GLL, the social enterprise that operates 16 public leisure centres and gyms in partnership with Belfast City Council under its Better brand, has hosted representatives from ukactive in their very first trip to Belfast. ukactive is the not-for-profit body responsible for promoting the interests of the UK active lifestyle sector, from community leisure centres to multinational brands and boasts a membership of over 3,500 organisations.
ukactive CEO Huw Edwards was given a tour of GLL operated facilities across Belfast, gaining insight into the advances and improvements made at the Andersonstown, Olympia, Lisnasharragh, Avoniel and Templemore Baths leisure centres.
The series of engagements brought together leaders and innovators from across the health and fitness industry, with multiple national governing bodies attending a sector discussion at Templemore Baths. Sporting bodies from Ulster GAA and the Irish FA to the NI Commonwealth Games Council and NI Sports Forum were represented at this key engagement.
The ukactive delegation heard how GLL, under its social enterprise model, has transformed leisure usage in Belfast and how their support and partnership has played a key role in the training programmes of 13 national governing bodies across sports such as soccer, GAA, badminton, basketball, netball, boxing, tennis, and many others.
Gareth Kirk, Senior Regional Director, GLL said:
“We are thrilled to welcome ukactive to Belfast for the first time. This is an exciting opportunity for the entire city, as it showcases Belfast’s growing role in the UK’s fitness and wellbeing landscape and how our social enterprise model has allowed us to reinvest in our communities. We are excited to work alongside ukactive to inspire meaningful change in how we approach physical activity, making it accessible and inclusive for everyone.
“It was a proud moment for GLL to hear both sporting national governing bodies and public health agencies testifying about the important work we do with both. GLL is fully committed to building facilities and programmes that improve the lives of every Belfast resident, from our elite athletes to those referred to us by public health bodies. As a leader in this all-of-society approach, we know that this will not be ukactive’s last visit to Belfast.”
Huw Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, ukactive said:
“Our Member Network events are a great opportunity for our members to come together to share their experiences and understand how ukactive are supporting the UK’s physical activity sector to help keep more people active and accessing services.
“We’re thrilled to be visiting a number of sites in Belfast managed by GLL as it is a valuable opportunity for us to understand the landscape and how we can support operators in Northern Ireland further.”
