QUEST accreditation for eight indoor leisure facilities across ABC

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ABC Health and Recreation staff pictured with the Lord Mayor in recognition of the recent QUEST accreditation
Back row (L-R): James Kennedy, Recreation Attendant; Neil Thompson, Head of Health & Recreation ABC; Les McElroy, Area Facility Manager; Mark Wilson, Operations Manager South Lake Leisure Centre; Adam Cooper, Duty Manager Orchard Leisure Centre. Front row (L-R): Liz Doak, Duty Manager Dromore Community Centre; Alderman Margaret Tinsley, Lord Mayor ABC.

Residents across the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough are benefiting from having top-class indoor leisure facilities on their doorstep, following a rigorous inspection process from QUEST, Sport England’s leading national quality scheme.

Eight indoor leisure facilities across the borough achieved QUEST accreditation having completed mystery visits and on-site assessments, which evaluated all aspects of each centre’s operations and management. The facilities and teams are also benchmarked against national standards and Dromore Community Centre currently sits first place in the UK rankings.

The facilities awarded were Orchard, Banbridge and South Lake Leisure Centres; Richhill and Tandragee Recreation Centres; Dromore, Gilford and Rathfriland Community Centres.

The QUEST award recognises the consistently high-quality services delivered by staff and the top-class facilities on offer to customers at GetActiveABC centres. It also acknowledges the extra efforts to engage with local communities to offer programmes aimed at improving individuals’ health and wellbeing through fun, inclusive and affordable activities.

Speaking about the accreditation, the Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Margaret Tinsley said:

“To achieve QUEST accreditation across our indoor leisure facilities is true testament to the dedication and commitment of our GetActiveABC teams to provide a first-class service to all our health and recreation customers.

“We are proud of our investment in indoor leisure facilities to offer local residents a diverse and inclusive programme of health and fitness activities, delivered by our friendly and experienced teams and instructors.

“By working with QUEST, we will continue to evolve and adapt to meet the ever-changing needs of our communities.”

Quest was first established over 20 years ago and continues to be the Sport England recommended Continuous Improvement Tool for leisure facilities and sports development teams to measure how effective organisations are at providing customer service. Quest is supported by Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland as well as organisations like CIMSPA, ukactive, Chief Leisure Officers’ Association and SPORTA.