01 Fitness Systems
19/12/14
11:51
January 2015
Page 1
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
No 256 £3
Industry’s finest are honoured at best event yet By Christina Eccles AN inspirational gym founder; a Lancashire independent health club and a North East based personal trainer were among the winners at the 2014 National Fitness Awards, which was attended by the biggest audience to date of almost 800 people. The awards, organised by Script Events in partnership with Workout and with support from headline sponsor ServiceSport are now in their fifth year and recognise excellence and achievement from all corners of the fitness industry. This year’s event took place at The Athena in Leicester, hosted by boxing legend Ricky Hatton and TV presenter Caroline Pearce. The night’s big winners included Ribby Hall Village Health Club in Preston, which was crowned Regional Gym of the Year and Group Exercise Gym of the Year; Fitness Garage in Sheffield – named Best Newcomer – and Winners 2000 Fitness in Devon which scooped Regional Gym of the Year South and the night’s big prize, National Gym of the Year. A Special Recognition award was also posthumously awarded to Elvis Meade of Ripped Gym in Harlow, whose wife Michelle accepted the tro-
phy on the evening. The club also won Strength Training Gym of the Year for a record third time. Following the awards, attendees billed it as the best event yet. Judge Kim Ingleby said: “I felt incredibly proud to be a judge, although deciding who should win was definitely tough. The level, support and depth of each application was impressive, a real testament to the industry we work within.” Sponsor Dave Wright, CEO of CFM/MYZONE, added: “Our staff loved it, our clients loved it and the amount of suppliers still kicking on until the early hours indicated they loved it too. The complete cross section of facilities acknowledged and rewarded was fantastic.” NFA director Judith Halkerston added: “The calibre of entry this year was excellent and to come out winners in any of our categories is an amazing achievement. It was great to see so many gyms at the awards and to share in the celebrations of our winners. We're the biggest, free-toenter fitness awards and it's always a wonderful evening when we can recognise all that is good about our industry and reward excellence, innovation and hard work."
CKI School of Martial Arts founder Ismail Saleh with his two awards.
Lifetime Achievement award celebrates Ismail’s dedication FOUNDER of CKI School of Martial Arts, Ismail Saleh won this year’s National Fitness Awards’ Lifetime Achievement accolade, in recognition of his long standing commitment and dedication to the industry. Ismail voluntarily runs a club attended by over 950 people every week, with many of his students having gone on to win regional, national and international medals, making CKI one of the most successful martial arts clubs in the country. He picked up the trophy – sponsored by Harlands Group – on the awards’ evening at The Athena, just down the road from his Leicester based club. Following the win, Ismail said: “My heartfelt thanks to you all. Words can-
not describe what I want to say. It has still not sunk in yet. I can never repay you all for your friendliness and kindness shown to me and my family.” Ismail and his team also had a second reason to celebrate at the awards, as CKI School of Martial Arts was awarded the trophy for Community Involvement – sponsored by Technogym – for the second time. Judges praised it for being “an inspiring winner”, also commending Ismail on his passion for helping others and for his friendly and approachable attitude. For a full round up of all the action from the 2014 National Fitness Awards – plus a list of winners and runners up – see our special feature starting on page 45.