Staff at the Newmarket Leisure Centre are celebrating after winning a prestigious national award.

For they have been crowned Local Authority/Leisure Trust Gym of the Year at the National Fitness Awards 2018.

To come out on top, the gym went through a detailed and rigorous assessment process, which involved a site visit by a member of the awards’ team who toured the facility, chatted to members and staff and examined all areas of the business from member retention to customer service.

Reports were then compiled and passed on to an expert judging panel, which included nutritionist, educator, speaker and writer Ben Coomber, JD Gyms commercial director Amelia Worrall, experienced author, broadcaster, group exercise expert and karate champion Dean Hodgkin, fitness guru and former contestant on The Apprentice Katie Bulmer-Cooke and award-winning gym owner Steve Johnson, who decided the winners in each category from the shortlists.

Abbeycroft Leisure’s CEO Warren Smyth was delighted with the recognition of the centre in Exning Road and said: “This is a huge achievement, going up against some of the industry’s top facilities and winning, so naturally we’re incredibly proud of the team at Newmarket who work so hard to ensure that every customer’s experience is first class.”

Andy Drummond, cabinet member for Leisure and Culture at Forest Heath District Council, added: “We have made strong, healthy families and communities a council priority and I couldn’t be more pleased with this recognition, not only of how well we serve residents, but of how well local people use the facilities we provide. I congratulate Abbeycroft Leisure, our leisure trust partners, on delivering to such a fantastic standard, and for giving another reason to be proud of where we live.”

And National Fitness Awards’ event director Judith Halkerston said: “All our winners have had an arduous journey to this point – the standard of entries seems to just get stronger year on year and every facility that walked away with an award should be extremely proud.”

Awards were presented in 22 different categories at a glittering ceremony which was held at The Athena, in Leicester, attended by nearly 700 health and fitness professionals and hosted by former TV Gladiators and fitness experts Jenny Pacey and Wayne Gordon.