News

We love to keep busy! Here's just some of the news we're producing for Big Fish clients. Take a browse or simply search by company from the 'Categories' section

15th November 2015

Right Directions launches new endorsed health and safety courses

Right Directions has launched two new endorsed health and safety courses aimed specifically at the health, fitness and leisure industry. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) four-day ‘Managing Safely Course’is designed for managers and supervisors in any sector and any organisation, but Right Directions brings a health, fitness and leisure focus to the programme, ensuring learners don’t waste valuable time learning aspects that won’t apply to their business. Delivered by senior leisure managers who have...

10th November 2015

Lifetime Training creates learner focused website

Lifetime Training has invested in its online presence with a newly developed website. Designed to enhance the learner experience, Lifetime Training adopted a collaborative and consultative approach undertaking user research with prospective learners. The company’s new digital shop window aims to improve engagement with both learners and employers with an enhanced and intuitive design. Via user testing and input from a specialist agency in user experience, the information architecture of the site has been re-worked enabling...

2nd November 2015

Newcastle University owns the leaderboards in Precor AMT 3 Challenge

After a nail-biting finish, Newcastle University came top of the leaderboard in Precor’s AMT 3 Challenge, winning a brand new machine for the university’s fitness suite. The event, which ran for three weeks in September and culminated at Leisure Industry Week on Wednesday 23 September, saw 46 health and fitness clubs across the UK compete to travel the furthest on an award-winning Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT). Precor even offered complimentary AMT loans for the duration of...

1st November 2015

Leisure-net launches active-net Australasia

Leading industry insight specialist, Leisure-net Solutions is set to launch active-net Australasia on 29 October at the Fitness Australia Symposium, attended by 150 of the top Australian health and fitness names. The event, which will bring together operators from across Australia and New Zealand for a business-focused networking event and high level business-skills workshops, will take place in Melbourne on 20th and 21st July 2016, and is partnered and supported by Fitness Australia, the national peak...

23rd October 2015

Durham County Council invests £44m in leisure and education scheme

The second phase of Durham County Council’s £44m investment in leisure and education facilities has completed with the opening of the new Consett Academy campus. The facility joins the new Consett Leisure Centre, which launched at the site this summer. Located in the heart of Consett on the site of the town’s former football ground, the two venues occupy a new single building designed by Seymour Harris Architecture, providing a new shared resource for the local...

20th October 2015

Oldham Community Leisure switches to Gladstone

Oldham Community Leisure (OCL) has switched to Gladstone Health & Leisure from its previous software supplier ahead of launching two new sites this autumn. The leisure trust, which operates 11 sports centres, swimming pools and synthetic pitches in Oldham, signed a five-year agreement with Gladstone earlier this year. Peter Howson, head of customer relations at OCL, said: “We chose Gladstone as our new supplier because we knew their software and services could make a real difference to...

15th October 2015

Quest and NBS continue to head in right direction

The management team behind Quest, the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure, and the National Benchmarking Service (NBS) has had its contract renewed for another three years, Sport England has confirmed. Right Directions, in partnership with Leisure-net Solutions, was first appointed to manage Quest and NBS on behalf of Sport England in September 2010. Both an accreditation and a tool for continuous improvement, Quest defines industry standards and good practice in the sport and leisure sector,...

5th October 2015

Apprentices appointed at Refer-all

Exercise referral software solutions provider Refer-all has recruited two new Apprentice Software Developers. Freya Brown completed a Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Information Technology at Chichester College. Currently Freya is developing digital methods to bring new clients on board more quickly using her scripting skills. In the future, she will further develop this role as well as overseeing initial testing and deployment. Freya’s interests include electronics, programming, video games and digital artwork. In her spare time she...

30th September 2015

Royton Leisure Centre complete

Oldham’s new state-of-the-art £8million, Royton Leisure Centre, opened to the public on 28 September. Oldham Council, Oldham Community Leisure (OCL), Willmott Dixon and partners came together to celebrate the completion of the facility, which will provide superior leisure activities for the area. The Byron Street-based centre, funded by Oldham Council, will be run by Oldham Community Leisure. Members and casual users will have a variety of facilities to choose from including a six-lane, 25-metre Olympic legacy swimming...

25th September 2015

Work experience more important than academic qualifications say operators

Work experience is more important than academic qualifications, according to operators taking part in the latest Fitness Industry Confidence Survey. The research, carried out by industry insight specialist Leisure-net Solutions in collaboration with Leisure Industry Week (LIW) and award-winning education provider Lifetime Training, showed work experience was the most important attribute a school leaver could have when applying for a job for 47% of respondents, compared to just 15% saying academic qualifications. Nigel Wallace, Client Services Director...

24th September 2015

Lifetime Training hosts strategic seminar series

Lifetime Training hosted a series of invitation-only seminars on Tuesday 22nd September at The Matrix International Show, which operated alongside LIW 2015. Organised in partnership with Matrix Fitness, the four seminars were headlined under ‘The Theory of Everything’ banner with the keynote session given by CIMSPA’s CEO, Tara Dillon. The round table session focussed on ‘The Sport Strategy – The role of the leisure sector’. With a consultative approach, CIMSPA reviewed the key themes of new sport...

20th September 2015

Impluse Leisure’s Gym Hub shortlisted for National Fitness Awards

The Gym Hub in Wickford has beaten off competition from hundreds of gyms across the UK to be shortlisted for a prestigious fitness industry award. The national awards are organised by leading fitness industry magazine Workout, with support from headline sponsor ServiceSport, and up to seven finalists have been selected for each category. The Gym Hub will now be visited by a member of the National Fitness Awards’ team who will view the facilities, interview the club...