£75,000 for Keele University healthy campus project

 

Keele University has been awarded £75,000, by the National Lottery through Sport England, to help its staff and students get fit through a healthy campus project.

 

The aim of the project, which will be launched at Keele’s leisure centre on May 7, is to encourage people to take part in a minimum of three 30 minute sessions of sport and active recreation every week.

 

The wide range of activities provided for staff and students includes salsa, aerobics, yoga, archery, squash, table tennis, boxercise and belly dancing. Classes will take place at lunch times and before and after work, and the scheme is open to all staff, students and Science Park members, and their families.

 

Participants can also count off-campus sport and recreation towards their 3x30 goal, and progress will be assessed at regular intervals.

 

The Sport England funding, which will be split over three years, will also go towards providing new sporting equipment, cycle lockers, newsletters and extending the opening hours of the Keele’s leisure facilities.

 

Rauf Mirza, Chair of Sport England’s West Midlands Regional Sports Board, congratulated the University on the award. He said: “It is important that opportunities to take part in sport and active recreation are available in a variety of places, opening up sports facilities to everyone. Universities are large employers, so they have the potential to attract large numbers of people to take part in sport. This project demonstrates the commitment of the University to get everyone on their site more active through sport. I look forward to hearing how things progress”.

 

Keele University leisure centre manager Angela Dale added: ’This is a fantastic opportunity for students and staff at Keele to move towards a healthier lifestyle. We want to get as many people as possible involved in some form of regular exercise using the extensive sport and recreational facilities at the University.”

 

County Sports Partnership, Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, which supported Keele’s application for the healthy campus project, also welcomed the funding. Director Mark Thornewill said: " Keele University Leisure Centre are working with other partners within Newcastle under Lyme's Community Sports Network to provide more opportunities for students, residents and employees on and around Keele University Campus to participate more in sport and active recreation. Keele Healthy Campus will make a major contribution towards us achieving increasingly active, healthy and successful communities across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent."

 

For more information contact:

Angela Dale
Leisure Centre Manager
Tel: 01782 583367
Email: a.j.dale@kfm.keele.ac.uk