NEWS
News and views from the New Zealand fitness industry .
NZ ’ s big fitness weekend highlights how far we ’ ve come
Exercise New Zealand recently held the FitEx conference , now in its 12th year , at AUT University , and also hosted the 11th annual Exercise Industry Awards at the Grand Millennium Hotel ( click HERE to see award winners and finalists ). Collectively , over 1,000 individuals attended the events , making it truly the big weekend for the exercise industry in New Zealand .
Looking back to the first FitEx conference , it ’ s clear a lot has changed . For starters , both events have grown vastly in size , with FitEx almost quadrupling to over 750 attendees , awards entrants tripling and awards attendees doubling to almost 400 individuals . It ’ s not just the numbers that have changed though – the names have too , from GetNZ Active to the FitEx Conference ( in 2008 ), and the Fitness Industry Awards to the Exercise Industry Awards ( in 2014 ), both reflecting the evolving and increasingly diverse industry that we collectively call ‘ exercise ’.
It is also incredibly encouraging to see where the awards finalists and conference attendees are coming from – both in terms of geography ( everywhere in New Zealand ), and industry role ( everything in New Zealand ). This in itself reflects the growing diversity of the industry ( just consider how ‘ mainstream ’ yoga is now compared to a decade ago ), as well as the increasing diversity of the clients and members we service . In large cities it ’ s not uncommon to have ten different exercise options within a few kilometres , and in smaller towns where 10 years ago no gym existed , you ’ ll often now find a range of options , from traditional gyms , to community-based programs catering for specific populations , and outdoor group training sessions .
Equally encouraging are the stories we hear from industry professionals – both about how they are helping to improve the lives of their clients / members , as well as their personal stories of how and why they started working in fitness , often as career changes inspired by a particularly passionate exercise professional . This , together with the amazing passion that we see in the ‘ Student of the Year ’ finalists at the live judging event , tells me that we are fast developing into a workforce that can truly meet the diverse needs of every New Zealander .
Richard Beddie CEO , ExerciseNZ info @ exercisenz . org . nz
REPs pre-screening tool goes digital
The Register of Exercise Professionals ( REPs ) pre-screening tool , which was released in 2015 , has just gone digital and is currently being beta tested by a number of trainers and clubs around New Zealand . The new platform is entirely client-driven for privacy ( they control who sees what ), while allowing exercise professionals and exercise facilities to see pre-screening completed , regardless of where the client was when they completed it . Just like a person ’ s health record , their pre-screening can now ‘ move with them ’, with clients being able to share their existing information without having to complete a new form each time . The new platform will be free for REPs Registered Exercise Professionals and REPs registered exercise facilities . For more details , contact REPs on info @ reps . org . nz
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