The ukactive Awards and Active Uprising will be held in Birmingham for the first time, ukactive announced today as entries open for the sector’s biggest celebration.
While Birmingham prepares to host the Commonwealth Games, the physical activity sector will come together at the International Convention Centre on Thursday 30 June for the industry’s flagship awards ceremony.
The evening will mark the first in-person ukactive Awards since 2019 in Manchester and will follow Active Uprising, the all-day learning event which also makes a return this year after going digital in 2020.
The ukactive Awards, in partnership with Active IQ, officially open for entries today, with organisations of all types and sizes encouraged to enter before the closing date of Friday 25 February.
The Awards will celebrate the very best of the physical activity sector following two years of unparalleled disruption and ukactive has adapted the COVID-19 award categories to focus on the recovery, resilience and successes achieved throughout the pandemic.
The Awards will also see the welcome return of many popular categories, including the hotly contested National Club/Centre of the Year Award.
The Jan Spaticchia Special Recognition Award will make its debut after being announced as part of National Fitness Day, a campaign which Jan founded during his time at the énergie Group. The award is designed to recognise an outstanding individual who has made a continued and significant impact across the breadth of our sector.
Award entries will be assessed during a first-round marking process and those reaching the second round will go through either a judging panel or a mystery shop conducted by ProInsight, with some categories also put to a public vote.
Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “We cannot wait to take the ukactive Awards and Active Uprising to Birmingham this year, at such an exciting time for the city, region and indeed the nation.
“Hosting the Commonwealth Games should represent far more than elite sport and with this in mind the ukactive Awards will showcase the value of our physical activity sector to communities across the UK.
“The ukactive Awards celebrate the endeavour and ingenuity demonstrated by our businesses and the teams behind our success.
“There has never been a more important time to recognise your team’s efforts and then to unite with the sector this summer in celebration.”
Jenny Patrickson, Managing Director of Active IQ, said: “I’m delighted that Active IQ is returning as a headline sponsor for the 2022 ukactive Awards. Having supported these Awards since their very first year, we have seen them grow in stature and gain recognition as one of the industry’s foremost benchmarks of quality and achievement.
“The creativity, diversity and sheer energy that we have seen from previous entrants never ceases to amaze us. I hope this year’s ukactive Awards will inspire people from across the industry to share their best work and achievements as we look to celebrate the best in class of our sector.”
The full list of ukactive Awards for 2022:
Group A: Business Excellence
Regional & National Club/Centre of the Year
Supplier of the Year
New Concept, Build or Design of the Year.
Group B: Specialist Impact
Generation Active Award
Healthy Communities Award
Activation Award
Marketing Campaign Award
The Physical Activity Excellence Award
Diversity & Inclusion Award
Digital Transformation Award
Award for Business Continuity, Recovery and Success following on from the Covid-19 pandemic
Award for Developing and Supporting Communities following on from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Group C: Individual Achievement
Physical Activity Hero Award
Outstanding Leadership Award
The Jan Spaticchia Special Recognition Award.
To apply for the ukactive Awards 2022 and to read the Entry Guide, click here. Entries must be submitted before Friday 25 February 2022. Details of the ukactive Awards ceremony and Active Uprising, including tickets, will be announced shortly.
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