Leisure Management - Leisure Industry Week 2012

LIW Show preview

From Leisure Management 2012 issue 4

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Leisure Industry Week 2012

Leisure Industry Week (LIW) returns to Birmingham NEC this month with more than 300 exhibitors for what promises to be another inspirational show

LIW is set to welcome more than 9,000 leisure industry professionals

Leisure Industry Week (LIW) returns to Birmingham NEC this month with more than 300 exhibitors for what promises to be another inspirational show LIW is the only UK trade show to cover the entire out of home leisure industry with an exciting range of sectors incorporating Play & Attractions, Health & Fitness, Sport, Pool & Spa, Eat & Drink and Leisure Facilities. These sectors combine to offer leisure professionals, from health club operators and public sector managers to attractions buyers and catering specialists, inspirational and innovative business solutions.

With both local and national budget cuts still affecting leisure services, it is essential that operators really consider how best to spend their money in order to ensure maximum efficiency throughout the procurement process. LIW provides the perfect opportunity to do just that; with specialists in their fields around the exhibition floor, visitors will be able to gather all of the information they require in a face-to-face setting. They will also have the chance to research and try out the newest and upcoming innovations.

Back by popular demand, LIW 2012 will once again deliver more than 150 hours of varied seminar sessions in the Education Village, sponsored by Matrix, which will be positioned on the show floor. Visitors seeking CPD accreditation or inspiration, or just wanting to keep up-to-date with industry trends, will have hours of free education at their fingertips, from practical advice and expert-led sessions to case studies. This year's highlights include the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) Keynote, Olympian speaker sessions and the CPD-accredited REPs National Convention.

Venue: NEC, Birmingham

Dates:18–20 September 2012

Opening Times:
Tues 18 Sept, 10am – 5pm
Weds 19 Sept, 10am – 5pm
Thurs 20 Sept , 10am – 4pm

Registration:
Pre-register for the show for free at www.liw.co.uk

Keep up to date at:
Twitter @L_I_W, LinkedIn ‘Leisure Industry Week’ group and Facebook ‘Leisure Industry Week’ page

Sector highlights

Pool & spa

The pool and spa area provides the perfect opportunity to network with industry colleagues, keep up to date with industry trends and source the latest products, technologies and services to hit the market.

Exhibitors will be on hand to discuss the business potential of incorporating children’s classes into an existing programme with various companies on hand to outline how their products could open up this valuable market opportunity, from swimwear and play equipment to specialised classes.

The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) will be on hand at their stands to discuss the challenges facing the industry at the moment and will also be contributing to the free education programme.

Safety is never far from a pool and spa professional’s mind and so, for the first time, LIW welcomes the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), who will be hosting a walk-in Safety Advice Clinic where visitors can seek advice from the experts.

Allison Spears, HM Inspector of Health and Safety at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), will present a seminar alongside RoSPA’s David Walker, titled Health and Safety in Swimming Pools. The session will run on Wednesday 19 September and will focus on the Managing Health and Safety in Swimming Pools guidance, exploring why the guidance is being updated and what it plans to achieve.

The Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG) will present an outline of its new code of practice while describing its implementation. This presentation will include contributions from Dr Gordon Nichols of the Health Protection Agency; Janice Calvert, Chair of PWTAG; and Ralf Riley, former chief executive of the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management. These sessions are free and will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Pool and Spa section welcomes numerous new exhibitors this year including Aquavate, Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance and Splashabout, alongside returning names including RLSS UK, JC Leisure Solutions and Certikin. These exhibitors will give visitors a multitude of options from secondary spend products to cleaning, heating and safety solutions.

Sector highlights

Play & Attractions

Play and Attractions at LIW provides a dedicated forum for the family entertainment and visitor attractions sector to explore indoor and outdoor play equipment, test new products and keep up with the latest developments.

Supported by the Play Providers Association (PPA), this section of the show will inspire and educate. The PPA will be running its conference on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th September with top-rated speakers from the attractions sector poised to share their ideas, leadership advice and motivation. The ASPIRE awards are being held at the newly re-opened Drayton Manor Hotel.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) will also host an advice clinic for play and attractions professionals. Specialists will be on hand to offer advice and information to visitors on a range of safety issues.

RoSPA will also feature in the free Education Village. During the session they will present case studies focusing on issues including children’s play, swimming and water safety, risk management for international locations and events, and safety promotion for risk seekers. Another area of focus will be the importance of promoting positive risk choices through changing attitudes, perceptions and education.

Interactive family attractions specialist Innovative Leisure will once again be a key exhibitor at this year’s LIW. The Innovative Leisure display will be the central feature of the Play and Attractions section of the show.

Among the products being shown by the Leicester-based company will be a fully operational SkyTrail high ropes course, in addition to a climbing wall and a mobile zip line.

In the Outdoor Play Area, Innovative Leisure will showcase its products alongside Waterwalkerz' inflatable games and outdoor gym equipment, Extreme Adventure’s high ropes course, Play Bus Company’s buses, Autoculture Distributions’ go karts and theming from Snow Business.

Innovative Leisure and Extreme Adventures will exhibit ropes courses

Sector highlights

Health & Fitness

Once again, LIW welcomes all of the leading fitness companies to the show. Technogym, Life Fitness, Matrix, Precor, Power Plate, Escape Fitness, Pulse and a whole host of others will bring their newest equipment for visitors to try out for themselves. There will also be a new focus on group fitness with the Les Mills Exercise Arena and the Bokwa Arena.

Les Mills UK is set to launch GRIT SERIES, its latest High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) programme. GRIT SERIES provides the perfect platform for operators to maximize revenue around the demand for small group and team training, while helping to attract and retain younger members.

Keith Burnet, CEO of Les Mills UK, says: “Les Mills GRIT SERIES is the ultimate opportunity to increase retention and membership. It’s the most innovative fitness trend right now and we’ve designed our offering so clubs can provide members a premium, PT-style workout without the expensive price tag, or offer it to members free of charge as a value add.

Bokwa will demonstrate the new fitness craze where participants ‘Sweat the Alphabet and Dance the Digits,’ drawing letters and numbers with their feet while doing an intense cardio routine. Whether you're seven or 77, you can follow the Bokwa moves. The team will be on hand within the Bokwa Arena and also on the live stage, LIW Live, on each day of the show.

LIW has also commissioned Leisure-net Solutions, leading customer insight and business intelligence provider, to produce a market intelligence report into the rapidly expanding and increasingly popular outdoor fitness sector.

The report will be outlined as part of the Education Village programme sponsored by Matrix and will be made available for download to LIW visitors. With research questions targeted at both consumer and trade representatives, the report will analyse the size, growth and potential of the market as well as providing insight into the motivations of outdoor fitness participants.

Three key industry players will also be represented with in-depth case studies into the business practices and successes of some of the leaders in the outdoor fitness field.

The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) will be running its National Convention over all three days of the LIW show. This year's convention is full of vital updates and bite-sized CPD accredited training to keep you on top of industry trends. There will be one point awarded per session attended.

Programme highlights include inspirational keynote sessions from weight loss guru Pete Cohen who will be presenting 'Obesity – an untapped fitness market', Tim Fearon from The Extraordinary Coaching Company presenting 'Welcome to the age of different' and Bob Laventure of Later Life Training presenting 'Can you really teach an old dog new tricks?'

In addition to these keynotes, REPs is set to present a dynamic selection of 40 interactive workshops. These include the following topics: ‘Carbs for exercise? Think again!’, ‘Maximise building a small business into a brand’, ‘Working with specialist medical conditions’, ‘Food addiction – it’s not all in the mind!’, ‘The dos, don’ts and whys of postnatal exercise’ and ‘Training the active independent older adult'.

Visitors can book a place on these sessions at www.liw.co.uk. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis with an exclusive discount available to REPs members.

The Health & Fitness section of the show will see a new focus on group fitness

LIW Live launched

LIW Live launches this year as a platform for exhibitors to display the best live action from their company on a live stage in the middle of the show floor.

Some of the UK’s leading Olympic faces will be joining exhibitors on their stands and will also make an appearance on the brand new live stage, taking part in question and answer sessions. Already lined up for this programme are 2012 bronze medallist Greg Searle and badminton ace Gail Emms, both attending with Precor, and the three time world champion and 2012 bronze medallist Beth Tweddle MBE, founder of exhibiting company Total Gymnastics, which will be showcasing its new programme, Gym Stars.

Also taking part will be the cast of The Apprentice 2012, with contestants Stephen Brady and Adam Corbally exhibiting with their new company mysuccesscoach.com. The Biggest Loser winner Kevin McLernon will also be accompanying Concept2 to the show with plans to outline ways in which fitness providers can attract completely disengaged participants to their facilities. Britain’s Got Talent finalist Zoe Cooper is also set to appear with the Swimming Teacher’s Association discussing her Aquabatique experience, why synchronised swimming is one of the hardest sports in the world and the importance of increasing participation in swimming and aquatic activities.

Swimwear brand Zoggs will be hosting a fashion show showcasing its newest ranges. With new group fitness trends emerging all the time, visitors will have the chance to see sample-size demonstrations of the next big things to hit the market. These include Powerhoop sessions, in which visitors will be able to join in – with the most enthusiastic Powerhooper winning their own hoop. Bokwa, Funky Moves, Revolve Fitness, Elite Sports Performance and Unikurve will also be performing dynamic demonstrations.

The LIW Live programme will run throughout the three days of the show with a full outline of demonstrations, interviews and showcases on the LIW website and in the LIW showguide.

Bronze medalist Greg Searle will be appearing on the LIW Live stage

Visiting the show

Leisure facilities

section of LIW caters for visitors from the entire spectrum of the leisure industry. In one day at LIW you will be able to ensure that your company or site has the latest and most technologically sound facilities it needs to run efficiently, cost-effectively and, most importantly, safely.

Exhibitors within this part of the show will include specialists in signage, energy efficiency, membership management and retention, information technology, heating, cooling, flooring, water treatment, lockers, payments, software, uniforms, ticketing and refurbishments.

Visiting the show

Sport

With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just behind us, it seems that the whole world is talking about legacy. The responsibility is partly on the leisure industry to keep people motivated, engaged, active and healthy.

Visitors will have the opportunity to talk to the exhibitors across the show floor about what they are doing to promote Olympic legacy and will find that this topic is high on the agendas of the majority of the professionals.

Also, keep an eye out for the Olympian Q&A sessions on the LIW Live stage as well as seminars within the education theatres.

Visiting the show

Eat & Drink

One of the reasons visitors give for attending LIW is to investigate potential new options for increasing secondary spend at their premises or site. This is where the eat and drink section of the show really comes into its own.

Visitors will have the chance to feast their senses on the latest food innovations, watch tasty demos, sample a wide range of treats and meet the suppliers that could shake up their menus.

This element of the show features companies with a range of products including vending machines, soft drinks, healthy snacks, ice cream, pizza and energy drinks.

Originally published in Leisure Management 2012 issue 4