UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE
CENTRE FOR SPORT AND RECREATION
USERS FORUM
Minutes of the meeting held on 14th March 2011
Present: Dr. David Nash, Shaun McAllister, Niall Sturrock, Scott Neil, Geoff McKay, Samantha
Mackay, Irene Lockhart, Arlene Carruthers.
Apologies: Yousuf Kerr
Attending: Emma Walker
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on the 13th December 2010 were accepted.
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT REPORT
SOUND SYSTEM:
Work to improve the sound system is on-going. A new music system for the Sports Hall is to
be commissioned for installation in June.
FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS:
The current building was not built to take the present footfall. A number of potential
improvements to the facility have been identified and are currently being reviewed by the
Fabric & Maintenance department for viability and cost. SMcA confirmed that there are
continuing discussions with regards to implementing improvements that can then be
transferred to the new building.
OPENING HOURS:
Early opening is currently being considered. There are some significant obstacles in relation to
opening the Centre earlier. SN informed the Forum that the staff shifts are currently very
close to the EU Working Time Directive. An additional obstacle is having cleaning staff in early
enough to clean the building. SMcA confirmed that this was a University-wide issue and was
being investigated. It was suggested that the cleaning staff could work alongside centre
users. SN stated that this would require a full risk assessment.
MEMBERSHIP:
NS reported that annual memberships are up compared to last year, with semester 1
memberships down by 1. Staff memberships are down. This was partly attributed to the
restructuring within the University that resulted in many staff members no longer being
employed within the University.
DN suggested the introduction of a premier membership scheme. DN asked that for the next
meeting everyone consider what services should be inclusive of membership and what
services should incur an additional cost.
GLASGOW SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARDS:
We continued to support the Student Athlete of the Year award at the Glasgow Sports Person
of the Year awards. The event provided high-profile publicity for the CSR and a good
opportunity for networking.
STRATEGIC PLAN
SMcA informed the Forum that the delivery of the strategic plan was in the process of being
developed. SMcA also highlighted that the way the strategic plan had been disseminated in the CSR
had been used as an exemplar within the University.
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FACILITIES USAGE & SURVEYS
CENTRE USAGE:
NS confirmed that the centre usage is down around 5% in comparison to last year.
Contributing factors to this were discussed, including being closed as a result of adverse
weather conditions and the introduction of the online shop reducing turnstile numbers.
GYMETRIX SURVEY:
The Gymetrix team surveyed 200 people and measured the usage of both CV and weight
machines. DN highlighted the possibility of this type of study being carried out by Engineering
students in future.
Action:
NS/SN to prepare a summary of findings from the Gymetrix study.
AOCB
NS confirmed that there had been discussions with Angela McGarry regarding the possibility of
providing live feedback on gym user numbers using the University of Strathclyde mobile phone
application.
It was suggested that more fitness classes could be introduced. NS stated that this could be
possible with an additional facility.
SMacK suggested that the spin bikes be moved to another area. SN highlighted that
movement increases the depreciation on the bikes. It was also noted that due to the Equality
Act 2010 spin bikes could not permanently reside in an area that was inaccessible to disabled
users.
GMcK suggested that the Gym Full data be displayed in a more noticeable way.
DN proposed that the name of the User’s Forum be changed. SMcA requested that everyone
consider alternative names for the group in preparation for the next meeting.
Dates for the remaining meetings of 2010/11 are: 06/06/2011 and 05.09.2011.
E.W. 28/03/2011