IHRSA Europe office ‘damaging to sector’

Stalker is sceptical of IHRSA’s new opening

Chair,

ukactive Membership Council
& NED

Based on my near 10 years of service in representing this sector and over 25 years working in it, I read with disappointment that IHRSA has announced plans to open an office in Brussels.

First, the move is an unnecessary duplication of the role played by EuropeActive in furthering the sector’s cause in Brussels. Secondly, the sector has limited bandwidth in which to be heard in Brussels; its chances of being well received are best served by the message being delivered by the representative body of the European sector with a unifying mission of representing the whole sector, not marginalising it through focusing on negative in-fighting between commercial and non-commercial providers which has been the mainstay of IHRSA in the United States.

Thirdly, the announcement is plainly misleading. While I hope accidental, I suspect that recruiting a management agency (MCI) which serves a variety of sectors and positioning it as a strategic investment in dedicated IHRSA employees has been deliberately portrayed and is totally misleading to the sector. My hunch is that this is a net saving on the previous operating expenditure in Europe, disguised as a strategic investment, with more profit returning to the US as a result. The European industry is not stupid and it will see through this.

The bottom line is that Europe is now a bigger market than the US. It therefore deserves to be served by a body that’s dedicated to its cause, not one that sees the continent of Europe solely as a market for expansion.

Time and time again, IHRSA shows itself to be as globally minded as the World Series of Baseball.

I wonder, too, whether the IHRSA Board was fully aware of this decision, or its consequences. I hope so, because this is definitely a strategic decision that should be ratified by the Board, and particularly its European representatives.

We’ve seen international sporting bodies such as FIFA and IAAF in the spotlight for serious reform. I believe our sector also now needs that at the global level.

IHRSA: ‘Better serving needs of European members’

IHRSA Europe director Jeroen van Liempd (above left) and general manager Angela Meurer (above right)

VP marketing & international operations,

IHRSA

In the months prior to the departure of IHRSA’s European director, Hans Muench, we looked at different options for serving our membership, which comprises commercial health club operators and owners as well as companies that supply products and services.

It was clear the job had become bigger than one person could handle. We needed more help at an operational level. We determined that we needed additional infrastructure in Europe to better serve the needs of our current membership, as well as to continue to grow membership. We needed more multi-lingual team members with a diverse range of skills.

To that end, we chose to work with MCI, an experienced association management company that works with more than 100 associations worldwide. Leading the team are Jeroen van Liempd as IHRSA Europe director and Angela Meurer as IHRSA Europe general manager. They and their team will serve as an extension of the IHRSA staff in developing and carrying out our operational plan.

The full IHRSA Europe team is listed at ihrsa.org/europe

In addition to the new team in Brussels, we will continue to work with an extensive network of partners, federations and ambassadors in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia to engage members and grow membership.

We will still collaborate with organisations that serve the broader fitness industry wherever it’s beneficial to the organisations involved, as well as the industry as a whole. For example, IHRSA is a sponsor of the 2016 European Market Research Report being compiled by Deloitte on behalf of EuropeActive.

Overall, response from our membership to the opening of the new office has been enthusiastic. IHRSA is confident that this new increased level of support in Europe will be beneficial to the entire industry.

New Code of Practice called into question

Will the new guidelines cause swim schools to close? / PHOTOS: Shutterstock.com

Technical director,

Puddle Ducks

We’re writing to add our voice to the growing list of people and organisations expressing concerns over the PAS 520 guidelines published by the BSI (British Standard Institution) last November, which are designed to safeguard children up to age four within the teaching of swimming.

We fully support the promotion of standards in the sector, but any standards need to be practical and acknowledge that the sector is multi-faceted. The enforcement of these guidelines would, we believe, result in the closure of a number of smaller swim schools.

We’re working closely with the STA and Birthlight in our response to the BSI guidelines. Like us, both organisations fully support the development of standards, but the STA agrees that there are “several points that are unnecessary and impracticable for all types of swim school operations”.

Our main areas of concern relate to the following:

• The suggestion that an additional Level 2 swimming qualification is introduced. Our baby and pre-school teachers are all already Level 2 qualified through the STA, and also undergo extensive training with us. We don’t believe they also need a generic swimming qualification on top of this.

• The section of the PAS document that covers the safeguarding of children is not specific enough and needs to include more guidance for swimming teachers and swim school owners regarding their specific roles and responsibilities.

• The guidelines recommend excessive levels of public liability and professional indemnity insurance which we, and our advisors, deem unnecessary.

• Unrealistic and unnecessary recommendations that children wear a double nappy system up to the age of four.

Invest in staff to future-proof the sector

National Living Wage can help drive standards of care / shutterstock

Managing director,

Future Fit Training

I was interested to read your recent feature about the National Living Wage (see HCM Jan 16, p32).

It’s essential that the health and fitness industry is seen to offer skilled careers with clear progression and professional status if it is to attract and retain high calibre individuals. You could argue that today’s fitness professionals are not only responsible for the health of their individual clients, but at a much wider level they can influence the health and wellbeing of their community. Quite literally, the health of the nation is in their hands.

 The changes in government policy to increase the minimum wage – the new Living Wage – should therefore be viewed as a positive step towards raising standards in our sector’s workforce, supporting the work that CIMSPA is already doing. It will add to the integrity and reputation of the fitness industry.

While some health and fitness operators may decide to pass on these costs by increasing their membership fees, I hope that many will recognise the long-term value of investing in well-trained, skilled and knowledgeable staff.

Through continuous quality training and upskilling of staff, operators will be in a better position to offer more services. This could increase revenue and ultimately attract more members to enjoy these improved customer services, thus reducing the impact of the increased Living Wage.