Clubindustry

I recently put together the CI 2008 show preview, Full Steam Ahead. I really enjoyed writing this article as it gives me the inside scoop on the show and what to expect from the show, straight from the CI 2008 directors themselves. This year’s show has my usual favorites—early morning workouts, hundreds of booths of products and services, and interesting seminars—but, something new grabbed my attention while writing this year’s show preview. That something is the Inclusive Fitness Zone.

A few years ago, the magazine wrote a story on clubs complying with ADA laws and regulations, and I always thought it was an important topic. Turns out the show group thinks so, too. The show has partnered with the Inclusive Fitness Initiative and the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability to create a zone that highlights fitness equipment with inclusive features or options. The zone will also be staffed with someone knowledgeable in inclusive fitness equipment to answer attendees’ questions.

The Fitness Initiative and the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability have a long-standing partnership to offer disabled people opportunities to work out and access U.S. fitness facilities. I’m excited that Club Industry can join in that effort, and I can’t wait to see it in person and blog about it. –Jennipher

I received a call on Friday morning from none other than Phil Lawler, the physical education champion from Naperville, IL. Phil had apparently seen his name pop up on a Google search from the story we published this week on Phil’s speech to the PEP Grant winners at a PE4life conference here in Overland Park, KS. Phil thanked me for writing the article and told me he was on his way to see Notre Dame play Purdue on Saturday. (South Bend is a not-so-bad two-hour drive from Naperville, he told me.) Phil has a son who is an assistant baseball coach for the Fighting Irish.

I spoke to Phil briefly after his speech, and he said how excited he was to come hear Kenneth Cooper speak at our show next month in Phil’s neck of the woods, Chicago. Phil said he has been a guest on Dr. Cooper’s radio show in the past. I hope everybody gets a chance to join Phil and hear Dr. Cooper at the show. –Stuart

We’re all getting excited for the upcoming Club Industry 2008 show Oct. 15-18 in Chicago. It’s less than a month away, and I’m beginning to pick which sessions I’ll be attending and writing about here (in case you haven’t heard—or have been living under a rock—we blog regularly during the show so that even if you can’t make it, you can get the scoop on the hottest sessions and events).

In addition to preparing for the show, we’ve recently created a resource page for all of your CI 2008 needs. Go to: http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/ci-national now to read show previews, news, and links to register for the show or to make travel arrangements. The resource page also has links to the 2008 CI show blog and to the 2007 CI show blog, in case you missed last year’s show.

If you have any suggestions about what we can add to the page to make your life easier, please feel free to e-mail me at jennipher.shaver@penton.com. In addition, if you have events or sessions that you’d like us to cover at this year’s show, let me know! –Jennipher

Whether it’s a hurricane or a flood, it seems natural disasters are occurring at an alarming rate, and our industry is not immune to their path of destruction. We’ve posted an update of some clubs dealing with the after-effects of Hurricane Ike, but by no means is this a complete list. If you have a club that has suffered damage or, like most clubs in the Houston area, is without power, feel free to let us know how you’re doing. You can post a comment here or e-mail me at stuart.goldman@penton.com. –Stuart

I’m excited to finally be able to announce the winners of our Best of the Best contest for this year. We had more entries this year than in the past, and in several of the categories, the judges had a difficult time making a decision. However, after gathering all the entries, sending copies of the entries to the judges, getting the judging forms back from the judges and discussing the final results with the judges, we finally settled on the winners in the four categories. They are:

Best Children’s Program: Minton’s Sportsplex, Texarkana, TX

Best New Member Integration Program: Big Vanilla Athletic Club, Arnold, MD

Best Community-based/Nonmember Program: BodyWorks Family Sports Centers, Lubbock, TX

Best Behavior Modification Program: The Wyckoff Family YMCA, Wyckoff, NJ

The winners get three free registrations to the Club Industry 2008 show, which will take place Oct. 15-18 in Chicago. We’ll present the awards to these winners at 11:30 a.m., prior to the Friday, Oct. 17 panel session. The awards presentation is being sponsored by SportsArt Fitness.

Profiles of the winners will appear on the Web site next month and in the October issue.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered the competition this year. The quality of the programs out there is very encouraging and shows that clubs are working to make a difference in the lives of their members and their communities. –Pam