Vale Farm in Middlesex awarded IFI Mark
A Wembley sports centre that has invested heavily in improving its accessibility has been awarded Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) accreditation.
Vale Farm in Middlesex has installed a fully-accessible fitness facility on the ground floor of its revamped building and, following an IFI audit, has been granted an IFI Mark.
Chris Williams, Vale Farm manager, told the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS):
“We are ecstatic to get the accreditation, actually. It’s not an easy accreditation to get, and in fact it can be hard work to achieve. But it is something that actually shows that we are open to everyone, and hopefully it’ll increase the amount of disabled people who come having decided that they can use Vale Farm.”
Leisure provider Everyone Active took over the running of Vale Farm in November 2013 and has spent close to £2 million on renovations and improvements. Williams explains:
“We have built a specialist Target Gym, which is on the ground floor and is designed to attract new groups, including disability groups, GP referrals and other people who perhaps don’t want to, or can’t, use the main gym.
“The Target Gym is fitted out with pretty much exactly the same equipment as the main gym, which is situated on the floor above. It has treadmills, cross-trainers, bikes, rowers and a number of different weights machines. There is also a balance area and powerplates.”
And following the IFI inspection, Williams said further alterations were made in order to making the facility more accessible and meet IFI Mark requirement:
“We wanted to get the IFI accreditation to allow us to open ourselves up to a much wider population who could use the gym, who might otherwise have thought that they couldn’t.
“Following the inspection we had to improve notices around the building and make adjustments to lighting levels. We now have LED lights installed, which makes the whole facility much brighter. And we’ve purchased specific items of fitness equipment on the recommendation of IFI, to allow us to attract more people to Vale Farm.”
All Vale Farm employees are trained in disability awareness, and many of the gym staff have undertaken further training and specialist courses.
Other London-based Everyone Active facilities are seeking the IFI Mark, and Williams feels it is an accreditation all leisure facilities across the country should seek to achieve.
“Every leisure centre should have the IFI Mark. It’s all about making a cultural change. Every facility in the country should aspire to achieve it, and it should be used as a benchmark in terms of where every facility should be heading.”
