City St George’s, University of London, wins the inaugural Workplace Culture & Initiative Award, recognising its commitment to staff wellbeing, inclusion, and a culture of physical activity.
Sport and Wellness, the sport service of City St George’s, is celebrating national recognition after winning the Workplace Culture & Initiative Award at the 2026 ukactive Awards, held on Thursday 8 October at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham.
The award recognises Sport and Wellness’ commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace culture that puts people, wellbeing, and physical activity at its heart. Introduced for the first time in 2026, the category celebrates organisations delivering impactful initiatives designed to improve employee wellbeing and encourage healthier, more active lifestyles.
The achievement places Sport and Wellness among the leading organisations in the UK’s physical activity sector, recognising workplace culture improvements within the service, work to support colleagues across the university, and wider contribution to the sport sector.
Recognising Excellence across the UK Fitness and Physical Activity Sector
The 2026 ukactive Awards brought together more than 850 leaders from across the physical activity sector to celebrate organisations, teams, and individuals making a difference through sport, fitness, and wellbeing. This year’s awards attracted a record number of entries, with 190 submissions across 14 categories. Sport and Wellness was shortlisted in three categories: National Independent Club/Centre of the Year, Outstanding Leadership Team Award, and Workplace Culture & Initiative Award.
In addition to winning the Workplace Culture & Initiative Award, Sport and Wellness was selected as one of just six organisations nationally shortlisted for the prestigious Outstanding Organisation of the Year award.
The recognition highlights the breadth of work delivered by Sport and Wellness, from its facilities and services to its leadership, staff development, and commitment to creating a positive and inclusive environment for colleagues and members.
In receipt, Tom Edwards, Head of Sport and Wellness, commented
“This award is a significant achievement for Sport and Wellness and the university as a whole. Without the dedication and care taken by Service staff to deliver an exceptional offering, and input of colleagues across the university, we would not be able to create an environment in which people can thrive, and do so through sport and physical activity. Thank you for everyone who has supported or taken part in our programmes.”
Creating Winning Cultures and Initiatives
At the heart of Sport and Wellness’s award-winning approach is a commitment to recognising that a healthy and supportive workplace culture goes beyond providing access to facilities. It is firstly about creating motivated and supported Sport staff. They, in turn, provide opportunities for and encourage colleagues across the university to create healthy habits.
Working collaboratively with City St George’s Organisational Development team, Sport staff have undergone a bespoke needs assessment and training programme to establish optimal ways of working, enhance interpersonal relationships, and develop exceptional customer service standards. By placing people at the centre of service delivery, Sport and Wellness ensure that colleagues are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to deliver inclusive and positive experiences, regardless of user interests and needs.
This approach is reflected in the service’s vision: Be Active, Be Social, Be Competitive. Through a range of initiatives designed around these three principles, Sport and Wellness has created opportunities for colleagues to participate in sport and physical activity in ways that suit them.
Underpinning these initiatives is a collaborative approach to programme design. Many programmes are delivered in partnership or have referrals into interventions. Rather than focusing on individual initiatives in isolation, the combination of wellbeing programmes, social activities, and sport participation, and staff development reflects a broader commitment to creating a workplace culture where people feel valued and supported.
Be Active: Encouraging Healthier Lifestyles
Sport and Wellness has developed a range of initiatives to encourage colleagues to take a more proactive approach to their physical and mental wellbeing.
Health Screenings help colleagues identify areas to better care for themselves, while free gym access, as part of the Wellness Wednesdays campaign, provides no-cost opportunities for all university staff to engage with fitness activities for personal health and self-care. The 12-week health referral Be Active, Feel Well scheme offers a more structured approach to improving health and activity levels, combining coached sessions with individual support to help participants develop healthier habits. Alongside this, Virtual Reality sessions explore innovative ways to engage colleagues with wellbeing through immersive technology. MOVES+ further supports the ambition to make physical activity part of everyday life by encouraging movement and rewarding active behaviours. Together, these initiatives demonstrate a university commitment to making wellbeing accessible and supporting a culture in which health and physical activity are valued.
Be Social: Creating a More Inclusive Workplace
Recognising that social connection and a sense of belonging are important parts of workplace wellbeing, Sport and Wellness has developed opportunities for colleagues to come together through sport and shared experiences.
Just Play staff sessions provide opportunities for colleagues to enjoy informal sport, meet people from across the University, and partake in activity in a welcoming environment. Alongside this, female-only activities help provide opportunities for women to engage in sport and physical activity in an environment designed to support comfort and confidence.
These initiatives help create connections beyond individual departments, encouraging staff to try new activities and feel part of a wider university community.
Be Competitive: Bringing Colleagues Together
Sport and Wellness also recognises the positive role that teamwork, friendly competition, and shared achievement can play in creating a connected and engaged workforce.
The Staff Sports Day creates enjoyable – yet highly competitive – sporting experiences and memories, as teams compete in a range of playground games to achieve first place on the leaderboard. Sport specific tournaments provide opportunities for all staff, from your secret sports stars to the social players, to flourish on the court. It’s not about the winning though. These competitive events help reinforce the importance of overcoming and sharing challenging experiences as a team.
A Shared Achievement for Sport and Wellness and the University
Mark Hollingsworth, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at City St George’s said
“I am delighted that Sport and Wellness has won the UKActive Workplace Culture & Initiative Award 2026. This award celebrates the inclusive and supportive culture created for, and embodied by, all staff within the Sport and Wellness Service. Their impact extends beyond CitySport, with programmes driving healthy lifestyle behaviours and supporting wellness for all university colleagues. The collaborative approach to project design and staff training has ensured that our people are placed at the heart of our delivery.
That the Service has also been shortlisted as one of six Outstanding Organisations of the Year indicates how strongly it is performing in relation to the wider sector. My congratulations to Tom and the team for their hard work and dedication - a great result for City St George’s.”
The recognition reinforces Sport and Wellness’ ambition to make sport, fitness, and physical activity accessible, engaging, and beneficial to the diverse student, staff, and local communities it serves.
As Sport and Wellness continues to develop its facilities, programmes, and services, this national recognition provides an opportunity to build on that progress and further strengthen its contribution to health, wellbeing, and an active, supported university community.