Over 250 people from 14 companies from across Worcestershire took part in a Workplace Challenge rounders tournament, organised by the Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire, on Tuesday 24th May.
Hosted at the University of Worcester’s new Lakeside Campus (formerly Top Barn), the aim of the evening was to give workplaces a great opportunity to have some fun and get active with their colleagues as part of Workplace Health Week.
Businesses from across a variety of sectors participated including teams from Compco Fire Systems, Worcester City Council, Bromsgrove District Housing Trust, Action for Children, Interserve, plus a number of different departments representing the University of Worcester and the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to name but a few.
With over 50 games of rounders played over 5 pools, the overall winners of the tournament went to a staff team from Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College closely followed by a team from Worcester Warriors and Tudor Grange Academy.
The Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire run a variety of events as part of the Workplace Challenge to help companies get their workforce active, alongside a free online platform which enables individuals and workplaces to log all of their physical activity, and easily compare activity levels to other participating individuals and organisations.
Sophie Dorrell, member of the Fortis Living team, said “It was great to see so many people getting involved in a sport event. For Fortis Living, it gave us an opportunity to do something fun with colleagues outside the workplace and use skills and take on roles we don’t normally get the chance to. A well organised and enjoyable evening in a great location.”
Jude Wild, a member of the University of Worcester’s Finance team, said “We had a real laugh, and got in some exercise too! Despite nursing various bruises and minor injuries (I think I have whiplash from a particularly spectacular fall last night) we have all made it in today with huge grins on our faces having had a really good evening. We can’t wait for the next one!”
Dr Susie Hart, Director of Sport Partnership and Community Engagement at the University of Worcester said, “It was a pleasure to host the Workplace Challenge Rounders Tournament at our new Lakeside Campus. Working with the Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire to engage with the wider Worcestershire business community enabled us to highlight the new campus offering as a multipurpose outdoor activity and sport facility for our staff, students and the community.”
Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire Director, Stephen Brewster, said “It was a fantastic evening and we hope all the businesses enjoyed themselves. It was great to have such a great turnout from a variety of businesses across Worcestershire and see everyone having fun, team building and doing some physical activity as well.”
For more details on how to get involved in the Workplace Challenge please visit www.workplacechallenge.org.uk. The next Workplace Challenge event will be a Footgolf competition at Gaudet Luce Golf Club on Tuesday 21st June, registration is now open on the website.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About the Sports Partnership Herefordshire & Worcestershire
The Sports Partnership has been established to be the strategic lead for sport and physical activity across Herefordshire and Worcestershire and our vision is to create a healthier and fitter two counties.
A not for profit organisation we are part of a network of County Sport Partnerships across England and we work with the eight local authorities the two public health teams, Sport England, the University of Worcester, National Governing Bodies of Sports (NGBs) and other key organisations. Our purpose is to lead on the delivery and discovery of sport and physical activity across the two counties
The Partnerships commitments are as follows:
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Raise the awareness of and opportunities for, sport and physical activity
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Build a strong network of safe, effective and friendly clubs
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Strengthen Partnerships to ensure the effective & efficient delivery of organised sport and active recreation
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Develop an appropriately skilled workforce to support the delivery system
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Promote the Sports Partnership, its’ partners and their roles
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Demonstrate the achievements of the Partnership through evidence based performance management
Workplace Challenge
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Workplace Challenge’s activity tracking platform is a free online facility available through www.workplacechallenge.org.uk that enables individuals and workplaces to log all of their physical activity, and easily compare activity levels to other participating individuals and organisations.
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Active loggers will be able to see a variety of stats including distance travelled, calories burned, CO2 saved and progress against the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week using a targets bar. It's also possible to set personal targets (linked to fundraising if you wish) and create your ‘circles’ to compare your progress against friends and colleagues. All these features and more are available from your dashboard.
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A minimum of three registered employees are required for a workplace to appear in a leader board and people can also track their own individual progress locally and nationally.
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At a local level County Sports Partnerships across England manage the online platform for their community, ensuring that there are challenges, activities and competitions available offline to encourage people to stay active.
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Workplace Challenge is supported by Sport England through the Get Healthy Get Active fund.