UPTAKE for pioneering fitness classes in Radcliffe is good, council chiefs have insisted, despite concerns of poor attendance.
Between September 2013 and December last year there were 2,837 attendances at I Will If You Will (IWIYW) sessions in Radcliffe.
This compares to 20,724 in Bury East, 7,602 in Bury West, 2,978 in Prestwich, 2,114 in Ramsbottom and 1,381 in Whitefield.
The pioneering £2.38 million 'I Will If You Will' pilot was launched by Sport England in March 2013 in Close Park, officially beginning in September 2013.
It aims to test what helps create a shift in attitudes around sport and increase the number of women taking part in exercise in the borough.
This January, it was announced a second stage of the pilot would continue, with IWIYW granted an extra £2 million by Sport England.
At a Radcliffe Township Forum last month, people raised concerns that some Close Park activities were under threat of cancellation due to poor turnout.
Council bosses said four classes have been permanently cancelled due to attendance, with seven more temporarily ended due to school terms and seasons.
A spokesman for Bury Council said: “Very few classes have been cancelled, but some changes are to be expected.
“This is a pilot programme, and as such these sessions give us valuable information on what sessions are most popular, and which may be better put on at a different time or location.”
The Radcliffe Times understands IWIYW-organised classes have been popular, but there was lower uptake from people in Radcliffe looking to host their own activities.
Across the borough, participation is significantly higher in Bury East because the area contains Castle Leisure Centre and Broad Oak Sports College’s mobile pool.
As of last year, the initiative was running 27 classes in Radcliffe, four of which were cancelled due to low turnout.
A further 16 are still ongoing and the remainder either finished at the end of the school year or ended in winter and will restart this spring.
The biggest monthly uptake in Radcliffe was in January last year, when a total of 296 women got involved.
The Bury Council spokesman added: “The figures show that many thousands of women and girls have been enthused by the initiative, and will hopefully carry on being more active in the months and years to come.”
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