From the Publisher

Published by Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd, 102 Taiyul Road, North Narrabeen, NSW 2101 (PO Box 478, Collaroy, NSW 2097) AUSTRALIA

ABN 32 092 549 721 Tel: 02 9970 8322 E-mail: leisure@ausleisure.com.au www.ausleisure.com.au Twitter: @AusLeisure Facebook: www.facebook.com/AusLeisure Editor Karen Sweaney Publisher Nigel Benton Design Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd Contributors James Croll and Gwen Luscombe Advertising Inquiries Nigel Benton Tel: 02 9970 8322 Email: nigel@ausleisure.com.au

Printed in Australia by Pegasus Print Group Building B, 1A Bessemer Street, Blacktown NSW 2148 Tel: 02 8822 0600, www.pegasusprintgroup.com.au

Annual subscriptions cost $99 in Australia and New Zealand. Details at subscribe.ausleisure.com.au or call 02 8227 6486.

Members of AALARA, ARNA, ASPA, ASSA, EVANZ, ExerciseNZ, IAKS, LIWA Aquatics, the Sports and Play Industry Association and the VMA receive the magazine as a membership benefit.

The views contained in Australasian Leisure Management are not necessarily those of Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd or the Editor. While every care is taken with advice given, Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd and the Editor can take no responsibility for effects arising therefrom. Views expressed by contributors may be personal and are not necessarily the views of their employers or professional associations.

© Australasian Leisure Management, 2021. ISSN 1446-1374

Offi cial Publication

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Australasian Leisure Management is an Australian product, Australian owned and printed in Australia. As 2021 comes to a close, none too quickly for many in the industry, a sense of resurgence is in the air.

With lockdowns eased, or poised to be eased, and significant percentages of the population double-vaccinated, consumers are ready to experience this industry’s offerings to attain, achieve, enjoy and be entertained.

Campaigns from the likes of the Australia Council and Ticketmaster are encouraging people to again enjoy live experiences.

Aiming to drive a return to live entertainment, Ticketmaster’s two short films - Radical Hope and Back To Live - explore the impact the pandemic has had on Australia’s live industry.

The documentaries give a behind the scenes look from the perspective of promoters, artists, production crew, ticketing agents, and all those involved in getting shows back on the road across the country through lockdowns and imposed restrictions on mass gatherings.

Bolstered by the passion and determination of the people that keep it running, the films show a resilience that not only applies to the live sector but that is also present across the entire leisure industry.

Such resilience will be vital in attracting consumers’ time and spending in 2022, particularly in reversing the ongoing crisis of inactivity - a trend that has been exaggerated during lockdowns.

To that end, this issue reports on Fitness Australia rebranding as AUSactive, reinvigorating its activities to fight the nation’s inactivity crisis and the establishment of the new Active Australia Alliance which aims to bring employers in the ‘community leisure’ sector to collectively present to the Federal Government with an understanding of how the community leisure industry supports their preventative health plan. Remembering Industry Legends

It’s sad that this issue contains farewells (vale is the Latin word to say farewell) to three significant figures in this industry: Neil Cox, Brendan Edwards and Bob Romanes.

Knowing them all, and enjoying close friendships with Brendan and Bob - both of whom I had massive respect and affection for - I hope that the obituaries on our People page go some way to recognising their professional achievements.

It’s also appropriate to recognise the support Brendan and Bob gave to this publication.

From the time when Australasian Leisure Management was founded, Bob and I had many debates about the word ‘leisure’, Bob having been a passionate advocate for recreation during his career.

In a communication sent by Bob shortly before his death he wrote “whoever would have thought that when you and I sat down in my office in Albert Road (Melbourne, the then national office for the YMCA) in the mid 1990s that the magazine would be such a success.

“I am very glad that you won the discussion about what the magazine should be called. I must admit that I thought ‘here is another Englishman wanting to use the word leisure’ when all we could think of was sport and recreation.

“It has been a great decision and has enabled you to broaden the readership to really capture the whole field.” New Subscriptions

From this issue, Australasian Leisure Management has introduced a news system for subscriptions that will be more responsive than before.

Introduced as part of a series of technology improvements to what we do online and with the mailing of the magazine, direct subscribers to Australasian Leisure Management can check the status of your subscriptions by emailing subscribe@ausleisure.com.au or calling 02 8227 6486. New subscriptions can be made at subscribe.ausleisure.com.au