Emma Sleight
Duty Manager at YMCA Gym
As Duty Manager at Nottinghamshire YMCA’s gym in Nottingham city centre, Emma Sleight enjoys an assorted role of responsibilities ranging from leading classes and working with gym members to help them achieve their personal goals to managing the staff and operations on site.
If this doesn’t keep Emma energised enough, there is always leading the occasional Zumbathon and tackling fundraising fun-runs with the charity’s free YMCA Running Club to keep her on her toes!
“Work is often varied, from teaching classes to running the general shift and completing general admin,” Emma explained. “One minute it could be quiet, and the next I can be so busy bustling around the gym to ensure everyone is getting the most out of their memberships and having the best time while doing it!”
Joining the YMCA Gym as a Member Advisor in 2013, Emma’s excellent work and respect she earned within the fitness community resulted in her being promoted to Duty Manager in 2015. “Four years later and here I am still!” Emma laughed.
“Applying for the Duty Manager position was the next challenge for me. Working at YMCA helps me to progress and grow.
“Sometimes teaching a lot of high energy classes is a challenge – you always have to be on top of your game! There are plenty of learning opportunities at YMCA. I recently found my love for Zumba and ‘STRONG by Zumba’ (which focuses more on building core strength), and was empowered to participate in the courses to become a qualified Zumba instructor. It’s something I love and enjoy very much!”
Situated next door to our city centre hostel, the gym is proud to be a key part of Nottinghamshire YMCA’s mission, with gym memberships contributing towards the life-changing work delivered by the charity. Gym staff often get involved with their own fundraising initiatives, such as hosting a ‘Book Donation’ appeal for the hostel’s new common room library as part of International Women’s Day.
Nottinghamshire YMCA aims to support healthy living within the local community, and our gym also provides fantastic opportunities for the general public, residents and staff to find the best ways to enjoy exercise for them. Whether it is lifting weight in the CrossFit box studio or simply destressing in a morning yoga class – no personal target is too large or small, especially with Emma and her team on hand to offer whatever support you need.
As contracted employees, YMCA Gym staff enjoy access to a wide variety of benefits and support.
“I often book a slot with an external physiotherapist and get reimbursed through Westfields health scheme as it is accessible to employees,” enthused Emma. “This excellent staff service is something I find very helpful, especially with teaching so many classes. In the past, I’ve also accessed Westfield for some counselling, which was very useful and helped support my mental wellbeing a lot.”
Find out what other workplace benefits are on offer by visiting our ‘Wellbeing and Benefits’ page.
We all have fun at the… Y-M-C-A!
