Watford Leisure Centre Woodside has been recognised as one of the top leisure facilities in England for the third year running...
This is after achieving the elite 'Outstanding' rating from Quest, the leading national quality scheme for the leisure industry.
The centre underwent a rigorous two-day evaluation covering everything from tackling inequalities to environmental management practices.
Watford Leisure Centre Woodside, managed by Everyone Active in partnership with Watford Borough Council, is one of just five facilities in England to achieve this result.
Quest, Sport England’s continuous improvement tool for leisure facilities, was first established more than 20 years ago to measure how well a facility is operating and how effective organisations are across a range of topics.
The renowned award has evolved over the years to keep pace with the ever-changing sport and leisure industry, and is still the sector’s best-known improvement programme, with its rigorous assessments challenging even the very best leisure centres in the UK.
Watford Leisure Centre Woodside underwent the Quest Plus assessment, a two-day evaluation involving a number of compulsory modules on day one, including Tackling Inequalities and Environmental Management, as well as a variety of topics to help the facility make progress in specific areas of its business on day two.
The leisure centre also went through a mystery visit. By achieving an overall rating of excellent in both Quest Plus and its Mystery Visit, Watford Woodside has been awarded the accolade of Quest Outstanding.
Standout areas for the centre included: tackling inequalities, environmental management, swimming lessons, engaging with older people and customer journey.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “This is great news and shows that in Watford we have some of the best leisure facilities in the country. I would like to thank the staff at Everyone Active who are fantastic partners to work with, and this award is testament to the great job the staff do to help us all keep fit and healthy.
“It is so important that we can continue to invest in our leisure centres to ensure we continue to provide first class affordable facilities for people in our town.”
Cary Leigh, general manager at the leisure centre, said: “We are tremendously proud of this achievement which reflects our team's unwavering commitment to excellent service and positive community impact.
"Quest's Outstanding rating is the gold standard, attained by only the most exceptional leisure centres nationally. Quest is much more than a tick-box exercise; it is an ongoing programme to improve our facility for both staff and customers, and a great way to demonstrate our achievements.”
Quest’s managing director, Caroline Constantine, said: “Quest Plus is such a demanding process. By meeting Quest’s high standards for ‘excellent’ centres and achieving an overall accolade of ‘outstanding’, Watford Leisure Centre Woodside has shown its commitment to providing quality facilities and service to its customers.
“In these tough economic times it is more important than ever that local leisure facilities can demonstrate their value, and the Quest process helps them do just that; enabling facilities and their teams to have the quality of their work both recognised and nationally accredited, as well as showing how they measure up against national standards.”
Watford Leisure Centre Woodside offers an exceptional array of amenities, including a 25-metre, eight lane pool and a smaller teaching pool which are used for both public swimming sessions but also swimming lessons for adults and children.
The amenities extend well beyond aquatics, with a 140-station fitness suite which provides state-of-the-art strength and cardio equipment for all levels, an active wellbeing suite for less abled users, a sports hall suitable for a variety of activities, and two glass-backed squash courts. Watford Woodside is also home to a dedicated Fortis studio for HIIT classes, a cycling studio and three group exercise studios.
A 3G outdoor football pitch is available for hire for regular club bookings or on an individual basis. Members can also enjoy a full-service café and beauty treatment rooms on site.
