The sportiest borough

Wednesday January 6, 2009

People in Hammersmith & Fulham do more sport than anyone else in London - and that's official!

According to Sport England's newly released Active People survey, 27.7 per cent of borough residents enjoy at least three or more half hour sport and physical activity sessions every week - the highest rate in London and the second highest in the country!

Additionally, 46.4 per cent of residents surveyed have participated in organised sport in the last twelve months.

Cllr Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents' services, said: "This is fantastic news. There are so many reasons why H&F residents are the sportiest in London. Whether it is our beautiful parks and open spaces, our four leisure centres with their excellent facilities or the wide variety of sports clubs that are based in the borough, it is easy to see why we are top of the league when it comes to sport."

The council's commitment to improving sport and recreation has seen more than £6 million ploughed into parks and open spaces including sports facilities, from tennis courts to bowling greens. The four borough leisure centres also provide a vast array of affordable sporting opportunities for people of all ages - for example, over 60s can swim for free at either Phoenix Leisure Centre or Fulham Pools.

The council also works closely with the Primary Care Trust to develop a fit and healthy borough. In April 2009, the leadership teams for both these organisations united to improve the health and wellbeing of the borough's residents. NHS Hammersmith and Fulham also sponsored free swim sessions last August for all under 16s at both Phoenix and Fulham pools. 

Dr Ike Anya, NHS Hammersmith and Fulham acting director of public health, said: " It's great news our residents are fitting exercise into their routines.

"Exercise is important whatever your age, but making exercise a habit people get into needs to start at a very young age.

"To help encourage this we're funding initiatives like Bike-It, a school based scheme to get children interested in cycling as a way of getting fit.

"We're also launching Boost, a new activity course for children aged under four to help them and their families see health and fitness as part of everyday life.

"We're looking forward to supporting more of these initiatives in the future."