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Feedback sought for TwentyTen report
The Fitness Industry Association (FIA) is inviting feedback from the industry as it seeks to draw up a comprehensive future strategy for the fitness sector.
The industry consultation forms a part of the TwentyTen Commission's work, which was set up by the FIA and a number of partners in December 2009.
At the initial meeting in December, the commission was divided into five focus groups - each led by industry experts - which have since met regularly to draw up a number of goals, targets and suggestions for the way forward.
The FIA has now published the commission's findings and is inviting people working in the industry to comment and add their views.
David Stalker, Fitness Industry Association's (FIA) executive director, said: "In the 20 years the FIA has been in existence, we have never undertaken anything as ambitious as this Commission.
"We want everyone to read the Commission Report and comment on it. If our industry is to prosper in the next 20 years, we must agree on a common view of where we want to go.
The report was produced by the five focus groups, which were divided into the Community Hubs & Workplace Activity group, led by Robin Johnson (Total Fitness); Community Hubs - Public Sector Perspective, led by Graeme Hinde (Leisure and Fitness Exchange); Data and Consumer Insights, led by Harry Macmillan (MEND); Exercise as Medicine, led by Dr John Searle (the FIA's CMO); and Upskilling the Workforce, led by Steve Philpott (DC Leisure).
The main targets set out by the report include breaking through the 'glass ceiling' of 12 per cent - the portion of the population which is currently meeting the government's recommended levels of physical activity.
It also identifies that the fitness industry will play a big role in preventative healthcare, which will gain prominence as cuts in public funding will increase the pressures on traditional - and more expensive - curative care.
Stalker added: "We've never asked strategic questions about our future and we've never attempted to identify what our future needs will be. If we know these, then we can start to develop the strategies required to address them.
"This Commission is about our industry being masters of its own fate. It's about identifying the key potential areas of growth and assessing what we need to do to get from where are to where we want to be."
The FIA is inviting everybody to take part in the consultation by either email ([email protected]) or by calling Howard de Souza on 077349 56 132. The commission's report can be found on www.fia.org.uk/2010-commission.html.