Places Leisure scoop 3 ukactive awards
Triumph at one of the leisure industries most prestigious awards
The organisation aiming to be the UK’s leading health and wellbeing enabler, Places Leisure, managed to scoop up three awards at one of the most respectable award nights in the leisure industry. The ukactive Awards were held in Leeds and saw the country’s biggest leisure operators come together and celebrate the past years’ achievements. Having been shortlisted for four awards, we were set to leave highly decorated.
Taking home three wins, we were the biggest winners on the night, with the most noticeable victories being achieving Organisation of the Year, and the Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion Award for the Big Sister Project.
The Big Sister Project addresses embedded barriers girls face in leading healthy, happy and active lives through a supportive network of ‘Big Sisters’ and Coaches. Targeting areas characterised by deprivation, the aim is to provide opportunities for all girls to access the lifelong benefits of physical activity. The judges praised the “project’s ability to recognise the key transitional moments for girls in their teenage years that offered them the chance to realise the benefits of physical activity on their own terms.”.
You can find out more about the Big Sister Project here:
Winning Organisation of the Year meant that the judges recognised us to have the highest level of performance, impact and sustainability out of all the organisations shortlisted for the ukactive Awards. It is a great honour to win this award, but we know this wouldn't be possible without the support from our communities, colleagues and customers, so thank you!
The third win of the night went to Tom Goodhand, our Operations Director, who managed to take home the Outstanding Leadership Award. Tom Goodhand was recognised for his dedication to leading the organisation through some monumental check points. Whilst Tom has been hugely successful in driving growth and development here at Places Leisure, his leadership has been equally impressive in crisis. This was exactingly tested during the global pandemic three years ago. As the whole country went into lockdown, Tom guided almost 100 leisure centres, 6,500 staff and tens of thousands of customers through numerous closures and restrictions. More recently, during the cost-of-living crisis he has driven energy savings and maintained company-wide morale.
You can find more information on the ukactive Awards winners here:
