Loughborough College and West Cheshire claimed top honours at the recent AoC Sport Fitness Trainer Competition, as physical activity students put their skills to the test in a high-class field.

Jack Burbank from Loughborough College was awarded top spot in both the Level 2 Gym Instructor and Video Competition categories, while West Cheshire's Joanne Beevers claimed victory in the Level 3 Personal Trainer section.

The AoC Sport Fitness Trainer Competition is the only active leisure skills competition in the UK for students working towards careers in the sport and leisure industry.

For the 2015 competition, sponsored by Active IQ, organisers reformatted the event so that it closely aligns with the criteria set by skills organisation Find a Future for the suite of competitions within World Skills. The competition aims to stretch students above and beyond the requirements of the qualification, and find the highest quality students in each category – Personal Trainer (Level 3) and Gym Instructor (Level 2).

The competition was organised into multiple stages. After local competitions were held by staff at colleges, the winning entrants submit online and video assessments which were scored by the national panel of judges. Four regional / sub national finals were then held with the winners going through to the national finals at Loughborough University last month.

Overall, 154 students took part throughout the year from 32 colleges, with 15 competitors making it through to the national finals. The overall winners received a £500 voucher to use with Premier Training International, a mentoring session with fitness expert Richard Callender, an Armageddon and Reebok goody bag as well as an Armageddon trainer course. The top three in each category also received a free 12-month REPs membership.

“I am new to this industry and took a big leap to retrain as a personal trainer – winning the competition really proved that I had made the right decision,” said Level 3 Personal Trainer winner Joanne Beevers.

“The feedback I got from the judges was amazing. This has given me a massive boost and is really going to help with my new career. I am now set up as a self-employed personal trainer and having this award is really going to help promote my business.”