We have much to celebrate in 2006, beginning with IHRSA's 25th Anniversary Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, 20-23 March. The event will feature top speakers such as Ken Blanchard and Jim Collins, as well as an impressive roster of presenters from both inside and outside of the industry. See the Convention preview for more details.
This year will also bring two exciting events in Europe: the sixth annual IHRSA European Congress in The Hague/Amsterdam, 11-14 September; and the all new IHRSA University-an exciting new executive education programme being launched in Barcelona, 7-11 August.
In March, we will release the second European Market Report, sponsored by Technogym and produced in cooperation with Deloitte. The new report will feature updated statistics, a new consumer research section, and data on the labour market from the European Health & Fitness Association (EHFA).
Of course, we will also be sending you three more issues of Club Business Europe with more news and thought-provoking articles. In this issue, we talk to Paul Eigenmann, founder and executive director of Qualitop in Switzerland, about standards for clubs. As health clubs work more and more with the healthcare industry, it's becoming abundantly clear that this issue needs to be addressed appropriately.
The start of the new year also offers a new beginning for thousands of health club members and prospective members, many of whom resolve to start exercising and losing weight. In "Weight management and exercise: developing a club-based programme," we look at programmes that are being offered by some of the leading fitness operators and what they entail.
Finally, we check in with three club companies that went from public to private ownership in "Life after the stock market: the pros and cons of growing with private equity". Harm Tegelaars of Cannons, Fred Turok of LA Fitness, and Ian Burke of Holmes Place share their thoughts.
May 2006 bring you continued health and prosperity!
