations on clients using the gym facilities

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

Hopwood Hall College’s gym has been shortlisted for a fitness industry award having beaten off competition from gyms all over the country.

The gym, which is part of the College’s Sports Arena at the Middleton campus, has been shortlisted in the Community Involvement category in the National Fitness Awards, the biggest free-to-enter awards in the industry, which recognise excellence, innovation and achievement in gyms.

The national awards are organised by leading fitness industry magazine Workout and in each category up to seven finalists have been selected from the hundreds of entries.

The College has been shortlisted due to their extensive work with the community, local teams, youth inclusion projects, incentives and activities. Paul Driver, the Sports Arena Manager explains: “The site offers some of the best sporting facilities in the area, at a really affordable cost, all in a safe and friendly environment.”

The gym will now be visited by a member of the National Fitness Awards' team who will take a look around the facilities, interview Paul and chat to members and staff before compiling a comprehensive report, which will then be passed on to an expert judging panel to choose the worthy winners.

They will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday December 4 at The Athena in Leicester, which will be hosted by fitness entrepreneur and TV personality Katie Bulmer-Cooke and Olympic swimmer and commentator Steve Parry.

Terry Morley, Centre Director for Sport and Public Services said: “This is an excellent accolade to achieve and it is a fantastic way to show the appreciation of what work goes on in the Hopwood Hall College Sports Arena. This is a real team effort and all staff should be extremely proud of themselves just to be shortlisted.”

“The local community benefit from the extensive programmes we run and the sports arena staff have a worked hard over the years to provide activities and support for all the community.”