FOOTBALL and rugby clubs across the country are zoning in on Huddersfield – to see a successful community sports and education programme in action.

The Zone, an indoor leisure centre based at St Andrew’s Road, has attracted national attention from clubs keen to follow its example of providing programmes to help people of all ages stay fit and healthy, undertake extra learning – and foster fans for the future.

The Zone – with features including indoor football pitches, a dance studio, a gym, children’s party rooms and one of the biggest play structures in the country – is operated by charitable body Sporting Pride Community Trust.

The trust, which has close links with Huddersfield Town, Huddersfield Giants and the nearby Galpharm Stadium, aims to get the local community active – with particular focus on encouraging children to adopt healthier lifestyles, get active and into sport.

The Zone, which opened its doors at the start of the year, is approaching its first birthday having created more than 70 jobs and having already taken major strides in its ambitions to be the premier venue in Kirklees and the surrounding area for indoor sport and children’s activities.

And trust manager Paul France said The Zone was being eyed up by football and rugby clubs keen to find the formula to foster stronger community links, promote health and fitness and encourage youngsters to support their teams.

“We are leading the way nationally,” he said. “The Football League Trust, which is responsible for Football in the Community (FITC), is assessing us not just from the point of view of delivering FITC programmes, but in terms of all our charitable activities.

“I have hosted half-day visits by a number of football and rugby clubs who see us as a template for their own community activities.”

Among its community programmes, The Zone provides after-school clubs attended by eight to 14-year-olds from 10 local schools who get extra help to boost their maths, reading and writing skills using computers and handheld games consoles.

The Zone’s gymnasium, kitted out with child-sized exercise equipment and manned by qualified instructors, has been used by more than 700 youngsters so far this year as part of efforts to combat obesity and inactivity among young people.

Mr France said it was also hoped to work with GPs, local health trusts and schools to identify potential problems at an early age and offer fitness programmes to young people considered at risk of developing weight problems.

The Zone’s facilities are used by Town and Giants for their well-established Football in the Community and Rugby in the Community schemes, which provide coaching for pupils at 60 schools during the school year.

And it is also home to the biggest cheerleader academy in the country – with 270 registered members between the ages of four and 18 rehearsing routines to perform at Town and Giants home matches.

At the other end of the age range, The Zone has linked up with Age Concern to improve the mental and physical health of over-50s under the name Zone Plus – giving older people a chance to learn computer skills and keep fit by dancing.

The Zone is also boosting the local economy, having increased its complement of full-time, part-time and casual staff to 75 from 14 when it first opened.

The Zone raises some revenues by renting out its football pitches and hosting local indoor soccer leagues as well as running its play structure and a coffee shop. It also seeks grant funding to carry out programmes linked into national health and education strategies.

Mr France said: “There is a misconception that we are a commercial operation, but for all our links with the football and rugby league clubs, we are a charity and we have to raise our own finance.

“What we do here is about putting smiles on faces.”