Double gold accolade for Courtown Centre
The team at Courtown Adventure and Leisure Centre returned from the Ireland Active Conference and White Flag national quality standard awards in the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone recently with two new awards in tow.
The centre was awarded gold in the leisure centre category for the third year in a row, and gold in the accessibility awards. Leisure and fitness facilities around the country were rewarded for high standards in the areas of safety, hygiene, customer service, and human resources. The White Flag scheme grades facilities’ operational standards, similar to the Blue Flag for beaches.
Courtown Adventure and Leisure Centre general manager Margaret Quinn paid tribute to the hard work put in to the centre by the voluntary board of directors, management, and staff. She said there have been major changes at the centre in recent months thanks to a €300,000 energy conservation grant from the Department of Tourism and Sport through the local authority swimming pool programme. The grant application was supported by Wexford County Council, and 15 per cent of the total cost was provided by the centre.
The work included: automatic doors; new sauna and steam room with accessibility; new business management system; energy-saving lights; energy-saving pumps; solar panels; upgrades to the biomass boiler; a new disabled access hoist; and energy-saving windows in the viewing area. The improvements are expected to substantially reduce energy costs, and reduce maintenance.