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....
Greater Indianapolis Ys Offer National Guard Families Free Membership
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Greater Indianapolis YMCA is offering family members of state National Guardsmen an affordable way to stay active and healthy while their loved ones are deployed. The organization has created Operation Indiana Partners, which allows the families of deployed Indiana National Guardsmen to enjoy free memberships. ...
Navy Introduces New Physical Training Uniforms
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Navy recently introduced a new physical training uniform to sailors. The uniforms include a gold T-shirt with reflective Navy lettering and blue shorts with Navy lettering and reflective markings, according to a press release from the Navy....
The Sports Club Co. Revenue Increases 4.9 Percent
LOS ANGELES -- The Sports Club Co. Inc., Los Angeles, had 2007 revenue of $61.7 million and revenue in the fourth quarter 2007 of $15.5 million, according to a statement from the company. ...
Bally Making Payments to Former Stockholders
CHICAGO -- Bally Total Fitness announced Monday it has begun the process of making an initial cash distribution of 31 cents a share to former stockholders, in accordance with the terms of Bally’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan....
BMI Mandate Removed From School Obesity Bill
ATLANTA -- Georgia lawmakers eliminated a key provision from an anti-obesity bill that would have forced students to “weigh in” twice a year at their schools to determine their body mass index (BMI)....
Falcone Out as Nautilus CEO
By: By Pamela Kufahl, editor
VANCOUVER, WA -- Edward Bramson has made his way into the CEO position at Nautilus, just three months after Sherborne Investors, the group that Bramson is a partner in, won a proxy fight that put Sherborne Investors in control of Nautilus’ board and Bramson in as chairman of the board. ...
A Larger Abdomen in Midlife Increases Risk of Dementia
OAKLAND, CA -- People in their 40s with larger stomachs have a higher risk for dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a study published in the March 26, 2008, online issue of Neurology. ...
Clubs for the Cure Reaches 800 Clubs
By: by Pamela Kufahl, editor
MANASQUAN, NJ – More than 800 clubs are now involved in the Clubs for the Cure effort to raise money for Augie’s Quest, says Pat Laus, owner of the Atlantic Clubs in Manasquan, NJ, and originator of the idea for the grassroots effort....
Precision Fitness Stands at Eight Franchises
ANAHEIM, CA – Sixty days after launching the personal training franchise Precision Fitness, Mike Salerno and his team have sold eight franchised locations, the company announced. The company’s Cerritos, CA, location is already open, but Salerno has now sold a franchise in each of five other California towns and in Flagstaff, AZ, and Margate, FL. ...
Y’s Prepare for Healthy Kids Day, Healthy Family Home
NATIONWIDE -- More than 1,700 YMCAs across the country are gearing up for Healthy Kids Day on April 12. The day celebrates making fitness fun, and through free programming for the day introduces kids to an array of Y programs and tools that teach healthy behaviors and healthy ways to play—an essential lesson in learning how to take care of themselves throughout their lifetimes, according to the YMCA of the USA....
Marines Debut New Running Suit
BETHESDA, MD -- The Marine Corps recently unveiled its new running suit to Marines assigned to the Wounded Warrior Regiment at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. The new running suit will become standard issue in addition to what is currently provided and does not replace the existing green physical training uniform. The new running suits are compatible with other physical training uniform items, according to the Marine Corps officials....
Study Finds that Personal Contact Best for Keeping Weight Off
BATON ROUGE, LA -- Recent research confirms what many in the industry already know: members need accountability in order to lose weight and keep it off. In fact, people who were enrolled in a weight-loss maintenance trial and had a brief, monthly personal contact intervention—most often a 10- to 15-minute personal phone conversation—regained less weight than participants who were in a Web-based intervention or self-directed program....
Y Partners with the USA Swimming Foundation to Offset Drowning Epidemic
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- In response to the alarming statistic that nine people drown each day in the United States, the USA Swimming Foundation and the YMCA of the USA recently partnered to provide free/low-cost swim lessons for at-risk children who are enrolled in their school's free or reduced lunch program. The partnership is a local implementation of Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation's national anti-drowning initiative. Communities involved in the collaborative education program include Raleigh-Durham, NC, San Jose, CA, Philadelphia, and most recently Omaha, NE....
Life Time’s Akradi Gives Up His Salary
CHANHASSEN, MN -- Bahram Akradi, CEO of Life Time Fitness, Chanhassen, MN, announced last week that he would forgo his cash salary and cash incentive compensation this year, and this week, the compensation committee of the company’s board approved his decision. Instead, Akradi will receive his entire 2008 compensation in the form of restricted stock. The move is Akradi’s effort to demonstrate his confidence in the value of the company....
Membership and Revenue Growth Continued in 2007
BOSTON -- Health club membership in the United States increased by three percent last year from 42.7 million members (over the age of six) in 2006 to 44.1 million in 2007, according to early estimates from an annual tracking study by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). ...
Harvard Complies with Muslim Students’ Request for Women-Only Hours
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Harvard University’s Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center has banned men for six hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who, for religious and cultural reasons, cannot exercise comfortably in their presence. A discussion about this policy was aired on NBC’s “The Today Show” this morning. ...
Bally Denies Negligence in AED Lawsuit
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
CHICAGO -- In a court filing last week, Bally Total Fitness denied allegations that it was negligent in the death of a Maryland man who collapsed and died in a Bally club....
Leisure Sports to Develop New Fitness Resort
PLEASANTON, CA -- Charter Properties, a Pleasanton, CA-based developer, and Leisure Sports Inc., owner and operator of ClubSport fitness resorts, will partner to build a 50,000-square-foot lifestyle fitness resort in Dublin, CA, the companies announced....
Houston Club Owner Denies Involvement in Clemens Case
HOUSTON -- Shaun Kelley, the owner of Houston-based Shaun Kelley Weight Control, has been named a person of interest in a case to determine whether baseball star Roger Clemens lied under oath to Congress that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs, according to published reports....
Missouri Southern Students Protest Fee Increase for Rec Center
JOPLIN, MO -- Some students at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) have asked fellow students to sign a petition to repeal a $150 per semester student fee increase that would help pay for a student recreation center....
Equipment Market to Exceed Almost $12 Billion by 2010
SAN JOSE, CA -- As manufacturers gather at the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) show, which kicks off today in San Diego, a new report states that the world market for physical fitness equipment is projected to exceed almost $12 billion by 2010. ...
Nike, Apple Making iPod Nanos Compatible with Equipment
BEAVERTON, OR -- Several fitness equipment manufacturers as well as 24 Hour Fitness and Virgin Active Health Clubs are working with Nike Inc. and Apple Inc. to make Apple’s iPod Nano compatible with cardio equipment, Nike and Apple announced yesterday....
