Limavady feeding off Olympics legacy

The Limavady Active Living Partnership has been working behind the scenes in a bid to rebrand successful schemes and develop new programmes as the fitness fever takes grip.

The partnership was created in 2009 to promote healthier, active, stronger and more confident lives for people of all ages in the Borough.

But the post games hype has opened the market for developing health and fitness related projects here in the north-west, says Eimear Teague, Health Development Worker at Limavady Borough Council.

The partnership has already secured funding for a wide range of projects to be rolled out in the coming months.

Health check assessment days, activity schemes aiming to create awareness around nutrition, substance misuse, mother and toddler cooking and swimming programmes and a physiological health focus group are just some of the projects in the pipeline.

“The money will go towards making significant inroads into creating physical activity opportunities for diverse groups. Working in partnership with the various groups in the area, we are aiming to create sustainable programmes,” said Eimear.

She added, “We will focus on targeting groups where we believe there are equality issues, in terms of the provision of health related programmes. These groups include older men, people with disabilities, middle aged women and children.”

One of the partnership’s success stories, The Health for Life programme is set for a revamp, with the latest scheme set to be launched next month.

Newly appointed Active Lifestyles Officer at Limavady Borough Council, Andy Chapman will help coordinate and deliver the programme.

He said: “The partnership has already produced some great success stories from people who have completed the course, and there is a fantastic team of managers and exercise specialists in place at the Roe Valley Leisure Centre.”

“With spiked interest in the fitness sector following the Olympics, it’s a pretty exciting time to come onboard,” continued Andy.

Health for Life participants are taken on a healthcare provider referral basis, with a reduced membership offered on the completion of the 15-week course.

Referrals to the programme can come from a local GP, pharmacist, practice nurse, occupational therapist, condition management programme professional, or psychiatric nurse.

“We have had a diverse range of people make use of the course in previous years, and the feedback has been generally very positive,” says Andy.

“People who suffer from depression or anxiety, and people who have issues with obesity and other health related problems have taken advantage of the programme, and have gone on to change their lives”, he added.

For more information on The Limavady Active Living Partnership and the various programmes on offer, contact Eimear Teague or Andy Chapman at the Roe Valley Leisure Centre on Tel: 028 777 64009.