Both my father and my husband have disabilities so I wanted to check out Mackay Aquatic Recreation Complex with the Cérge app to see if it could help us and make things easier. Before I visited the pool, I felt very curious about how the visit would go, as a person without a disability personally there is lots that we do not consider. With both my father and my husband having disabilities, and to put myself in their shoes was eye opening.? We used the Cérge app to let the staff know we were coming and required a tour of the facilities to see what would be suitable. After looking around the grounds, we felt comfortable and well accounted for. Staff were helpful and trained in the equipment that is offered for people with a range of disabilities.? Before I went to the location, I was optimistic. As one of the newer facilities within our community, I feel that they will be the most helpful and new facilities to cover a range of disabilities. The staff were so kind and ready to roll. They answered all questions confidently and with great understanding.? We had a wonderful experience and will definitely use Cérge in many more businesses to let them know our needs. I’m off to let dad know about Cérge and to give it a go! He will require more needs than me and I feel confident they will have him sorted!?

As a single leg amputee, it can be terrifying thinking of swimming. Not only because of the logistics as my body is obviously different now, but also how to swim has changed too. It’s scary to think of infection and what can go wrong when exposing my leg to water and different areas like change rooms.

When I heard about the Cérge app coming to Mackay Aquatic Recreation Complex I wanted to give it a shot. Being able to use the Cérge app to let the staff know I was on my way and that I would like a tour of the facilities was helpful. I was able to explain my disability through the app which also meant I didn’t have to do the weird small talk about the elephant in the room. That can get really annoying to be honest.

In the past I’ve had security guards at airports as me to remove my leg. This has been extremely embarrassing for me and then the security guard would try to small talk me which was just infuriating to say the least.

I have had some horrible experiences and that’s why I’m very glad to see this new business Cérge. Not only for me but for so many others who have been put in awkward positions or have to talk about their disability when frankly we don’t want to.?

I like that everything on the app can be stated and also incognito if I choose. I can literally write “please do not bother me I just want to have a look around” and that can happen. That’s a stress relief in itself.

The facilities at Mackay Arc are really up to date and there are many things available for mobility disabilities. It was great to see. The staff were excellent and made me feel very welcome. No weird questions, no odd small talk, just genuinely wanted to help and knew what I wanted.
A game changer.
I can imagine the Cérge app would be really good for some people to be able to tell the business what they need, especially if someone is nonverbal and wants the staff to talk to them and not their carer. This happens a lot.

Thanks Mackay ARC for being a leading business and trying to be more accessible and inclusive. It made a difference to me.  Thank you.

Story of inclusion from staff member Hamish at Splash Devonport Aquatic and Leisure Centre. We love Cérge, we were talking today amongst the staff about how incredible it really is and what it can do. When Terry Sent the notification through last week, we had time to get the hoist set up and the aquatic wheelchair for him. We also knew when he was arriving, what he needed and some information about his disability that he wanted to share. Terry is a legend. When he arrived, because we had the notification prior and I had set up stuff for him, it kind of started connection before he had even arrived. So, when he arrived I just walked over and said “Hey Terrence, I’m Hamish”. It felt so easy! Terry had a look at the pool, the gym and the Exercise physiologist as all of these services will assist him. We are excited to have Cérge at Splash because we are more than willing to help anyway we can and sometimes with visual disability we have to guess and invisible disability we can’t see, therefore can’t know how to help. Cérge saves time, instead of Terry having to wait for 10-15mins for to set up it was done. It saves him time and saved me time as it was done before he arrived and not when I had a counter full of swim lessons! We have a “Sensory hour” in the gym where we turn the screens and lights down from 1pm-2pm which is pretty awesome as not many gyms are silent! Hahah We are more than happy to cater to the needs of the whole community When I heard Terry hadn’t been for a swim for ten years and now has the chance at Splash I was chuffed. This is just awesome. 100% Thanks for visiting Terry, see you soon!