Member Article

City sports and leisure provider makes senior appointments

A Coventry sports and leisure provider has boosted its offering to the city with two senior appointments.

University graduate Neelam Rani, from North Coventry, has joined the Foundation as lifestyles membership manager and Emily Wornum, from Fleckney, as swimming development manager, as part of the sporting charity’s ambitious growth plans to enhance its memberships and swimming offering.

Neelam’s recruitment will see her work across the Foundation’s three sports and leisure centres, Centre AT7, in Bell Green Road, the Alan Higgs Centre, in Allard Way, and Xcel Leisure Centre, in Mitchell Avenue.

Her new role will not only see her work towards recruiting new members, but also retaining members as part of her plans to grow and enhance the Foundation’s customer service and experience it offers to its gym users.

The Sport Science and Management alumna - whose previous work experience includes internships at Nottingham Forest FC, Nottingham Greyhound Stadium as well as roles at Pure Gym and Heathrow Airport - said: “Based locally, I’ve always been aware of Coventry Sports Foundation’s huge value to the city.

“Having used the facilities since I was a child, it’s great to have come full circle and now be working with the charity to enhance the experience it provides to customers and members.

“Since the Foundation has a real community culture, the role is a contrast to my previous employer, Pure Gym, but one I will relish as I share the same philosophy that it is important to know members on a personal level.

“I relish high pressure, fast paced roles and have enjoyed having to hit the ground running, as I learn the personalities of each venue and various divisions of the business.”

New swimming development manager, Emily Wornum, joined the team eight weeks ago. The role is of particular importance not only to the Foundation but also the community, since the charity is the biggest swimming provider in the city - accommodating 2,000 swimming lessons and nearly 50 schools every week.

Emily, who previously worked as a swimming lesson manager at a leisure centre in Southam, is currently working to grow the swimming scheme further by making more lessons available and offering more splash sessions for families and toddlers up to five years old, in an aim to encourage early learning.

The 24-year-old said: “Having managed one venue before, I’m really enjoying the challenge at Coventry Sports Foundation where I’m now not only managing swimming but leading its future development.

“In the two months since starting, I’ve helped the Foundation recruit more than 20 new lifeguards and swim instructors.

“This has been a vital step forward in developing our swimming facilities as we now have more capacity than ever before, to really enhance our offering by providing more frequent lessons and crash courses.

“Swimming is a really important life skill and I’m very passionate about increasing participation in it - you see a huge difference in swimming abilities when they start from a young age.

“Long-term, it would be fantastic to get every school involved in using our swimming facilities daily.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .