Further Gym Buddy Coordinator workshops have been organised to assist IFI sites in the delivery of the Gym Buddy Scheme. This is following the success of two pilot training workshops held during February in Yorkshire and the East region.
The next round of Gym Buddy Coordinator workshops will be held on:-
Monday 10th April 2006 at Grove Leisure Centre, Newark,
Monday 24th April 2006 at Westway Sports Centre, London, W10
Friday 28th April 2006 at the Peterlee Leisure Centre, Peterlee, Durham
IFI sites within the locality of these venues will be sent an invitation to the workshop in due course. The invitation will be addressed to the IFI Site Coordinator to allocate responsibility for delivery of the Gym Buddy Scheme at site level. If you do not receive an invitation to the workshop and would like to attend please contact the National Project Officer for registration details.
The three hour training workshop will focus on the Gym Buddy Resource which has been developed to support the roll out of the scheme and covers recruitment, training, retention and ongoing support of Gym Buddies (volunteers). The resource also signposts IFI sites to potential sources of funding and other useful contacts within volunteering in sport.
More workshops will be announced in April’s IFI newsletter to reach IFI sites in the North West, South West, West Midlands and the South East. If your IFI site is situated within one of these regions and you would be interested in hosting the Gym Buddy Workshop then please contact the National Project Officer.
The Gym Buddy Scheme is currently available only to IFI sites however in due course it will be available externally as a sustainable resource to encourage volunteers to accompany disabled users to become more physically active within sport and recreation.
If you require any further information about the Gym Buddy Scheme please do not hesitate to contact the National Project Officer; Jules Twells, Inclusive Fitness Initiative, c/o South Leeds Stadium, Middleton Grove, Leeds, LS11 5DJ. Tel: 07921 973 398. Email: jtwells@efds.co.uk. Website: www.efds.co.uk 
