Members of a Kinmel Bay slimmer’s group are taking the weight off, in more ways than one, with chair based exercise sessions, thanks to National Lottery funding from the Sports Council for Wales.

Kinmel Bay Community Fit Club have been running eight one hour sessions a week for their 54 members since January 2007. Billed as one of the most successful slimming groups in Wales, the club plans to build on its successes thanks to National Lottery funding given through the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest initiative.

The £300 grant will pay for an instructor to deliver 12 weeks worth of chair exercise taster sessions. If the classes prove popular, the Fit Club will continue the classes through their activity voucher scheme. The club has identified chair exercise as a high priority to help a cross section of members who would benefit from a gentler form of exercise due to age, weight or disability considerations.

Chair based exercise has specific benefits as a training method. It stabilises the lower spine by providing a fixed base, gives greater range of movement by providing points of leverage and support, minimises load-bearing and reduces balance problems in those with particularly poor mobility and arthritic pain.

Jacqui Richmond, fit Club coordinator said, "Chair exercise classes would enable members, who under normal circumstances would lose out on the current Activity Voucher Scheme, to become more active in their weight loss challenge. It is important that every member of the group has an equal opportunity to take part in activities."

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling, said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Conwy. The increase in funding and the greater scope of the scheme will increase its effectiveness.

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people in Conwy more active, more often."

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales is raising the level of grant. Organisations keen to develop sport and physical activity in Wales can now receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

The scope of the scheme has also been widened. Grants have traditionally been awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies. Now most organisations seeking to develop physical activity and sporting projects will be eligible for an award.

The Community Chest has recently been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might get the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group will encourage more adults to get active.