Snap Founder: Company Not For Sale
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
CHANHASSEN, MN -- Snap Fitness CEO and founder Peter Taunton rebuked a report last week stating that Snap Fitness is for sale. However, at least one industry observer maintains that the company is for sale. ...
Central Florida Center Becoming Too Crowded for Some Students
ORLANDO, FL -- At the Athletic Business Conference and Expo last December in Orlando, a pre-conference tour featured the University of Central Florida’s athletic facilities. The campus’s state-of-the-art, 84,000-square-foot recreation and wellness center was among those facilities....
Air Force Cycling Event Brings Services Together with Healthy Competition
ARLINGTON, VA -- More than 300 amateur and professional cyclists participated in the U.S. Air Force Cycling Classic, which was held Sunday in the Washington, DC, area. ...
24 Hour Launches New TV Ad Campaign
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
SAN RAMON, CA -- 24 Hour Fitness kicked off its 12 Million Lives campaign by airing its first TV commercial Monday night during the FOX broadcast of “House.” The campaign stars 24 Hour members who have overcome personal challenges through fitness....
TSI Surges to First-Quarter Profit
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
NEW YORK -- Apparently, analysts liked what they heard from Town Sports International (TSI) during the company’s conference call last Thursday to announce its first-quarter results. TSI boasted a first-quarter profit and increased revenue, causing at least two of the analysts who participated in the call to raise their profit estimates for the company....
Despite First-Quarter Loss, Nautilus is Optimistic
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
VANCOUVER, WA -- Several events in what has already been a busy 2008 for Nautilus Inc., factored into its first-quarter results, which the company announced Monday....
24 Hour Partners with Six Athletes for Beijing Olympics
SAN RAMON, CA -- 24 Hour Fitness announced today that four U.S. Olympians and two Olympic hopefuls have joined Team 24 Hour Fitness in preparations for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which take place Aug. 8-24. 24 Hour Fitness is the official fitness center sponsor of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team....
New York Sports Clubs Offers Free Yoga Classes to Veterans
NEW YORK -- New York Sports Clubs will offer free weekly yoga classes at its Glendale, NY, location in the borough of Queens for veterans to reduce stress. The club company, which is owned by Town Sports International, recently partnered with the Queens Vet Center, a counseling service that helps veterans of all wars readjust to civilian life. ...
San Diego Fitness Pioneer Dies
SAN DIEGO -- Frederick Kasch, a health and fitness pioneer, died earlier this month at a San Diego hospital at the age of 94, about a week shy of his 95th birthday. ...
Portland State Rec Center Will House City’s Archives
PORTLAND, OR -- The $71 million Portland State University student recreation center, scheduled to open in 2010, will have a unique feature, courtesy of the city of Portland, OR....
New Navy PT Program Showcases Alternative Exercises
HAMPTON, VA -- Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) showcased its pilot program, the Navy Physical Training Series, to more than 40 command fitness leaders during the Innovative Strategies for Navy Physical Conditioning class at the recent 2008 NMCPHC Conference at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk, VA. The new program gives alternative workouts and exercises for that traditional physical training (PT) program....
Virginia Y Needs $100,000 to Stay Open
ROANOKE, VA -- The Smith Mountain Lake YMCA in Roanoke, VA, is scrambling to raise $100,000 to remain open. After learning months ago that the siding on its recently constructed facility violated the terms of a proffer tied to the mixed-use development, a Y official had asked Franklin County’s board of supervisors to amend the proffer. However, the board denied the request, forcing the Y to replace the siding, according to The Roanoke Times. ...
NYHRC Launches Triathlete Training Program
NEW YORK -- Due to the increased popularity of triathlons, New York Health & Racquet Club (NYHRC) and JackRabbit Sports, a triathlete’s store in New York, partnered to launch a new comprehensive triathlete-training program. ...
Cybex Net Sales Grow 15 Percent
MEDWAY, MA -- Cybex International’s net sales for the first quarter of 2008 increased by 15 percent to $39.8 million compared to $34.7 million in the same period last year, the company announced yesterday. ...
Akradi: Life Time Needs to Improve Member Communication
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
CHANHASSEN, MN -- Life Time Fitness founder and CEO Bahram Akradi said today at the company’s annual shareholders meeting that he wants to focus on improving the company’s communication process to its members....
Nautilus Re-Organizes
VANCOUVER, WA -- Nautilus Inc. has re-organized into three stand-alone business units: direct, commercial and retail, according to an announcement from the Vancouver, WA-based company. These three business units and Nautilus International will now report to Tim Joyce, senior vice president and general manager of Nautilus Inc. Joyce will oversee daily operations of these groups....
TSI Gets New COO
NEW YORK -- Martin Annese will join Town Sports International as its new chief operating officer, effective April 28, according to the company. Annese will report to Alex Alimanestianu, CEO, and will lead all fitness club operations and marketing for the company. ...
NIRSA Conference Sets Attendance Record
AUSTIN, TX -- The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) set an attendance record with nearly 2,500 attendees at its annual conference and exhibition April 2-5 in Austin, TX....
Anytime Fitness Challenges Ruling of St. Paul Law
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
ST. PAUL, MN -- Despite a Minnesota judge’s ruling to uphold the city of St. Paul’s decision to fine two Anytime Fitness franchisees for violating a city safety standard, Anytime Fitness is working with the St. Paul mayor’s office to change the language of the standard....
Study Shows Fit People Have Higher Levels of Circulating Cells
ATLANTA -- Fit healthy people tend to have higher numbers of circulating cells that regenerate blood vessels, a new study shows. ...
Public Health Watchdog Pressures Ys to Ban Junk Food
NEW YORK -- The National Action Against Obesity (NAAO) launched a year-long campaign to expel junk food from all U.S. day care, child care and preschool centers, beginning with the nation’s largest provider of child care services, the YMCA of the USA. The group kicked off its campaign in mid-April to coincide with the Y’s annual Healthy Kids Day and specifically targets the Y’s partnership with PepsiCo. ...
Vandenberg Air Force Base’s New Fitness Center Goes Green
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- Vandenberg Air Force Base’s new fitness center is under construction and set to be green....
Club Industry East Opens in New York
NEW YORK -- Club Industry East opened yesterday in New York City. The show runs through Saturday and features more than 90 seminars and 250 booths on the Javits Center trade show floor. ...
More Changes At 24 Hour
SAN RAMON, CA -- After sweeping changes were made in January at 24 Hour Fitness, including the departure of the company’s founder, Mark Mastrov, 24 Hour recently announced more personnel moves....
Fewer Students Gaining Weight in Philadelphia Schools
PHILADELPHIA -- In a two-year study involving five Philadelphia elementary schools that replaced sodas with fruit juice and reduced the amount of snacks and candy available in vending machines and the cafeteria, the number of students who gained weight in those schools was half the number of students who gained weight in schools that made no changes in their vending machines and cafeterias....
