CBE Winter Report.qk - IHRSA

The Finish Line
Tracy Powell
One Hundred Twenty Million
Members by 2010
28 Club Business Europe � JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 � www.ihrsa.org
Bringing people together is essential for the industry
The Meeting of (Great) Minds
Joe Moore
IHRSA President & CEO
Hans Muench
IHRSA Director, Europe
Without a doubt, the 7th Annual IHRSA European Congress in
Paris was a complete success. Christophe Andanson, Dominique
McCallum and the French Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association
(FHRSA) partnered with us to create the finest event we have hosted in
Europe. Christophe opened the festivities with a wonderful presentation
about the French club industry—the first of many inspiring presentations
by a great roster of speakers.
Among the other highlights:
• Language breakouts. To give delegates a chance to reflect on what they
learned from the keynote speakers, we once again followed these
presentations with breakout sessions by language. Participants had the
opportunity to immediately discuss what they learned in their own
language, and to provide one another with different perspectives—
enriching the experience for all.
• IHRSA Europe Council discussions. Members of this newly formed
body, comprising club company CEOs, federation heads and other
industry leaders, gave our staff, including IHRSA Board Chair Michael
Levy, guidance about IHRSA’s future in Europe. That future is bright! There
was great consensus on the value of IHRSA and many wonderful ideas
about what we can do to help grow, promote and protect the European
club industry. Council members will be a valuable source of input as we
improve our service to both clubs and the federations.
• Federations meeting. Representatives from APCO Worldwide, the
public affairs and strategic communications firm, explained how the
industry might best engage in the debate at the EU in Brussels. Focus
groups, which were set up to vet ideas on the process moving forward, led
to further stimulating and thoughtful discussions. APCO helped us develop
a clearer view of the process in Brussels and in the individual countries.
• The 2007 European Club Leadership Award. We honoured Rasmus
Ingerslev, CEO of fitness dk, for his efforts as co-creator of the Danish
Fitness & Health Organisation, and for making fitness dk the first club to
combine membership with health insurance in Denmark.
• United Nations World Diabetes Day. We commemorated this first-ever
event with the Exercise for Prevention Eiffel Tower Walk led by Phillip Mills
and Christophe Andanson. This is a wonderful example of how the
industry is integrating itself into the healthcare continuum.
• The Sponsor Showcase. As usual, people were busy networking
and swapping ideas. Many of the most productive partnerships and
transactions have started with relationships developed at IHRSA events.
Bringing people together is essential for the industry, and that is
exactly what the 7th Annual IHRSA European Congress accomplished on
a grand scale. �