SHEFFIELD International Venues (SIV) is celebrating after four of its facilities were officially rated as ‘Excellent’ in a national industry awards scheme.
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield (EISS), iceSheffield and four times FLAME winner Hillsborough Leisure Centre all achieved the rating of ‘Excellent’ following recent Quest Assessments.
2009 is the first year SIV has achieved four ‘Excellent’ ratings and Quest Assessors were impressed by the ongoing hard work, the strength of each facility and the corporate organisation as a whole.
EISS’s score was the highest ever for a centre being assessed for only the third time at 93 per cent. The venue achieved perfect tens in Health and Safety Management, Customer Feedback, Programme Development and Partnerships.
Out of all the venues Hillsborough Leisure Centre improved the most with an increase of 6 per cent to secure a score of 91 per cent.
All venues assessed improved their scores with Concord Sports Centre achieving a ‘Highly Commended’ rating along with Don Valley Stadium.
In addition iceSheffield took the highest mark for a stand alone ice facility and Don Valley Stadium retained its place as the highest approved stadium.
Quest approval is the benchmark by which over 900 of the UK's sporting and leisure facilities are measured. Each facility is assessed against 172 best practice principles, receives a mystery visit and is tested on every part of the operation ranging from facility operation and customer relations to staffing and service and development.
Sean Nolan, Director of Business Development for Sheffield International Venues, said: “These awards demonstrate our continued commitment to improvement and to provide the highest quality sports facilities and services to the people of Sheffield and the region. Our aim is not just to maintain the fantastic results but to improve upon them once again and to continue to be the best!”
Quest is managed by pmpgenesis on behalf of Sport England and the other home sports councils. Sally Graham, the Quest Operations Manager, commented: “SIV has shown a very positive attitude towards continuous improvement over the years of assessment and has been working consistently to improve its management and service.”
Quest is the UK quality scheme for Sport and Leisure. To achieve ‘Excellent’ status, the facility must achieve over 84 per cent. A score of over 75 per cent results in ‘Highly Commended’ status.
