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Vikings go into
battle with the aid of STATSports...
WITH the countdown to Super
League 2013 gaining momentum by the day, the Vikings are pleased to
announce another new partner for the forthcoming season.
STATSports was established in 2007 by Alan Clarke and Sean O'Connor.
They identified a need for a service model in the sport science
sector within the elite sporting industry.
STATSports have built their global reputation on excellent support
and service. The company provides a range of sports science services
from GPS, fitness assessment, nutritional advice and database
development to a whole host of sporting clients, on both a domestic
and international level. This includes the likes of Manchester Utd
and Everton FC, the England and Germany International Football
teams, alongside the England RFU team.
The STATSports logo features on the reverse of the club's all-new
playing and replica jerseys, and it will also have a presence on the
Big Screen at the Stobart Stadium throughout the 2013 season.
Widnes Vikings' Strength and Conditioning Coach Clive Brewer, has a
long association with STATSports, and first worked with them when he
held the position as Head of Human Performance at the RFL.
STATSports were commissioned to work with Tony Smith's England team
in the 2009 Four Nations competition and it is a period Brewer
remembers well, commenting; "Although GPS technology was used
in the NRL at the time, we were the first International team of any
code to use the technology live in training and games. The
advantages that it could bring were obvious to us right from the
start".
Brewer has brought that International thinking to his role at the
Vikings, said:- "As a Performance Department, all our
decisions are influenced by the information that is available to us,
and Denis is keen that all our training is as closely planned and
monitored as possible. STATSports have been instrumental in that,
and the new Viper technology that we will be piloting with them will
really help us move forward from the base that we developed last
year. Despite limited financial resources, compared to many clubs,
we were one of the few teams to have every player in every game
monitored with GPS, and from the start of this year's pre-season we
have been able to monitor every player in every training session,
thanks to our partnership with STATSports. It is essential in this
game that we are staying ahead of the competition and getting the
most out of the players that we have. Our partnerships with both
STATSports and Liverpool John Moores has allowed us to get a
STATSports intern (Simon Evans) onto an M.Phil research degree at
the University whilst working fulltime with the Vikings. This
association will continue with Simon transferring onto a PhD
programme at LJMU in 2013. The way that he can produce data enables
us to accelerate the way that we can make quality decisions. What we
are able to do in terms of monitoring the training loads and the
players responses to this, has strengthened the links between the
conditioning, medical and rugby aspects of the programme. Linking
LJMU expertise with Dr Ronan McRuairi at STATSports (widely regarded
as a world-leading expert in data analysis) will really change the
way that we look at the information we obtain, and also how we are
able to feed that back to the players in a meaningful way. This is
something that the players have really bought into and we see as
essential. The way to become the best at what we do is to work with
those most knowledgeable in their fields of expertise - in this
case, the experts at STATSsports and LJMU, as well as our in-house
expertise through Simon. In the tough world of elite rugby league,
we will be identifying problems that STATSports and LJMU will be
able to solve and incorporate into the STATSports product
development. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that will mean
that both parties can deliver world-leading best practice moving
forward."
Vikings' Head Coach Denis Betts was also keen to comment on the
partnership, added:- "Our relationship with STATSports is
massively beneficial to both parties. As a company, they get access
to a high-end sporting environment and the vast amount of data that
we collect and analyse from every player on a daily basis. This will
allow them to further develop their elite software and equipment.
From our perspective, we get to utilise and be at the cutting edge
of, a highly sought after market leading analysis product.We are
always keen to try something a bit different and would love nothing
more than to see our stadium become an absolute hot bed of real-time
data capture and analysis. This would offer us a greater insight
into how best to use the time we have with our players and get the
most from their energies. In time, these developments will also
benefit the whole game, as the technologies that we are piloting
become more widely available and the information available to the
fans - bringing them closer to the action. This will certainly help
us progress and by the same token, STATSports will also reap the
rewards and learn how they can best utilise the information and
procedures they already have in place and improve their elite
products." |
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Redevelopment of
NHS emergency department scheme commended for consideration
VINCI Construction UK
performed to a standard 'beyond compliance' during the maintenance
and delivery of an exceptionally clean and organised emergency
extension scheme at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The
live project has been awarded a score of 35.5 out of 40 from the
Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS); a national initiative
established to improve the reputation of the construction industry.
The high score demonstrates the site team's commitment to the Code
of Considerate Practice, which was assessed by a CCS monitor, in the
areas of respectfulness, environmental conscientiousness,
accountability, safe practice, responsibility, site appearance and
project performance.
Mark Thomas, Regional Director, VINCI Construction UK, Building
Division – North West, said:- "We are extremely pleased with
the maintenance and delivery of this scheme. The high score reflects
our commitment in identifying all measures which comply with the
scheme's criteria and exceeding its expectations. With the high
demand of AandE cases the improved emergency department will ensure
seriously ill patients receive efficient and speedy access to
treatment by the specialist emergency teams."
The £500,000 project, which was completed in November 2012,
comprised four phases to extensively refurbish the existing
resuscitation area in the emergency department and to convert the
observation ward into a secondary, extended resuscitation area.
Training for
World–Class Service
BUSINESSES in one of
Liverpool's main shopping corridors are being offered free training
to help it achieve an internationally recognised status in customer
service. The '1578'
area, which covers Lodge Lane, Earle Road, Lawrence Road
and Smithdown Road, is aiming to become a World Host Destination.
A number of businesses have to have front-line staff trained in
customer service to qualify for the accolade.
The World Host Destination programme was developed in Canada and
areas which achieve the status are recognised as proving excellent
standards of customer service. Staff and volunteers at the London
2012 Olympic Games, who were recognised by people around the world
as providing outstanding customer service, underwent the training.
Liverpool City Council with Liverpool Vision is supporting the
training, by funding the course, for small businesses, charitable
organisations and other stakeholders. Larger firms will be expected
to contribute to costs.
The 1 day training courses, which will take place in February will
teach:-
► The importance of excellent communication
► The skills of effective communication
► The lifetime value of a customer to the business
► An understanding of the value of retail to the UK
► The 5 key principle commitments that enable staff to go 'the extra
mile'
Councillor Nick Small, Liverpool City Council Cabinet member for
skills, enterprise and employment said:- "We are getting a
very good response from business when we talk to them about the
training. It is important that their staff take up this offer so we
can achieve World Host Destination status. It will mean that the
1578 area is internationally recognised for the quality of its
customer service and will help it attract more customers.
Training courses with accredited trainers are being held in
conjunction with Academy One, Liverpool One's training arm.
To book a place on the course contact Kim Cooper via emailing:-
kcooper@liverpoolvision.co.uk
or calling:- 0151 600 2934. |
