Tennessee-Chattanooga Breaks Ground on New Rec Center
CHATTANOOGA, TN – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recently broke ground on a new student recreation center. Construction on the $24 million facility, funded by a dedicated student fee imposed by a student vote, is expected to take approximately two years....
NASM Updates Personal Trainer Certification
CALABASAS, CA -- The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) launched the third edition of its Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) certification. A key change in the revised certification is a modification of the organization’s evidence-based training methodology to better address the needs of the general fitness client. The CPT program was also enhanced with interactive learning formats including DVD, iPod downloads and an online course learning management system....
Matrix’s First Quarter Sales Up 146 Percent
COTTAGE GROVE, WI -- Matrix Fitness Systems’ U.S. sales increased by 146 percent over the corresponding 2006 period for the first quarter. Globally, sales grew 85 percent over the same time frame last year....
Bally Acting CEO Resigns
CHICAGO – Bally Total Fitness Acting CEO Barry Elson announced today that he will step down from his post on May 31....
Two State Attorneys General Target Clubs
NATIONWIDE – Fitness clubs have become the target in a lawsuit and a complaint by attorneys general in two states....
GA YMCA Hosts Soldier Send-Off Party
HINESVILLE, GA -- The Liberty County/Armed Services Branch YMCA in Liberty Hinesville, GA, hosted a send-off party for local soldiers who have been called back to Iraq. The soldiers, part of the Third Infantry Division's First Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, spent time with their families playing games and activities that the Y had organized for the adults and children, according to a report by WTOC-TV. ...
Bills Introduced in KS, IN and NY
NATIONWIDE—A number of bills were recently introduced in states across the country, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). The topics of interest were automatic renewal of contracts, automated external defibrillators (AED), and CPR and first aid certifications. ...
Life Time Fitness Revenue Grows 32 Percent
First quarter 2007 brought with it a 32.6 percent revenue growth for Life Time Fitness, the Eden Prairie, MN-based health club company. ...
Judge Orders Bally to Pay Discrimination Settlement
FRESNO, CA – A federal judge ordered Bally Total Fitness to pay $24,000 to a Sikh man who sued when the company denied him a job after asking if he was Muslim, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday....
Memberships Grow after Two-Year Stall
Health club membership in the United States increased by more than three percent last year from 41.3 million members (over the age of six) in 2005 to 42.7 million in 2006, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). This is the first increase after a two-year stall in membership numbers in 2004 and 2005. ...
Bally Stock to be Delisted
CHICAGO – The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) notified Bally Total Fitness that its common stock will be suspended prior to the market open on May 2 and that the NYSE will formally delist Bally’s stock, the club company announced. ...
Misawa Children Get Defensive
MISAWA AIR BASE, JAPAN-- Military children have lots of unique opportunities available to them, and one such opportunity is the kajukenbo karate class offered at Misawa Air Base. A hybrid martial art that combines karate, judo, jujutsu, kenpo and kung-fu, kajukenbo is helping these military children stay fit....
Gold’s Gym Opens First Club in Columbus, OH
COLUMBUS, OH -- Gold’s Gym recently opened its first facility in Columbus, OH. The 58,000-square-foot club features an indoor swimming pool, a panoramic elevated indoor track, a full-court basketball court, a racquetball court, cardio areas with more than 150 pieces of equipment that include personalized flat-screen televisions, a cardio movie cinema, group exercise classes, a smoothie bar and a pro shop. Another addition is the Fit Factory for children. This section of the club is equipped with a basketball court for children, computer stations, a movie-viewing area with a flat-screen television and a floor-to-ceiling play land. ...
Bally Sells 16 Canadian Clubs
CHICAGO – Bally Total Fitness announced today that it has agreed to sell its 16 Toronto, Canada, facilities to Extreme Fitness Inc., which is acquiring six of the clubs, and GoodLife Fitness Centres Inc., which is acquiring the remaining 10 clubs....
JCC Association Earns Top Rating
NEW YORK -- For the second consecutive year, Charity Navigator recognized the JCC Association for its fundraising practices. The continental umbrella organization for the JCC Movement earned the group’s highest four-star rating for fiscal 2005, which was the most recent data available. Charity Navigator is the nation’s largest independent evaluator and assesses 5,000 charitable organizations annually to determine how much each spends to raise money and what percentage of the dollars raised are allocated to programs and services. ...
'Team Lean' Challenge Promotes Weight Loss, Camaraderie
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OH -- Hoping to promote wellness and weight loss through camaraderie and enjoyable activities, Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) officials introduced a command-wide competition that relies on concerted efforts of people supporting and motivating one another. ...
Severely Obese Growth Rate on the Upswing
WASHINGTON—The proportion of Americans who are severely obese (100 pounds or more overweight) increased by 50 percent from 2000 to 2005, twice as fast as the growth seen in moderate obesity, according to a Rand Corp. study issued last week....
YMCAs Get Interactive on Healthy Kids Day
WASHINGTON, DC -- On Saturday, an estimated 550,000 children and families visited nearly 1,700 YMCAs nationwide for the 16th Annual YMCA Healthy Kids Day, the nation’s largest health day for children. In preparation for the event, Nintendo donated 100 Wii party packs to YMCA chapters nationally. ...
Minnesota School Offers Personal Training Degree
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota School of Business/Globe College is one of the first schools in the nation—along with Purdue University (IN)—to offer a four-year degree with a concentration in personal training....
Bally Makes Forbearance Deal With Lenders
CHICAGO – Bally Total Fitness announced Thursday that it has obtained a forbearance agreement from the lenders under its $284 million senior secured credit facility and that the company will not pay its scheduled interest payment of about $15 million due Monday on its 9 7/8 percent senior subordinated notes....
Texas Senate Passes P.E. Bill
AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require all school districts in the state to have students in kindergarten through eighth grade participate in “moderate or vigorous” daily physical activity each day for at least 30 minutes as part of the district’s physical education curriculum....
Study: YMCAs Kids Get More Activity than Average U.S. Child
CHICAGO -- Children enrolled in YMCA programs not only have very positive attitudes about physical activity, but they also are more physically active than the average U.S. child, according to the results of a national poll targeting 6- to 12-year-old children conducted by YMCA of the USA....
From the IHRSA Show Floor
The editors of Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro were able to visit just a fraction of the more than 400 exhibitors at the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association Conference and Trade Show in March 2007. The following paragraphs feature information about products recently introduced in the market from the companies the editors visited (listed in alphabetical order):...
The Sports Club Co. Revenue Increases 4 Percent
The Sports Club Co. Inc., Los Angeles, saw a 4.4 percent growth in fourth quarter 2005 revenue and a 4.6 percent revenue growth for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006. ...
Fuel Fitness Closes Chattanooga Facility
— Manny Butera, who owns Fuel Fitness, closed one of his Chattanooga locations last week. Fuel Fitness filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, but Butera had kept open all of his Tennessee clubs until last week. He had already closed his Alabama, Colorado and Atlanta ...
