Workout Weekly November 17

ISSUE 1 May

WEEKLY

Issue 155 - 17 November 2023

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

Horizon Leisure launches Active Play membership for vulnerable families – page 3 Sport England announces unprecedented investment into local communities – page 4

WORKOUT WEEKLY

Horizon Leisure launches Active Play membership for vulnerable families CHARITABLE trust Horizon Leisure has launched an Active Play membership for vulnerable families in the Hampshire area, giving them 12 months free access to a range of leisure facilities.

The scheme will see 60 families benefit from free access to Horizon Leisure’s Adventure Play and Oceans of Play (soft play), plus preschool bounce classes, pre-school gymnastics, public family swimming and even swimming lessons.

The Active Play membership, funded by Hampshire Council, aims to provide physical activity intervention in a leisure centre setting, enabling eligible children aged 0-5 in Hampshire whose families experience financial hardship, to develop crucial physical activity skills.

Mike Lyons, CEO of Horizon Leisure, said: “Horizon Leisure has a commitment to providing accessible and affordable leisure. Our goal is to create enjoyable experiences that motivate people to enhance

their health and wellbeing; positively influencing their lives.

“The Active Play programme aims to increase the uptake of physical

activity in children aged 0-5, particularly those living in areas of greater deprivation.

“The long-term health impact of

encouraging an active lifestyle from a young age is significant.

“This initiative not only promotes physical health by encouraging active play, but also provides essential mental health support, reducing stress and anxiety for vulnerable families.

“Active play is also educational development opportunity for children, teaching crucial skills such as teamwork, communication and problem-solving.

“By participating in active play, families engage socially, reducing social isolation.”

Households in Hampshire receiving at least one means-tested benefit, including income support, housing benefit etc were eligible to apply for one of the 60 available family memberships.

Horizon Leisure will be tracking and evaluating the impact of this programme to ensure it meets its goals in making a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable families.

Myzone founder appoints new group CEO MYZONE has announced a significant leadership transition as Dave Wright, the company’s founder, steps down from his role as group CEO. In a strategic move, the Board has appointed David Stalker, the current CEO of EMEA and president of EuropeActive, as the new Myzone group CEO, effective immediately.

Citing life, work, family balance, Wright’s decision to relinquish his role as group CEO is a testament to his dedication to Myzone’s growth and his commitment to positioning the company for a further liquidity event.

Under Dave’s visionary leadership, Myzone has become a driving force in the fitness technology industry, transforming the way individuals engage with their health and fitness.

Director of Operations: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmediagroup.co.uk Studio manager: Paul Hopkinson ph@scriptmediagroup.co.uk Assistant studio manager: Scott Firth sf@scriptmediagroup.co.uk

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“I’ve always loved meeting new people and networking within the industry,” he said.

“As founder, I will continue to do this, beating the drum of a platform that genuinely changes lives.

“I’m excited to work with David and the team to continue to have a worldwide

impact on positive exercise habits in the years ahead.”

David Stalker, who has served as EMEA CEO since 2018, brings an unparalleled wealth of experience and leadership to his new role as Group CEO. With a deep understanding of the fitness industry and a proven track record, David is well-equipped to guide Myzone into its next phase of growth and expansion.

In his new capacity as group CEO, David will work closely with Dave, the executive team, investors, and key stakeholders to ensure Myzone continues to deliver innovative fitness technology solutions and enhance the customer experience.

“Dave’s entrepreneurial passion in driving the growth of Myzone over

the past decade and beyond has been phenomenal, and I really look forward to continuing working with him in his new role,” added David.

“Moving forward, I’m excited to have the opportunity to scale the business and exercise my experience, supported

by Dave and surrounded by an incredible team.

“Together, we will innovate and execute in bringing heart rate training, health, and wellbeing to the next level of visibility and adoption.”

Dave will remain actively involved in the company, focusing on global initiatives, industry partnerships, and product innovation. His passion and vision will continue to help drive Myzone forward as he takes on a more strategic role within the organisation.

INDOOR cycling brand Wattbike has announced the appointment of direct to consumer director Ahmed Khodja in their plans to convert industryleading foundations in elite sport into a strategic and powerful global commercial opportunity E-commerce and digital transformation expert Ahmed joins the Wattbike team as direct-to-consumer director, a new role which will see him responsible for setting Wattbike’s global DTC vision by unlocking the potential of the brand.

He said: ‘I’m delighted to be joining the passionate team at Wattbike, and to be taking on such a pivotal role in the brand’s plans for international growth.

“Wattbike is loved by elite teams and athletes around the world with good reason, their credentials and quality of product setting them well apart from

their competitors.

“I’m very much looking forward to helping shape the brand’s digital future, using my extensive experience of e-commerce and connections within the industry.”

Ahmed will be responsible for the transformation of both on and offline consumer experience, through leveraging the tremendous value of Wattbike’s omnichannel foundations and powerful heritage in elite sport.

He joins the Wattbike team with a formidable track record in e-commerce strategy, following more than a decade working with global manufacturer and online retailer of licensed sportswear, Fanatics.

Whilst with Fanatics, Ahmed worked with the world’s leading sports teams and athletes, and his specialism in e-commerce is especially exciting for

the Wattbike team, with this being the most significant area for their global DTC expansion.

Built on the global foundation of commercial and corporate markets – as official supplier to the All Blacks and extensive use in elite sport, 3,000 gyms, BUPA and uniformed services – the DTC sales of the Wattbike Atom smart bike now account for 70 per cent of UK sales.

Earlier this year, Wattbike launched the Atom state-wide in the USA and they continue to ramp up marketing activities to raise brand awareness, market share and visibility, as they go into the winter training season Ahmed will also be supporting the B2B Commercial growth, as the team recently launched distribution of the Wattbike Atom via distributor partners in China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong.

Dave Wright

Wattbike appoints Ahmed to new director role

WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Alliance Leisure appointed to deliver new build leisure centre in Whitchurch PLANNING has been approved to build a new, multi-million-pound leisure centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire.

In addition to providing vital services to the local community, the state-of-the-art centre will also welcome visitors from surrounding areas, driving economic growth and creating new opportunities for local businesses.

Funded by Shropshire Council the new £13.1million swimming and fitness centre will include a sixlane 25m pool, 41-station fitness suite and café on the ground floor, complemented by multi-function rooms on the first floor.

Peggy Mullock, Shropshire

councillor for Whitchurch North, said: “I am delighted that planning permission has been granted.

“It now means we are able to move forward with the development and soon offer more great opportunities for people living in Whitchurch and the surrounding areas to improve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Alliance Leisure, the UK’s leading leisure developer has been appointed to deliver the project, working through the UK Leisure Framework.

Supporting Alliance will be Pellikaan as lead contractor, architects Roberts Limbrick and Axiom will be responsible for project management.

Robert Macey, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for culture and

digital, added: ““We have assembled a fantastic project team, led by leisure development experts Alliance Leisure, to deliver a first class leisure centre for Whitchurch.

“Their combined experience and expertise will ensure we provide residents with the health and wellbeing facilities they want and need, both now and in the future.”

The new build will reinstate much needed leisure facilities in a community which has been without a pool since Whitchurch Swimming Pool closed during the pandemic when ongoing maintenance issues deemed it unfit for purpose.

Robert added: “The new leisure centre will not only deliver a superb

service to residents, it will also benefit from modern technologies that optimise efficiencies and support the council’s aim to achieve net zero by 2030.”

It is anticipated the centre will open in mid-2025.

Julia Goddard, senior business development manager at Alliance Leisure, said: “Working with the council and our supplier partners through the UK Leisure Framework, we will deliver an efficient leisure facility built in response to the specific needs of the community.

“An active community is a happy, prosperous community and this is exactly the outcome we intend to deliver.”

SPORT England has announced a major and unprecedented expansion of its investment into local communities across England to ensure those in greatest need are able to play sport and be physically active.

Research published by Sport England shows that the most active place in England has almost double the activity levels (81 per cent) of the least active place (43 per cent); lifespan could vary by nine years depending on where someone lives; and people living in some poorer neighbourhoods are twice as likely to have a disability or health condition.

To tackle this Sport England is expanding its Place Partners programme to see up to £190million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding invested in up to 80-100 new places across England.

An additional £35million will be invested to strengthen work with Sport England’s existing Place Partners; with up to £25million being made available to create a Universal Offer for other parts of the country to help tackle inactivity and the associated inequalities that stop people moving more.

This will include taking the learning and impact we have from existing places we are investing in to support others, and ensures that every area of England

can access some support.

Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive at Sport England, said: “Access to sport and physical activity in England is still not close to being a level playing field.

“Where a person lives and the environment around them has a huge impact on how likely they are to be physically active.

“Too often, people in low-income communities don’t have access to the same facilities or opportunities as wealthier areas.

“This is manifestly unfair – and must be addressed as a real priority. That is why our expanded Place Partnership programme will unashamedly see us target our resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality.

“We will invest most in those that need it most so that everyone has an equal chance to access the very real benefits of playing sport and be physically active.”

This new way of working – one of the biggest shake ups of sports funding in decades - directly supports the Government’s recent Get Active strategy which set ambitious targets of getting 2.5 million more adults – with 1.4 million of these being from least affluent households – and one million children active by 2030 to tackle the disparities in

activity levels across society.

Targeted local investment and resources will help to increase activity levels, decrease inactivity and breakdown the barriers and inequalities that prevent people from playing sport or being active.

This Place-Based Systemic work will see Sport England partner with 80-100 new places through a network of existing 12 Place Partners and up to 43 Active Partnerships across England, to foster relationships with local organisations and leaders and overcome the specific barriers to physical activity that exist in their communities.

The programme will see Sport England invest in places using evidence-based strategies to ensure the greatest resource is targeted to the places with the highest inactivity levels and other social need indicators.

Sport England will consider a range of data sources to do this, including analysis of physical activity data, from its Active Lives surveys; as well as social data, community need and health inequality data.

Since 2017, Sport England has tested this place-based approach of working with ‘Local Delivery Pilots’ in 12 of the country’s most disadvantaged and least active communities.

This includes schemes such as Free

Bikes in Birmingham, ‘Beating the Streets’ in Burnley through a partnership with Intelligent Health, getting school kids moving in Calderdale and rehabilitating patients in South Tees to improve their chances of recovery after surgery.

Combined with investment made through 43 Active Partnerships across England, Sport England has used funding to target systemic barriers to activity.

Consequently, all places have benefited from increased activity amongst the people who are typically less active.

These learnings and insights will now be applied as Sport England rolls out the additional funding over the next five years.

Sport Minister, Stuart Andrew MP said: “Our new sports strategy sets out an ambitious aim to get 3.5 million more people active by 2030 and this £250 million investment from Sport England will help make that a reality.

“This targeted place-based funding gives greater access to quality activities and clubs for people of all ages in areas of the country that need it most.

“Keeping active is essential for our mental and physical health and wellbeing, so it is crucial we continue to break down barriers for people to stay fit and healthy.”

Sport England announces unprecedented investment into local communities

WORKOUT WEEKLY

National Fitness Day reaches 88 million people as campaign puts spotlight on lifelong health THE National Fitness Day campaign for 2023 reached a total audience of 88.5 million people, helping to inspire healthier lives across the UK and beyond.

Powered by ukactive’s members and partners, National Fitness Day 2023 took place on Wednesday 20 September, under the theme ‘Your Health is for Life’, with free activities hosted by gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres, sports clubs, studios, schools, workplaces, and online providers.

Results published by ukactive and reviewed by Savanta show that in the UK, an estimated 10.2 million people were directly motivated to participate in an activity on the day itself, while many more were encouraged to be active throughout the campaign by further events and communications.

Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “It’s clear National Fitness Day is a much-loved campaign which helps inspire people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to try something new, start their health journey, or simply recapture the joy of movement.

“Huge credit should go to our campaign partners, our sector partners and most importantly, all of ukactive’s members that celebrated the campaign and hosted free events and activities to support more people to be active.

“As well as the fun it brought,

National Fitness Day 2023 carried a serious message that your health is for life, and we will continue to champion the importance of physical activity for our nation’s health and wellbeing.”

The global media reach of the campaign, measured by Vuelio, shows an audience of 57.2 million ­– up from 48.7 million in 2022 – following extensive press coverage.

Among hundreds of examples of national and regional stories, the BBC’s sports editor Dan Roan explored the UK’s physical inactivity crisis, and the Daily Mail’s science

editor Victoria Allen reported on ukactive’s polling which showed mental health, for the first time, as the biggest motivation for Brits to exercise. Social media plays a major role in driving the campaign, and this year saw a total global reach of 31.3 million people engaged across the major platforms.

People of all ages and abilities were inspired to share their personal experiences and health stories on Instagram, X and Facebook, as well as celebrities such as Joe Wicks and Carol Vorderman, who also showed their love and support for the day.

The campaign was elevated by three major new partners for National Fitness Day: men’s mental health charity Movember, sports reward platform Endurance Zone and sports nutrition business Optimum Nutrition.

Each partner brought unique expertise and helped to drive important messaging around the benefits of physical activity as part of a healthier, happier life – from sleep and nutrition to exercise routines and social connections.

This year also saw the launch of the first Fitness Day Rewards app, delivered by Endurance Zone, which offers prizes and discounts as incentives for being more active.

The app can still be downloaded for both Apple and Android users until February.

The campaign culminated with thousands of activities being held across the UK on September 20, beginning with the National Fitness Day kick-off event, which for the first time was held in Manchester, hosted

by GM Active in partnership with ukactive.

The event saw participants from the Prehab4Cancer programme join a morning of group workouts at Salford Sports Village and share their own stories, providing a powerful example of the essential benefits of physical activity and underlining the campaign’s theme, ‘Your Health is for Life’.

GM Active business chief to head up new Local Skills Accountability Board THE business chief of a community interest company pioneering a pivot to active wellbeing and changing the way leisure industry managers view the purpose of their roles, has been appointed chair of the newly created Local Skills Accountability Board for Greater Manchester.

He is Jon Keating, head of business operations and company secretary at GM Active CIC, a 12-strong collective of leisure and community organisations across Greater Manchester managing the majority of publicly owned leisure and physical activity services on behalf of GM’s 10 local authorities.

The regional LSAB, one of several being created across the UK, is aiming to improve the conditions for, and ability of local operators to recruit, train, support and retain an inclusive, representative and skilled workforce for the physical activity and sport sector in Greater Manchester.

Jon’s appointment to the voluntary role is bolstered by the knowledge and experience he has garnered from GM Active’s Pivot to Active Wellbeing – an ambitious change programme involving all local authority leisure operators across GM, evolving how

Jon Keating local leisure centres, swimming pools, fitness facilities and services are perceived and used, and placing a bigger emphasis on health and wellbeing as well as fitness.

And as part of the programme, GM Active has introduced a Transformational Leadership Programme, which is steering wouldbe leaders from being ‘fitness and facilities managers’ towards public

health and wellbeing.

Jon said: “I’m honoured to be asked to chair the Local Skills Accountability Board. Along with all the members, I can’t wait to get down to business on what is a key element in everything we’re striving to achieve – and that is the people.

“While it’s crucial we identify what our facilities and our people out in the community can offer, it’s just as important that we take our workforce with us on this journey. That’s why the aims of the Local Skills Accountability Board are equally as crucial.”

The national network of LSABs is being pioneered by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity as part of its local skills delivery project.

One of the first priorities will be to create a Skills Strategy and Action Plan by bringing together local employers, education providers and relevant local and national partners.

Three other key LSAB purposes that overlap with the Pivot to Active Wellbeing are to: n Provide an expert advisory role to the local area reflecting the area’s skills needs within the SPA (sport and physical activity) sector.

n Encourage local stakeholders to deliver actions in line with the local skills strategy. n Better prepare the workforce of the future with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by local employers.

He added: “While we are pleased our work already reflects some of CIMSPA’s aims, there is still more to be done; and improving talent recruitment and retention and improving career pathways is right at the top of the list.’

Jon, who joined GM Active 18 months ago, is the former vice chair at Active Tameside.

He began his career as swimming development officer at Stockport Sports Trust (now Life Leisure).

He later became regional development director with the Swimming Teachers’ Association before joining the Amateur Swimming Association as school swimming advisor.

Whilst at the ASA, Jon moved on to become aquatic officer and then programme manager for club development before becoming club development director at Swim England.

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