TPT is Seeking Improvements to Help V I People Access Leisure Facilities

Date posted: 9th January 2023

Thomas Pocklington Trust is working with digital accessibility specialist All Able to better understand the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people when visiting leisure centres and gyms.

We know that blind and partially sighted people can experience a range of barriers when they are seeking to use their local leisure centre or gym or other sports facilities. We are keen to understand more about these barriers, especially the initial journey of wanting to become more active.

 

Complete our survey 

 

There are multiple layers to the project, and we are keen to hear directly from blind and partially sighted people about what improvements may be needed to encourage greater participation.

Thomas Pocklington Trust and All Able are looking into many of the contact routes for blind and partially sighted users looking to attend leisure facilities including:

  • What accessibility or disability support for visitors is available on the website
  • Can a blind or partially sighted user sign up or get in contact using the website
  • If there are member apps, what levels of accessibility are present
  • What support is offered by leisure operator staff over the phone

 

George Rhodes, Director at All Able said: “We are hoping by looking at both the digital journeys and the support offered when attending the physical locations, this research will be able to provide useful recommendations on what leisure facilities can do to improve the experience of blind and partially sighted visitors through better information availability and improved in-person support”.

 

Martin Symcox, Head of Sport and Leisure at Thomas Pocklington Trust added: “We want to use the lived experience feedback to help raise awareness of any issues. It is our intention to create several resources as an outcome of this work to give leisure providers clear actions they can implement to help make adoption of the possible solutions a straightforward process”.

If you are blind or partially sighted and want to share your experiences, please complete our short survey here.

Back to all News