being active

WORKOUT WEEKLY First Great British Week of Sport to celebrate the power of being active

ukactive has announced the first edition try. Bear Grylls, with BMF, will be kicking of the Great British Week of Sport, off the day this year with a special event, celebrating the power that sport and to be revealed closer to the date. activity has on our physical, mental and Thursday, September 24: Iron Man, Nike social wellbeing. athlete and Great British Week of Sport

The celebration will take place from ambassador John McAvoy will be September 19 to 27, forming the bedrock working with Fulham Reach Boat Club of the UK’s delivery of the European to offer young people the chance to try Week of Sport. some new activities, including rowing on

A series of events across the week will the Thames, while sharing his experience showcase the huge variety of sports and of how sport changed his life. activities which help people of all ages Friday, September 25: ParaDance will to be more active and reap the mental, support a day focussed on the inclusivity social and physical benefits. of sport, engaging a wide range of

Across Britain, people will be people to come together, be active and encouraged to use #BeActive on social have fun through the power of dance media during the week to share the virtually. activities they love most and help inspire Saturday, September 26: A ‘Girls’ Night In’ others to get involved. will see music and fitness combine to

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, engage women and girls to #BeActive. chair of ukactive, said: “We are living in Supported by influencers and DJs, the challenging times, which makes it all night will bring a new meaning to the the more important we celebrate the girls’ night. incredible spirit and unity through sport Sunday, September 27: The week will be and activity that makes our communities capped off by Ordnance Survey, with its stronger. Saturday, September 19: The Great British to witness how being active can have a Get Outside campaign to support and

“Every day, taking part in physical Week of Sport will kick off with ‘World positive impact on many contributing encourage Britain to get outside and activity and sport brings people United’. Spearheaded by leading factors that cause us stress, anxiety and discover new routes and green spaces to together in a way that is very unique, fitness brand, Les Mills, World United fear. use for activity. making our gyms, leisure centres and is a global festival of fitness that uses Tuesday, September 22: ukactive will And throughout the week, people will sports venues part of our social fabric. exclusive online workouts, filmed during team up with RED Together, a national be encouraged to get active using the

“The Great British Week of Sport will lockdown by 300 instructors, to help movement that empowers people to get free ‘Active 10’ walking and ‘Couch to show that physical activity is available fitness facilities encourage visitors back active their way – celebrating the power 5k’ running apps, in partnership with to everyone, no matter what your to their venues. of physical activity in bringing the nation Public Health England’s Better Health background, age, gender, race or ability, Sunday, September 20: StreetGames will together by encouraging everyone to campaign. and that being active together is an begin a week of support through its wear red during their run, swim, cycle or Familiar faces including Team GB amazing thing.” local communities across the Midlands, favourite fitness activity. Hockey gold medallist Georgie Twigg; ukactive, in partnership with Sport helping to bring sports and activities to Wednesday, September 23: The week plays Paralympic gold medallists Baroness England, the UK Government and the children, families and young people. host to National Fitness Day, which Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Smith; European Commission, will work with Monday, September 21: Mental health celebrates the fun of fitness and physical Nike triathlete John McAvoy; RED a host of partners to deliver focussed charity Mind will work alongside a activity, as gyms, leisure centres and Together founder Hannah Beecham; and activities supporting a diverse range of number of its regional ‘Minds’ across sports providers across the UK offer Football Beyond Borders coach Debra audiences throughout the week: the UK to provide people the chance thousands of free activities for visitors to 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.