Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa
Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa
Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa
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Around the World with IHRSA<br />
Global meetings bring industry leaders together<br />
While IHRSA’s annual <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />
Convention and Trade Show is the largest<br />
gathering of the global club industry, it’s not<br />
the only opportunity that the association offers<br />
for industry leaders to come together and<br />
network with colleagues. During the coming<br />
year, IHRSA will stage several events across<br />
three continents—all aimed at helping members<br />
get away from day-to-day operations, obtain<br />
a new perspective on their businesses, and<br />
make connections with other leaders<br />
As a preview of what’s to come… let’s<br />
explore some of the exciting events that took<br />
place last fall:<br />
IHRSA Europe Council debuts at European Congress<br />
Last November, nearly 400 industry professionals attended the<br />
7th Annual IHRSA European Congress in Paris, where the first<br />
meeting of the newly formed IHRSA Europe Council was<br />
conducted and IHRSA’s new European director, Hans Muench,<br />
was introduced.<br />
The council was formed to guide the association in<br />
crafting its European development plans. The consensus of the<br />
group, which includes club company CEOs, federation heads,<br />
and other fitness industry leaders, was that IHRSA should<br />
continue to strengthen and enhance its traditional program<br />
offerings in Europe.<br />
Another highlight of the event was a “Public Policy Discussion,”<br />
which brought together 40 representatives from clubs,<br />
federations, and other industry organizations to initiate a dialogue<br />
designed to lead to the creation of an industry-wide<br />
strategic plan, and to identify priorities to promote physical<br />
activity and fitness participation at the European-Union (EU)<br />
and nation-states levels. IHRSA invited APCO Worldwide, its<br />
public policy advisors, to outline the context and dynamics of<br />
EU sport and health EU policies, and to describe current and<br />
future opportunities for the industry.<br />
Networking at European Congress<br />
IHRSA Walk for Diabetes, Paris<br />
| IHRSA Report | <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />
The international roster<br />
of distinguished speakers<br />
included: Henri Giscard<br />
d’Estaing, president,<br />
Club Mediterranee, who<br />
presented “Leadership;”<br />
Jack Groppel, human<br />
performance expert, LGE IHRSA Congress-people<br />
Performance Systems,<br />
who discussed “The Making of a Corporate Athlete;”<br />
John McCarthy, IHRSA’s executive director emeritus, who<br />
considered “<strong>In</strong>novation, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of<br />
the <strong>In</strong>dustry” (sponsored by Cybex <strong>In</strong>ternational, <strong>In</strong>c.); Mark<br />
Leonard, executive director, European Council on Foreign<br />
Relations, who explained “Why Europe Will Run the 21st<br />
Century” (sponsored by Technogym); Phillip Mills, founder and<br />
president, Les Mills <strong>In</strong>ternational, <strong>In</strong>c., who addressed the topic<br />
of “Healthy People, Healthy Profits, Healthy Planet;” Frank<br />
Napolitano, president and CEO, GlobalFit, on “From One<br />
Small Club to a Global Network: Lessons Learned Along the<br />
Way;” and Jason Fulton, head of consumer insight, Nike, who<br />
presented “Women and Fitness—How to Engage Her for Life.”<br />
The Congress was sponsored this year by the American<br />
Council on Exercise (ACE), Cybex, Deloitte, FHRSA, Les Mills<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational, Matrix Fitness Systems/Johnson Health Tech,<br />
miha <strong>In</strong>ternational, Nautilus, Precor, Qualitop, SPRI, Star Trac,<br />
and Technogym.<br />
Preparation yields results in Latin America<br />
More than 10,000 attendees gathered in São Paulo, Brazil, last<br />
October, for the 8th Annual IHRSA/Fitness Brasil Latin<br />
American Conference & Trade Show—the largest and most<br />
comprehensive Latin American event for the industry. Over<br />
100 exhibitors showcased new and innovative products in the<br />
160,000-square-foot exhibition area. The convention and<br />
trade show were sponsored by Adidas, Biofenac, Gatorade,<br />
and Santaconstancia.<br />
www.ihrsa.org | MARCH 2008 | Club Business <strong>In</strong>ternational 173