January 2016
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
No 268 £3
St Peter’s is the main winner at annual awards By Christina Eccles
ST Peter’s Leisure Centre in Burnley was the big winner at the 2015 National Fitness Awards, in a night which saw clubs all over the country recognised for their achievements. The club scooped three awards at the event, organised by Script Events in partnership with Workout and headline sponsor Servicesport, including the top prize of the night – National Gym of the Year. The facility was also named Group Exercise Gym of the Year and Local Authority/Leisure Trust Gym of the Year at the awards, which took place at the Athena in Leicester, hosted by fitness entrepreneur Katie Bulmer-Cooke and Olympic swimmer Steve Parry. Head of operations at Burnley Leisure Neil Hutchinson, whose team also attended the daytime National Fitness Conference at the National Space Centre, said: “Congratulations on a great event and great conference. We had a fantastic time, especially winning three awards.” 2015 winners covered more of the country than ever before with others scooping a trophy including Northern Irish personal trainer Scott McGarry – crowned Gym Based Personal Trainer of the Year – Healthhaus in St Helier, named Newcomer of the Year, and
Dunfermline club Gym 64, who picked up the award for Regional Gym Scotland. Inspirational Zoey Wright from Penryn Campus Fitness Centre in Cornwall was also rewarded with the Member Achievement Award for her courage in battling a debilitating illness. Nathalie Le Mottee from Healthhaus added: “A huge congratulations to your team for putting on such a fantastic event. The speakers at the conference were really interesting and the awards night was spectacular!” National Fitness Awards’ event director Judith Halkerston added: “We are delighted with the feedback we've received from the inaugural National Fitness Conference and we’re already planning more events for 2016. “Also, congratulations to our very worthy winners and a big thank you to everyone who entered the awards this year and the 850 industry professionals, including short-listed gyms and our sponsors, who joined us to celebrate industry success and excellence at our biggest awards' ceremony to date. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.” For a full round up of all the winners and action from the 2015 National Fitness Awards and National Fitness Conference, see our special feature inside this issue.
Jean Ann is pictured with Kevin Scott from category sponsor Harlands Group and event hosts Katie Bulmer-Cooke and Steve Parry.
Lifetime award for Jean Ann LES Mills’ instructor experience director Jean Ann Marnoch won this year’s National Fitness Awards’ lifetime achievement trophy, awarded to an individual who has dedicated their life to the industry. Jean Ann, who was instrumental in the creation of the European Health and Fitness Association pan European standards for gym instructors and personal trainers, is also a former registrar of the UK Register of Exercise Professionals. She said: “It was such a huge surprise to win the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I had already presented an award
that Les Mills had sponsored for group exercise and could see the excitement and sheer joy of those that had won awards during the evening. “At no time did I think that I would be going back on stage as a recipient! “When I knew it was me the thoughts going through my head were: I so don’t deserve this, I’ve just been doing my jobs and what on earth am I going to say! As the reality set in over the evening those thoughts turned to delight and appreciation. Thank you – I had a great evening!”