Outdoor exercise provider British Military Fitness has become the first operator to receive ukactive Outdoor Code of Practice certification (OCOP).

Currently in its launch phase, the OCOP forms part of ukactive’s commitment to raising standards for outdoor fitness providers. It is intended to provide a seal of approval that demonstrates consumers are exercising in a safe, secure environment, with responsible instructors who have effective outdoor-relevant risk safeguards in place.

With many outdoor sessions taking place in public parks, it is hoped that the OCOP will help save local authorities money by transferring the cost and resource burden of controlling standards over to a central system. Its creation saw input from local authorities and ukactive aims to persuade a number of councils to commit to the OCOP during 2015 as a means of regulating providers.

“Outdoor fitness has surged in popularity but operating in the outdoors requires different competencies and carries different risks to those that people might face when delivering workouts in a more traditional facility,” said Rob Love, MD, British Military Fitness.

“We are certainly proud to have been awarded the ukactive Outdoor Code of Practice. I am confident that our customers will value what we have achieved, and that potential customers who have a choice of provider, will take confidence from seeing this seal of approval.”

In terms of the OCOP accreditation process, Leisure-net Solutions will be carrying out mystery visits on ukactive’s behalf, and completing a desk-based review of the documentation required to evidence compliance. ukactive is encouraging interested parties to get in contact directly to receive a full overview of the certification process and requirements.

With outdoor fitness growing at such a pace, the OCOP serves to protect customers and secures the reputation of outdoor fitness,” said ukactive CEO David Stalker.

“We look forward to seeing more ukactive members complete the process successfully.”

To obtain more information about the OCOP, operators can contact ukactive Quality & Standards manager Pete Wells ([email protected] / 0207 400 8630).