2023 AWARD CATEGORIES OPEN FOR ENTRIES

Group A: Business Excellence

A1. Regional & National Club/Centre of the Year

Who should enter?

This category is open to any UK based club or centre that has been operating for at least 12 months by 31st December 2022.

You need not have the biggest facility, or the widest offer; this award is suitable for all types of facilities in the sector with the focus on the degree to which they meet the needs of their customers, staff and the local community. Some example of clubs or centres are:

  • – Small independents
  • – Studios and boutiques
  • – Low-cost budget gyms
  • – Local authority/leisure trust operated centres
  • – Clubs that are part of a nationwide chain. 

Entry is according to the region where your club is located:

Assessment Process:

Step 1: Written submission
Step 1a: Customer insight survey
Step 2: Mystery shops & digital reviews

What the assessors are looking for?

This award is about running a great business that your customers love going to and your staff love working at – irrespective of the size of the facility, range of services on offer, or the part of the market you serve.

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• The assessors will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

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A2. Supplier of the Year

Who should enter?

This category is open to any organisation providing a product or service in the fitness, wellbeing and physical activity sector to support organisations delivering frontline services. You have to be supplying your product or service to the sector for at least 12 months by 31st December 2022.

There are a vast number of vital products and services provided to the sector.

Areas such as:

  • – Fitness Equipment
  • – Club Management
  • – Technology Providers (business and fitness technology)
  • – Learning & Development
  • – Professional & Platform Business Services
  • – Apparel
  • – Inclusion & Disability

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

This award is about being a stand-out supplier, striving for excellence and determination to do the very best for your customers.  It isn’t about what you do – it’s how well you do it.

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

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A3. New Build or Design of the Year

Who should enter?

This category is open to anyone or any organisation taking the lead in the re-imagining, re-energising or re-design process, delivery and activating compelling environments and/or spaces that serve to inspire more people, to be more active, more often. You need not have been operating for a 12-month period or even be permanent in nature – but we do need to see evidence of successful and trailblazing implementation/delivery.

This is about innovative and new approaches that push the boundaries.

We are looking for organisations and individuals such as: 

  • – Architects
  • – Designers
  • – Builders
  • – Owners 

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

This award is about being a stand-out, game-changing project – both the idea, its development and execution.

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

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Group B: Specialist Impact

B4. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award

Who should enter?

This award has been designed to recognise any organisation (or individual) that has demonstrated commitment to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion. This could be a programme, project, initiative, individual or team that embodies the very best of equality, inclusion and diversity by focusing on engaging or supporting those who are underrepresented in the sector.

Nominations are open to entries that excel in their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and are able to demonstrate how they welcome, celebrate and support their customers/colleagues, and/or promotes and sustains physical activity in children and young people.

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

– What different/impact have you had on your target group?
– How have you supported staff or customer and made adjustments, or pro-active efforts to engage and welcome them?
– Have you been innovative to progress the sector in this area?
– How do you keep participants engaged in a changing society?
– Has your programme, project or initiative evolved or adapted since launching?

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

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B5. Healthy Communities Award

Who should enter?

This category is open to any organisation leading/delivering a physical activity focused programme, product or initiative that is targeted at the wider community to encourage increased activity and participation, and has been operating for a minimum of 12 months by 31st December 2022.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your effort may be, what we are looking for is tangible and measurable outcomes, and widespread backing from your beneficiaries or local stakeholders.

Assessment Process:

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

This is about working to inspire the wider community to make physical activity a part of its DNA. Judges will be looking at the ways you engage with communities and how you’ve used their specific needs to shape your initiative and deliver significant results.

Hints & Tips

  • Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
  • Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.
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B6. Innovation Award

Who should enter?

This category is open to any organisation that has activated a current event, concept, campaign or project, or has been running one in the last 2 years, that has inspired and encouraged people to be more active in any setting. Whether that be in their home, in the gym or leisure centre, on the way to or at work, or outdoors.

Key areas of activation to be considered:

  • Workplace Wellbeing Programme(s)
  • Community Engagement
  • A specific and innovative concept, campaign/activity or event
  • Sustainability

Assessment Process:

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

The judges will be looking to see if you event, concept, campaign, activity, engagement or programme has successfully implemented and inspired the target audience to get more people to be more active.

Key ares they will be looking at are:

– What reach your activation has had. Did it achieve what it set out to do?
– How you implemented your activation piece? Include stakeholder engagement and how you delivered your communications and engagement in the run up.
– What impact did your activation have and what measurements and evaluations did you undertake?

Hints & Tips

  • Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
  • Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.
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B7. Marketing Campaign Award

Who should enter?

This category is open to any organisation that has delivered an advertising or wider marketing campaign over the last 12 months which has been creative, innovative, impactful and helped raise the profile or change the perception of physical activity and its importance, whilst meeting the wider campaign objectives to your business.

Assessment Process:

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

The judges will be looking to see if you have successfully delivered an innovative marketing campaign to highlight the role of physical activity which in turn has helped deliver your business objectives and what the campaign set out to highlight.

Key areas they will be looking at are:

  1. That there is a key and clear link to physical activity and a specific outcome
  2. What reach your marketing campaign had, its overall aim and the channels you chose to engage with your audience.
  3. What impact the marketing campaign has had on your business and audience.
  4. What you are doing to evolve your marketing campaign in the future

Hints & Tips

  • Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
  • Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.
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B8. Digital Transformation Award

Who should enter?

This category is open to any organisation that has either completed, currently embarking on or at a stage of discovery in their digital transformation pathway.

This could be digital technologies and strategies that enable better business operations, increased performance, deeper insight and enhanced experiences, ultimately getting more people, more active, more often. Have you got a story to shout about which can inspire others?

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

Judges in the Digital Transformation category are looking for applications from businesses who have successfully designed a digital strategy to create positive and long-lasting impact within their businesses. They are especially interested in hearing about stories of digital journeys that have led to fundamental changes in mindset, operation, and performance at all levels of a business, which ave led to increased consumer experiences and reach in participation, inclusion, and accessibility to the leisure activities.

Key areas:

– Describe the journey of discovery. Who was involved and how did you engage with internal departments and your audiences to design your requirement?
– How did you engage with and what was the value/impact of involving digital platforms and transformation agents in the design of your requirement/strategy?
– Has your programme, project or initiative evolved or adapted since originally launching? If so, what were the reasons for doing so?
– How are you using the insights to develop your leisure and digital strategy?

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

ENTER NOWSAMPLE QUESTIONS

B9. Education Provider of the Year Award

Who should enter?

This award aims to shine a light on an organisation/programme that provides excellent delivery, demonstrates the development of innovative resources and assessments enabling learners to employees to display high quality skills. The award looks to recognise and reflect all-encompassing training and resources.

Entrants into this award can include individual bespoke initiatives that have seen success by the clients/customer. This could also include apprenticeships and on-programme delivery.

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

What the judges are looking for?

Entrants would need to demonstrate that learners or employees have succeeded in obtaining high quality skills that are valued by employers or users of their training. This could be testimonials/feedback provided by their customers/clients to identify they have offered and provided an improved service.

Hints & Tips

• Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

• Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2022 and end of January 2023. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

ENTER NOWSAMPLE QUESTIONS

Group C: Individual Achievement

C10. Physical Activity Hero Award

Who should enter?

This category is open to any individual with a story to tell that has impacted and inspired those who they engage with by proving that physical activity can have a transformational impact on health, happiness and wellbeing. We want to hear about the individuals that have used physical activity as an essential part of their life, to go that extra mile for their customers, colleagues, family, friends and communities.

We are looking for stories about: 

  • – Volunteers
  • – Instructors
  • – Trainers
  • – Colleagues
  • – Friends

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Public Vote via ukactive Awards website

What the judges are looking for?

Our judges want to hear about inspirational, go-getting individuals who change lives – their goals, motivations, challenges and successes. They want to see an extensive track record of showing the impact that they have achieved and who are the very embodiment of the ukactive mission.

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C11. Outstanding Leadership Award

Who should enter?

This award is open to any high performing leader and/or management team from any type of organisation. We are looking for a leader and/or leadership team that has had a positive impact through teamwork and demonstrated how they have overcome challenges and celebrated successes through different strategies, development plans and inspirational leadership approaches. Whilst fundamentally supporting the mission of getting the nation more active. 

Assessment Process: 

Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Membership Council/ukactive Board Members Judging Panel

What the judges are looking for?

Judges will be particularly keen to learn how the nominated leader and/or leadership team worked with colleagues and partners to develop the skills and competencies required to address the challenges, whilst delivering tangible strategies and goals through motivational leadership.

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C12. The Jan Spaticchia Special Recognition Award

Who should enter?

The purpose of this award is to recognise someone’s outstanding contribution to the physical activity sector. This award category has been created in memory of Jan Spaticchia’s legacy and influence that Jan has had on the sector. The award aims to acknowledge an individual from the sector who has made continued and significant impact across the breadth of our sector.

Jan was a great pioneer and innovator, and respected business leader who prided himself on the commitment of his teams to serve their communities. Jan also led the foundation of National Fitness Day at the énergie Group in 2010, before gifting the campaign to ukactive in 2014 to grow its reach for the whole sector. All of these qualities are what this award aims to shine a light on and acknowledge.

Assessment Process:

Step 1: Written Submission which will be marked by members of the ukactive board

What the judges are looking for?

The judges are looking for an inspiring story about an individual that has made a difference and impact through their work and involvement within the physical activity sector. The judges will want to hear the reasons why you think that this individual should be recognised for their outstanding work, achievements, and how this has encouraged to get more people to be more active more often.

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The Physical Activity Excellence Award

The Physical Activity Excellence Award aims to highlight outstanding institutions who are striving towards excellence in recognising and supporting health and wellbeing.

This award is about creating a sector standard for higher education institutions to achieve and demonstrates good practice for increasing physical activity engagement across a student and staff population.

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and ukactive will work together to highlight a winner for the ukactive Awards 2022, The Physical Activity Excellence Award.

Assessment process

Stage 1: Written Submission > Stage 2: Judges’ House

Entry Guidance

It is to be noted that the PAEA is designed to be an acknowledgement of good practice, and a recognition of excellent physical activity provision. It is not designed to be a benchmark against other institutions.

The award is designed to be aspirational in that institutions can aspire to achieve the award, with the potential to develop further levels to the awards in the future. It is hoped they can do so by exploring other institutions’ provision and practice so that, as a sector, we are constantly and collectively looking at innovative ways and methods to increase physical activity engagement.

Applications are encouraged from institutions who are more focused on participation through physical activity or social & recreational sport in addition to BUCS competition. The PAEA might be of more interest to those institutions whose focus may be more towards physical activity and/or social and recreational sport rather than competitive sport and the BUCS league table. We want to highlight to the sector that the purpose of the PAEA is centered around promoting and increasing physical activity engagement, whether that includes sport or not.

Read about the 2019 winners for the Physical Activity Excellence Award here

ENTER HERE

Judging Process

This year we are delighted to announce that ProInsight will be leading the judging process for both stage 1 and stage 2 of the awards. ProInsight is an independent organisation with a wealth of knowledge, expertise and a directory of highly experienced professionals to provide honest and objective feedback to each category entry marked.

Stage 1 – Written Submission

An independent professional, with specific experiences and skills that are relevant to each award category (A1 – B9), will review and mark each entry against a set criterion. A standardisation review will be done on completion of the marking to ensure objective and fair analysis. This analysis will be shared with all applicants in the form of a feedback report after the awards ceremony.

More details about the adjudicator will be shared soon.

Stage 2 – Judges’ House

ukactive’s virtual Judges’ House is back for another year. Representatives from each finalist organisation, in award categories A2-B9, will be invited to present to our independent judging panels. With the use of ProInsight’s online platform, comments and a score from each judge will be collated to confirm a winner for each category. The collated marking will be added to complete the feedback reports.

Full details of what each finalist will need to complete for their presentation will be shared prior to the day.

Our confirmed judges will be shared below.

Stage 2 – Mystery Shop

Club/Centre of the Year finalist organisations will have three mystery shops, conducted by ProInsight, completed over a period of 3 weeks.

Stage 2 – Public Voting

Physical Activity Hero finalists will be uploaded onto the ukactive website for a period of 3 weeks. The direct link to the page will be shared with the nominator.