Legacy Leisure WSA Membership Testimonial
Colleen Tumelty, Regional Director for Wales and the South West at Legacy Leisure, has revealed why the organisation signed up to be members of the Welsh Sports Association and how WSA membership has benefitted them:
As a commercial operator in Wales, I recognised the importance of being linked in with the wider sport and leisure industry.
Until signing up for membership we had been very much out of touch with the wider sector, but the WSA provides a great forum for being able to link and share information with the commercial, trust, voluntary and public sectors working in sport in the region.
We joined the WSA at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the immediate and obvious challenge was how the sector would deal with the Pandemic and survive its impact.
The WSA has been a fantastic support, particularly in lobbying and representing the sector at Ministerial level. The ability to join with other providers to share experiences and pressures facing us during the past couple of years has been extremely valuable.
Colleen continued to explain what membership has meant for Legacy Leisure:
Joining the WSA has provided us with a clear understanding that whatever the basis of your organisation – whether it’s Trust, Voluntary, Commercial, or Public – the threats and opportunities in sport are the same; working together and understanding each other’s perspective can, and does, make a difference to people’s lives.
Membership has had a really successful impact for us. We’ve had positive engagement with other facility providers, better understanding of the Welsh sporting landscape and frameworks, access to financial and peer support, and felt a direct impact of the WSA’s lobbying for sector support – their representation and advocacy has really stood out.
Our general experience with the WSA has been really positive. It’s been easy to access the guidance and advice provided, and to learn of the resources available that can support the Welsh region of our company; being a national company, integrating with and understanding the Welsh agenda and processes has been invaluable.
In conclusion, Colleen went on to say if she’d recommend the WSA to any potential members:
I would undoubtedly recommend the WSA to any prospective members. It’s a ‘one stop shop’ for the whole sector to be able to interact, develop partnerships, share experiences, and access services.
As a large company, many of the services the WSA provide are already granted through Parkwood Leisure, but they’re so important for smaller organisations who may not have the access to central resources and support that we have.
Although we came to the WSA in a period of uncertainty and high risk to the sector, we fully intend to stay on as members to ensure we are fully engaged and linked to the sports sector in Wales in the future.
For more information about the benefits of WSA membership, click here.
To discover how to become members, click here.
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