Investing in Leisure – Why workout anywhere else!

St Asaph

We have been delighted with the popularity of St Asaph’s fantastic new leisure centre, since its opening last year.  At Denbighshire Leisure, however, we never stand still and after listening to our customers’ ideas, we are now about to extend the fitness provision even further with our new HIIT (high-intensity interval training) room, which we hope will bring something different and exciting to your workout.

Previously, a meeting room, this brand new training area will include state of the art kit, including Technogym Skillmills, Skillrows and Connected Group Cycles.  There will also be Technogym Arke equipment and plyometric boxes.  In addition to the new equipment, we will be giving the room a complete refresh, with a new floor and air conditioning.  Work will be starting during March and we expect to open in May 2018. 

The opening of the HIIT room will also provide some extra space on the gym floor.  Customers have been asking for a stretch area, which we will now be able to provide.

We are very excited about our new space, which, of course, customers will be able to use as part of their existing membership package and we will keep you updated on developments.

Please also look out for our new Express Classes timetable, led by our team of excellent instructors.

Rhyl

Exercise at Rhyl Leisure Centre is about to be transformed.  Over the next few months we will be working hard to create a series of new fitness zones designed to bring something different and exciting to your workout. Keep an eye on our social media for updates and look out for the next issue of county voice which will bring you all the details. 

Llangollen the latest to benefit from leisure centre investment

The on-going investment in leisure facilities across the Dee Valley and wider Denbighshire communities is gathering pace, with the latest upgraded facilities at Llangollen Leisure Centre now open to the public. 

The latest upgrade at the Centre has focused on the fitness suite, including the introduction of brand new Technogym cardio equipment, complete with Wellness cloud technology which can allow people to watch videos and programmes whilst they train.  The suite has also been given a make-over, with complete redecoration and new flooring installed.

This is the latest initiative to invest in leisure facilities in the Dee Valley. Only last year the 3G pitch was refurbished at Corwen Leisure Centre, as well as investment in the fitness suite.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Cabinet Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, said: “This is another important milestone in our drive to enhance our leisure facilities county-wide.

Don’t forget to book your free 1-2-1 with one of our team of excellent instructors, who can refresh your programme, show you the new range of equipment and help set up your cloud account

Walking football for the over 50’s!

Walking Football is recognised by the Football Association of Wales as an inclusive small sided format of the game.

Walking Football is recognised as an opportunity to maximise participation for all groups and to encourage sustained participation for players of all abilities. If you are over 50 and would like to take part, the sessions take place at Denbigh Leisure Centre on Wednesdays from 5pm - 5.45pm.

For more information please contact Delyth Morgan 01824 706 859 or via e-mail at delyth.morgan@denbighshire.gov.uk.

Community Chest

Fancy £1,500 for your Community Sport project? Then apply for a Community Chest grant.

The purpose of the grant is to increase participation and improve standards within community sports clubs. Applications are now accepted online via the Sport Wales website.

Applicants must register on-line before completing the application form. For more information contact aled.williams@denbighshire.gov.uk

 

Sport Leaders

During half term, staff in Leisure Services ran a Level 1 Sport Leaders course in St Asaph Leisure Centre. 20 young people from local community clubs took part in the two day course. A Sport Leader's qualification teaches young people how to plan and lead sessions.

A level 2 Sports Leaders course was also held over three days during Easter.  

For more information on Sport Leaders please contact Hollie Collins at hollie.collins@denbighshire.gov.uk

Disability Sport Wales Awards

The Disability Sport Wales Awards were recently held at the Vale Hotel in the Vale of Glamorgan and invited to be guest speakers were local triathlete Elan Williams, her mum Ceris and local Sport Wales “legend” Stewart Harris.

During a question and answer session with the award presenters they gave details of what they have achieved in sport, the different journeys they have been on, leading to how this has benefited them and changed their lives. Ceris also gave her thoughts from a parent point of view and the difference she feels sport has made to her daughter’s life. They all spoke highly of the opportunities available within Denbighshire and how insport club has helped the clubs they attend in delivering inclusively and recommend more clubs get involved in the programme.

Ceris is a member of Ruthin Tristars and Stewart is a member of Rhyl Golf Club.

For more information on disability sport, including local clubs and insport please contact Brett Jones 07990 561 024.

Training provided by Leisure and Youth Services

The training and development courses provided by Leisure and Youth Services includes:

• Paediatric First Aid Training
• First aid at Work
• Safeguarding
• Manual Handling
• Lifeguard training
• Food Hygiene
• Youth Work Training (Award and Certificate)
• Sports Leaders (level 2)

For further information please email leisuretraining@denbighshire.gov.uk

Community Arts

We are delighted to announce that a Denbighshire bid to Comic Relief for a 2 year grant for the Care Home Challenge Fund has been successful. As a result the three care homes in Denbighshire will receive regular workshops with NEW Dance and with musicians from Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias Music Centre, co-ordinated by Denbighshire Arts Service.  Artistic practitioners will work closely with care home staff to upskill them and to build in sustainability to the project. As well as participating in all sessions, staff will also undertake specific training sessions.

We anticipate the project helping to enhance the health and wellbeing of care home residents, reducing the risk of falls, to decrease isolation and increase engagement with the community including local primary schools and third sector providers and to increase the confidence of the carers and staff in the homes. We are looking forward to involving families and carers and having a lot of fun in the process.

Three members of the team attended the start-up meeting at Comic Relief HQ in London where they were introduced to them to the world of Comic Relief and learnt how we will work with them over the lifetime of the grant.  This was a great opportunity to meet other successful projects, to consider how to measure the impact of the project and to learn about how Comic Relief will be evaluating this funding initiative.

Play Work Award

13 members of the Community Wellbeing team have recently completed a Level 2 Award in Playwork Practice. The staff will now be trained to enhance and deliver Play opportunities to children and young people across the county. This will be established through delivery within schools, community events and open access play provision. This compliments the team from 4 to now 17 Playwork qualified staff.

Family Information Service

Denbighshire Family Information Service has recently been awarded with a “Families First Quality Award”.

The Families First Quality Award (FFQA) is a National Quality assurance process and quality improvement framework designed to help you provide gold standard information to families and keep families at the heart of your work. The Families First quality Award recognises organisations that demonstrate excellence in providing information, advice and assistance to local families.

The award has been developed by the Family and Childcare Trust through the National Association of family information services to help family information services measure their effectiveness in delivering their statutory obligations. 

For more information on the Family Information Service please contact us on 01745 815891.

Insport Bronze

Staff from Strategic Leisure were recently awarded the insport Development Bronze Award, by a panel of leading sport professionals.

The insport Development programme is part of the broader insport project, which aims to support the physical activity, sport, and leisure sectors delivering inclusively of disabled people. The programme consists of 4 incremental standards (Ribbon, Bronze, Silver and Gold), against which a series of aims have been identified. As part of the presentation information was provided on programme delivery, workforce development and facilities amongst other things.

Officers will now be working towards the Silver award.

For more information on Disability Sport, please contact Brett Jones, Disability Sport Officer on 07990561024.

The Council wins Heart for the Arts 2018 Award

The winners have been announced for the National Campaign for the Arts' (NCA) Hearts For The Arts Awards 2018.

The awards celebrate the work of Councils, Councillors and Council Officers who have overcome financial challenges to ensure the arts stay at the centre of community life.

‘Lost in Art’ by the Council has been named Best Local Authority Arts Project Encouraging Community Cohesion.

Lost in Art is a visual arts project for people living with dementia and their carers. The aim of the project is to explore the role of visual arts in addressing issues that can affect people with dementia, including social isolation, confidence, communication and quality of life. The project was developed with the support of the Arts Council of Wales and the Dementia Services Development Centre at Bangor University and its Dementia and Imagination research project.  There are two groups running in Denbighshire at present, one in Rhyl and the other at the Ruthin Craft Centre.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence said:  “I would like to congratulate the Arts Service and their team for this worthwhile project, research has shown that taking part in creative project can improve mood and confidence and an increased sense of belonging to a community for those taking part.

“The intergenerational element with local schools is also a wonderful addition.”

Siân Fitzgerald, Community Arts Officer said:  “On behalf of the Arts Service, I am delighted to receive this award and I would like to thank the artistic team involved and the all the participants who have been integral to the project.

“I would also like to acknowledge the support and expertise we have received from Ruthin Craft Centre, Arts Council of Wales and Bangor University.”