WORKOUT WEEKLY
First Great British Week of Sport to celebrate the power of being active ukactive has announced the first edition of the Great British Week of Sport, celebrating the power that sport and activity has on our physical, mental and social wellbeing. The celebration will take place from September 19 to 27, forming the bedrock of the UK’s delivery of the European Week of Sport. A series of events across the week will showcase the huge variety of sports and activities which help people of all ages to be more active and reap the mental, social and physical benefits. Across Britain, people will be encouraged to use #BeActive on social media during the week to share the activities they love most and help inspire others to get involved. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, chair of ukactive, said: “We are living in challenging times, which makes it all the more important we celebrate the incredible spirit and unity through sport and activity that makes our communities stronger. “Every day, taking part in physical activity and sport brings people together in a way that is very unique, making our gyms, leisure centres and sports venues part of our social fabric. “The Great British Week of Sport will show that physical activity is available to everyone, no matter what your background, age, gender, race or ability, and that being active together is an amazing thing.” ukactive, in partnership with Sport England, the UK Government and the European Commission, will work with a host of partners to deliver focussed activities supporting a diverse range of audiences throughout the week:
Saturday, September 19: The Great British Week of Sport will kick off with ‘World United’. Spearheaded by leading fitness brand, Les Mills, World United is a global festival of fitness that uses exclusive online workouts, filmed during lockdown by 300 instructors, to help fitness facilities encourage visitors back to their venues. Sunday, September 20: StreetGames will begin a week of support through its local communities across the Midlands, helping to bring sports and activities to children, families and young people. Monday, September 21: Mental health charity Mind will work alongside a number of its regional ‘Minds’ across the UK to provide people the chance
to witness how being active can have a positive impact on many contributing factors that cause us stress, anxiety and fear. Tuesday, September 22: ukactive will team up with RED Together, a national movement that empowers people to get active their way – celebrating the power of physical activity in bringing the nation together by encouraging everyone to wear red during their run, swim, cycle or favourite fitness activity. Wednesday, September 23: The week plays host to National Fitness Day, which celebrates the fun of fitness and physical activity, as gyms, leisure centres and sports providers across the UK offer thousands of free activities for visitors to
try. Bear Grylls, with BMF, will be kicking off the day this year with a special event, to be revealed closer to the date. Thursday, September 24: Iron Man, Nike athlete and Great British Week of Sport ambassador John McAvoy will be working with Fulham Reach Boat Club to offer young people the chance to try some new activities, including rowing on the Thames, while sharing his experience of how sport changed his life. Friday, September 25: ParaDance will support a day focussed on the inclusivity of sport, engaging a wide range of people to come together, be active and have fun through the power of dance virtually. Saturday, September 26: A ‘Girls’ Night In’ will see music and fitness combine to engage women and girls to #BeActive. Supported by influencers and DJs, the night will bring a new meaning to the girls’ night. Sunday, September 27: The week will be capped off by Ordnance Survey, with its Get Outside campaign to support and encourage Britain to get outside and discover new routes and green spaces to use for activity. And throughout the week, people will be encouraged to get active using the free ‘Active 10’ walking and ‘Couch to 5k’ running apps, in partnership with Public Health England’s Better Health campaign. Familiar faces including Team GB Hockey gold medallist Georgie Twigg; Paralympic gold medallists Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Smith; Nike triathlete John McAvoy; RED Together founder Hannah Beecham; and Football Beyond Borders coach Debra Nelson will help to promote the events.
Volution offers free of charge digital lifeline VOLUTION, the data-driven insight and member engagement company, has announced that it will be offering its virtual hubs solution to all public access trusts and operators free of charge. Virtual hubs, created and developed by Volution, allow operators to provide digital content (classes and PT sessions) to members via a purely ‘digital hybrid’ membership. Each virtual hub is completely bespoke, measurable, and created to deliver commercial returns from day one. It enables operators to offer both a ‘bricks and mortar’ and virtual service, bridging the gap between home exercise and the gym experience to successfully unite the ‘fitness ecosystem’ and create a highly effective and engaging, joined-up member experience. One that drives commercial return. Andy Hall, sales director of Volution said: “Every members’ experience of lockdown will have been unique to them, therefore, they will all be at different stages physically and emotionally in terms of their willingness to return to a gym environment. “The beauty of a virtual hub is that it enables you to stay in touch with
Andy Hall
members every step of the way, so you never lose connection. It also allows you to offer different tiers of membership to suit members with varying needs, expectations, personality types, and comfort levels.” When clubs re-open they face various challenges, including retaining existing members as well as acquiring new ones. The beauty of a virtual hub is that it offers a ‘shop window’ into your facility to attract these new leads. By allowing someone to ‘dip their toe’ in a facility before joining through a virtual hub, you remove the
‘gymtimidation’ factor. Potential members can take virtual walk-throughs of a facility, watch or test out classes, see what the people and community are like, and build up their confidence levels at home before even stepping foot on the gym floor. A virtual hub, therefore, can provide the perfect gateway through to a physical gym membership. Operators can use Virtual Hubs to learn who is attending clubs, classes, PTs, and more importantly, who isn’t attending. Finding out what is, and isn’t, working for your members is valuable insight that can help you to adapt your strategies and act early to retain and acquire members. Andy added: “Virtual hubs are designed to complement, and bolt-on, to the systems and services operators already have and are bespoke to each facility or business. “Whatever you need to complete or enhance your offering, volution.fit can build a virtual hub tailored to your requirements. What’s more, each virtual hub is made to look and feel like your brand for perfect integration.” “Leisure, sports and community centres have a special place in most
of our hearts; whether we learnt to swim there as a child, remember our eighth birthday party at one, or are now watching our children enjoy sport and physical activity at our local leisure centre. “Our virtual hubs open new realms of commercial possibilities… from selling new products – like merchandise, food/ drinks, digital memberships, exercise education courses, and at-home equipment – using data to show which products have a good ROI and are worth pursuing further and we hope this could make a difference in the survival of this vital part of the sector. “We are proud to offer this service free of charge for a minimum of 30 days in a bid to demonstrate what can be achieved from both a member engagement and commercial ROI point of view.” Now is the time for clubs to break the mould of what’s been done previously, adopt a new model for operation, and trailblaze a bold new world of customer-centric health and fitness solutions. Volution provides you with the right solution to seize opportunities within the marketplace through technology and innovation.
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