Brimbank City Council recently celebrated award achievements at the annual Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Industry Awards, held on Friday 28 January 2022.
Council was nominated in seven categories and received three awards, including:
- Swim School Award
- Sustainability Award
- Marketing and Communications Award – Digital Transformation
Sunshine Leisure Centre credited the ARV Swim School Award to its active communication with families, forward thinking innovations like virtual swim classes and the retention of the majority of swim teachers to ensure class availability when students returned to the program following lockdowns.
Other key attributes of the program include increased participation by our access and inclusion students, increased participation in our AquaPlay sessions, scheduling three new schools despite COVID-19 limitations, growth of overall enrolment numbers despite lockdown disruptions and providing 110 existing swim students a complimentary holiday program to fast track the return of swimming skills.
With the assistance of Brimbank City Council’s sustainability team, Brimbank Leisure Centres were able to demonstrate a significant commitment to sustainable operational practices which led to receiving the ARV Sustainability Award.
Fourteen initiatives were included in the submission to demonstrate the active involvement in reducing carbon emissions and excessive water usage.
Over a two year period, the Sunshine Leisure Centre was able to reduce electricity usage by 340,000KWH through solar panel farms on the outdoor pool grandstand and multi-deck car park.
The reverse Osmosis plant produced 19,000KL of water to reduce usage from mains water. This is the second year in succession that Brimbank City Council has won the ARV Sustainability award.
Finally, Brimbank Leisure Centres were also the recipient of the Marketing and Communications Award for Digital Transformation.
Through a range of digital initiatives such as the launch of the new Brimbank Leisure Centres website, a Brimbank Leisure Centres app and online solutions to meet the needs of the community, Brimbank City Council demonstrated excellence in marketing and communication strategies within its aquatic and leisure facilities.
As part of this digital transformation, enrolments for swim school are now available online – no more paper forms to fill in and return!
