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Head of Sales and Commercial Development

Welcome

Message from Emma Walker, Chief Executive

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust is the area’s leading provider of sports and leisure services, it has a long, successful track record of delivering on its charitable commitment to make a difference to local communities.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, the trust successfully grew attendance levels year-on-year, with particular target groups such as older adults and young people recording high levels of engagement. Undoubtedly, the pandemic and associated lockdowns and restrictions has had a significant impact on the business, and, we continue to deal with all the challenges associated with the public health crisis.

I have been immensely impressed with teams across the organisation that have risen to the challenge to keep colleagues and customers safe with consistently high level of COVID health and safety protocols and this is reflected in our customer satisfaction ratings.

Equally, teams have also done a fantastic job at encouraging local people back to their local sports and leisure centres so that we recorded an overall recovery rate of 63 per cent for the third quarter compared to the same period last year. As the majority of COVID restrictions were only lifted in August, this is particularly impressive.

This trend is mirrored in the Learn to Swim programme with Fife Sports and Leisure Trust now officially the largest provider in Scotland of the Scottish Swimming scheme. We are now supporting over 6,900 participants, with the aquatics team exceeding their engagement target by 1.84 per cent – well done to all involved.

I have also been pleased with the levels of participation in the health and wellbeing programme, group fitness and gym attendance. We are in a positive position to carry this trend forward this year.

We are increasingly strengthening our partnership working with Fife Council to deliver an overall health and physical activity strategy aimed to encourage more people to get active more often. I am very much looking forward to growing this work and expanding involvement by teams across the trust.

Despite all the challenges that the trust now faces, the opportunity to recover and grow is an exciting one and I believe that for the right person, there is a great future at the trust.