GLL was among the big winners at the 2019 ukactive Awards, securing a trio of prizes at the ceremony on 6^th June in Manchester.

Joint highest winners on the night, GLL won prizes including regional Club/Centre of the Year awards for Rainbow Leisure and Spa (London), and Olympia Leisure Centre and Spa (Wales/Northern Ireland), respectively.

In the individual awards, staff member at Wembley Leisure Centre, Haider Ali was also recognised for his outstanding work in the community, winning the Unsung Hero award.

The awards ceremony, which took place in Manchester on 6^th June, took place as part of Active Uprising, ukactive’s multi-day celebration of physical activity, recognising excellence throughout the sport, leisure and health and fitness.

Club/Centre of the Year awards are divided to recognise outstanding facilities and services across the UK. Following a rigorous process, including customer insight surveys, as well as the mystery shop, mystery calls and a digital review from a panel of experts, the centres were named among the shortlisted entries, and announced among the winners to an audience of 800 guests at Manchester Central.

Also among the winners, was Haider Ali, who took home the Unsung Hero award, recognising outstanding individual contribution to local health and wellbeing. Haider has been an integral part of the team at Wembley Leisure Centre since its opening in 2016.

A keen health and fitness enthusiast and champion of physical activity, Haider‘s work has helped Wembley Leisure Centre to become a key addition to the community, managing the welcome area as a concierge, welcoming customers and driving sign-ups.

In addition, as a trained as a Fitness Instructor, Haider’s role allows him to work closely with local people that visit the centre, working with customers on the gym floor, as well as running well-attended fitness classes each week, to help get the community more active.

Gareth Kirk, GLL Chair, said: “We are extremely proud to be among the big winners at this year’s ukactive Awards.

“As a social enterprise, we exist to deliver excellent leisure facilities and services in the communities that we serve, to help get more people more active, more often, and we are delighted to see our fantastic staff recognised for their efforts

“These awards are fantastic recognition for our staff. At GLL, we consider our people to be our greatest asset, so we are delighted to celebrate the outstanding work of Haider, as well as our teams at Rainbow and Olympia.”