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Paralympic Competition
Pent Valley Technology College hosted an inclusive sports competition at Pent Valley Leisure Centre on Saturday 17th March. The competition, aimed at Year 5 to Year 8 students from across Kent allowed both able bodied students and those with a physical impairment to compete in sporting events together, and on the same team. Last year, for the first time the event was piloted in Shepway on a much smaller scale, and following its success Wendy Ellsom from KCC Specialist Teaching Service instigated taking this unique concept countywide. Coaches Martin Conway, Caroline Hackett, Luke Richardson and Dyson student Charlotte Humphrey took a Paralympic Roadshow to five districts across the county to give participating students taster sessions of some of the activities they would experience in the Kent competition. Each of the areas competing had this training before participating. As far as we are aware there isn’t a scheme running like this anywhere else. On Saturday the culmination of the Roadshow taster sessions and hard work by schools across the county saw approximately fifty students from across Kent (Gravesend, Canterbury, Folkestone, Ashford, and Maidstone) participating in Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball, Boccia, New Age Kurling and Goalball. Four GB Paralympians attended the event: Natra Rana, Mens GB Sitting Volleyball, Joshua Taylor, Track Athlete from Canterbury, Helen Cole and Claire Harvey, both Sitting Volleyball champions. Nicola Parsons the PE Teacher who coordinated the tournament said "I’ve wanted to organise something like this for a while, so I’m very happy that we have managed to do it." Wendy Ellsom, who oversaw the competitors said, "I am really pleased with the successful outcome." Medals were awarded to the top three teams in each of the sports, and then trophies were awarded to the overall top three teams, who were; in first place, Gravesend, second place Maidstone, with Folkestone taking third place.
Valley Active - Easter
PVLC Finalist at National Fitness Awards 2011
Christmas 2011 Opening Times
Valley Active - Christmas
Valley Active - Summer
Valley Active - April Half Term
Valley Active - February Half Term
(Posted 13th January 2011) Due to essential maintenance work being completed in the sports hall from Thursday 20th January 2011 - Friday 21st January 2011 (inclusive) all regular and casual sports hall bookings have been cancelled. All Booking will return to normal as of Saturday 22nd January 2011.
Price Changes (Posted 16th December 2010)
Dueto the change in the base rate of VAT which comes into effect 4th January 2011, there will be an increase in the price of goods and services at PVLC. In addition to this, we have decided to bring forward the annual price review which would have come in to effect 1st April 2011. We feel it is in the best interest of our customers to implement a single price change, rather than two seperate ones, three months apart. However, we have done everything possible to ensure that we are still providing value for money and are confident that the prices of the majority of our goods and services are still the lowest in the area.
FIA Flame Awards (Posted 22nd July 2010)
Every year the FIA issues FLAME Awards, which stands for Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence to the brightest and best Leisure Facilities and providers in the UK. There are a ten different categories which are always hotly contested with literally hundreds of sites entering each year. FLAME is rightly described as the 'Fitness Industry Oscars' and winning sites are recognised as the benchmark for their category within the industry.
Pent Valley Leisure Centre has entered the FLAME Awards in the Category of 'Educational Club of the Year' in both 2009 and 2010. This category is open to any facility which is part of an educational establishment - Schools, Colleges and Universities across the UK.
We are very proud to announce that PVLC won the FLAME Award in 2009, following this with the runner up spot in 2010, indicating a consistently high standard of performance.
(Posted 01/05/2010) Due to essential maintenance work being completed in the sports hall from the 1st - 11th June 2010 (inclusive) all regular and casual sports hall bookings have been cancelled. All Booking will return to normal as of the 12th June 2010.
PVLC Wins FLAME Award (Posted 23/06/2009) Pent Valley Leisure Centre, commonly known as the PVLC, has been awarded the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) FLAME Award 2009 in the category of Educational Club of the Year. The FLAME (Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence) Awards run each year and are the top achievement that can be gained in the Health and Fitness Industry. The PVLC was shortlisted for the Award after a four stage evaluation process over a five month period and the other shortlisted candidates were The University of Sheffield, University of Cumbria and Featherstone School in Surrey. The Award Ceremony was held last week at the DeVeres Hotel in the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Over 750 people saw the PVLC Manager, Stuart Wise pick up the Award from the FIA Head of Operations, David Stalker and Jon Johnson, Managing Director from Matrix Fitness who sponsored the event. The PVLC was especially praised for the way that education, community and disability are all integrated within the Centre and it was felt that the PVLC was unique in the industry as a school site that is also a benchmark for inclusion. Pent Valley Leisure Centre is now the only Leisure facility in the UK to have won the top awards from both the Fitness Industry Association and the Inclusive Fitness Initiative. Centre Manager Stuart Wise said "this is a fantastic achievement for all involved with The PVLC and recognises the hard work and dedication that is put in by the team to create a fully inclusive centre. This is the pinnacle of our industry, it doesn’t get any bigger or better than the FLAME Awards and I am very proud of the hard work that my staff put in to making the PVLC a success". Anyone interested in membership, or any of the activities on offer at the PVLC should check out the website, ring the reception on 01303 277539, or better still come in to the Centre and have a look around.
PVLC Wins Two National Awards (Posted 12/12/2008) According to the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) There are currently somewhere in the region of 5700 gyms in the UK, ranging from small single operator, to private chains such as David Lloyd and Bannatynes and also taking in Local Authority Leisure Centres. Of these 5700, only 220 are currently accredited by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) as being suitable for access by people with a disability. Which in itself is a worrying statistic. The IFI have been in existence for 10 years and this week held their first annual award ceremony in Birmingham at the ICC to recognise the Centres that provide the most inclusive services in the world of Health and Fitness in the UK. PVLC is very pleased to announce that VLC Senior Duty Manager Heidi Gallagher made the top 3 in the category of Individual Commitment to Inclusive Fitness, to recognise the hard work and dedication that she has bought to her role over the past 3 and a half years. However the Centre itself was successful in winning 2 of the 7 other awards, firstly for "Creating Inclusive Environments" which recognises the design of the facility, the procedures and policies and marketing that goes in to making the Centre Accessible to all. Finally we are very pleased and honoured to announce that the VLC won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" and has been held up by the IFI as the Benchmark for all Inclusive Centres in the UK. For more information regarding the awards or the IFI itself, please see the article below or go to our IFI Page.
Winners of the IFI Awards 2008 (Posted 12/12/2008) Wednesday 10th December 2008 the first annual IFI Awards sponsored by Cybex was hosted at the ICC, Birmingham. The evening was a great success and celebrated the fantastic work of IFI accredited facilities across the country. Chris Holmes MBE, Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer, hosted the evening, with Michael McGrath as the after dinner speaker who gave an inspirational insight into his experiences as a polar adventurer being the only disabled person to have reached both the North and South Poles. Michael also presented one of the winners with their award as one of the first IFI Inspirations. IFI Inspirations is a new project that was launched during the IFI Awards, with all 8-award presenters been the first to commit to the scheme. IFI Inspirations is a collaboration of individuals who support and endorse the work of the initiative. All of these people have a story to tell and are role models to motivate other disabled people into physical activity; the IFI would like to thank the first 8 Inspirations for presenting an award at the event and for their continual support. Although there can only be one winner on the night, the IFI were delighted with the response they received, being overwhelmed by the number of nominations and the exceptionally high standard of work that has been carried out by IFI accredited facilities. Bernard Atha, Chairman EFDS Operating Company, reiterated this during the evening and looked at the IFI achievements to date and the future of the initiative. Sue Catton, IFI National Director, "The IFI Awards are a clear signal of the momentum that the IFI has gathered and just what it now means to the industry to be regarded as inclusive. The industry has made staggering steps to progress from where the IFI started in 1998, yet it is important not to rest on our laurels. This year’s winners will need to raise their game even further to replicate their success next year. The winning facilities: Innovation in Inclusive Marketing (Sponsored by Power Plate International) Aspire National Training Centre (Stanmore, Middlesex) Building Outstanding Partnerships (Sponsored by Precor) Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre (Chelmsford, Essex) Creating Inclusive Environments (Sponsored by HUR) Pent Valley Leisure Centre (Folkestone, Kent) Engaging Volunteers (Sponsored by YMCA Fit) Aspire National Training Centre (Stanmore, Middlesex) Individual Commitment to Inclusive Fitness (Sponsored by Proactive London and Wellbeing South East) Anne Meachem (Pendle Leisure Trust) Developing Sport for All (Sponsored by The Physical Activity Network- West Midlands) The Pemberton Centre (Rushden, Northamptonshire) Demonstrating Corporate Commitment (Sponsored by West Midlands Travelwise) DC Leisure IFI Award of Outstanding Achievement (Sponsored by MLS Ltd) The event itself brought together accredited facilities, fitness equipment suppliers and key industry representatives who all play a significant role in the development of inclusive fitness opportunities. The IFI would like to thank everyone involved with the event, with an extended thank you to Cybex the event sponsor, without who the event would not have been possible. The night was truly inspirational and makes looking ahead to 2009 extremely exciting.
London 2012 comes to Shepway It was announced last week that Valley Leisure Centre, part of Pent Valley Technology College in Folkestone will be advertised at the Beijing Olympics as a pre games training venue for the Paralympics in London 2012. Out of an original list of 130 sites there are 32 venues in Kent that have been selected for the LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) Brochure. 31 of them are venues for the Olympics and 6 of these 31 venues are for both Olympics and Paralympics. The Valley Leisure Centre is the only venue in Kent specifically for the Paralympics. The venue has been accredited to host Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball, Boccia, Wheelchair Rugby and Wheelchair Fencing. Centre Manager Stuart Wise said "The VLC is the only venue in Shepway to be included in the LOCOG Brochure and there is a distinct possibility that we will be approached to host Paralympians for training before the Olympic Village becomes available. Anyone interested in finding out more about Disability sport, or any of the activities on offer at the VLC should ring the reception on 01303 277539. Kent is preparing for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to find out more please visit: www.kentsport.org/london2012
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