Ireland Active NQS Awards for 2019 Recognise Top Irish Leisure, Fitness & Hotel Leisure Facilities

 Ireland Active, the representative body for the Leisure, Health & Fitness Industry, awarded the top Leisure, Fitness and Hotel Leisure Facilities across the country at the National Quality Standard Awards (NQS) at the annual awards ceremony on 16^th November at Druids Glen Resort. The overall winners in five main categories recognised for their high standards across safety, hygiene, customer engagement and human resources.

Awarded to 93 facilities nationwide this year, the awards are designed to acknowledge excellence in the Leisure, Fitness and Hotel Leisure Facility Industry. Award winners included:

• Shoreline Leisure Greystones, Co. Wicklow- ‘Best Leisure Facility’;
• Zest Health & Fitness, Cavan Crystal Hotel, Co. Cavan- ‘Best Hotel Leisure Facility’;
• WIT Arena, Co. Waterford- ‘Best Fitness Facility’;
• Gym Plus Cork, Co. Cork- ‘Best Newcome Facility’; and
• Coral Leisure Ballinasloe, Co. Galway- ‘Most Improved Facility’.

The Awards were held in conjunction with Ireland Active’s annual conference, where some of the most notable names in the industry nationally and internationally, spoke on topics relevant to leisure, health and fitness. The industry which has grown hugely in recent years employs an estimated 9,000 people generating more than €300 million for the Irish economy each year.

Speaking on the event, Conn McCluskey, CEO, Ireland Active said: “We are delighted to host the inaugural Ireland Active National Quality Standard Awards, having rebranded the awards this year after 15 years as the White Flag Awards. The awards serve to recognise the deserving recipients for their hard work in setting the bar for the highest level of standards possible in their leisure, fitness and hotel leisure facilities who such a significant role in the health and well-being of the country. We are thrilled to acknowledge each facility for their outstanding accomplishments in the areas of safety, hygiene, customer engagement and human resources.”

The key note speaker at this year’s event was Colin Milner, CEO & founder of International Council on Active Ageing addressing the important contribution the health, leisure and fitness industry can play in keeping people active into older age.

Additional speakers included GM of Center Parcs Longford Forest, Daragh Feighery; Founder of Trainaway Alexander Schroeder; Marketing Director for Fitbit EMEA, Briain Curtin; HPRA CEO, Dr Lorraine Nolan; Former Munster Rugby Player and Performance Coach Jonny Holland; TRX Master Trainer Darren Dillion; Exercise Physiologist Dr James Timmons, and closing keynote speaker, Author and High-Performance Coach Pat Divilly.

Notes to Editor

Ireland Active is the national association for leisure, health and fitness sector and represent over 300 publicly and privately-owned leisure centres, gyms, swimming pools, fitness education providers and recreation facilities nationwide. An estimated 450,000 Irish people are members of leisure, health & fitness facilities right across Ireland. The industry employs approximately 9,000 people generating an estimated €300m to the Irish economy each year.

Winners of the National Quality Standard Awards for 2019:

Level 1: Achieved, Level 2: Exceeded, Level 3: Outstanding

Hotel Leisure Awards

Fitness Facility Awards