Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

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Tennis Legend Navratilova to
Headline IHRSA Convention
Martina Navratilova
at IHRSA ’08
IHRSA is pleased to announce that it’s just signed tennis legend
Martina Navratilova as a keynote speaker for its 27th Annual
International Convention and Trade Show, which takes place this
month, March 5-8, at the San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego,
California. Her address, “Champion for Life,” will be presented on
Saturday, March 8, at 9 a.m.
Navratilova, 51, is best known for her illustrious tennis career,
which spanned four decades and produced 59 Grand Slam crowns
and a record nine Wimbledon singles championships.
“Martina has not only had tremendous, unparalleled success in professional
tennis, but has personified healthy living and aging in a way that’s been
unprecedented. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join us at this
great event,” says Joe Moore, IHRSA’s president and CEO.
Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Navratilova emigrated to the U.S.
at the age of 19 to escape the oppressive communist regime in power
there then. By 1980, she’d already earned two Wimbledon titles, been
named tour player of the year twice, and won a countless number of
singles and doubles matches; she was the most dominant player in
tennis at the time.
Over the course of her career, Navratilova was the Women’s Tennis
Association’s “Tour Player of the Year” seven times, named the Associated
Press’ “Female Athlete of the Year,” and declared one of the “Top Forty
Athletes of All-time” by Sports Illustrated magazine. After being inducted
into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000, she continued to
participate in a variety of Grand Slam tournaments and competed in
the 2004 Olympic Games. Before she retired in 2006, she was the oldest
player to ever win a Grand Slam title. A compelling and inspirational
fitness role model, particularly for aging adults, Navratilova signed on
as AARP’s Health and Fitness Ambassador last year. —|
22 Club Business International | MARCH 2008 | www.ihrsa.org
Concerning Clubs,
Consumer Reports
that ‘Independents Rule’
> Last month, Consumer Reports magazine
published its first-ever rating of health clubs,
which suggested, among other things, that people
seem to prefer small, local, intimate fitness
facilities. The report, which precipitated extensive
follow-up coverage nationwide, was based on
an online survey of 10,000 Consumer Reports
subscribers, which questioned them on eight
topics: staff, equipment, cleanliness, locker
rooms, classes, value, crowds, and workout
options. The magazine also dispatched 12 mystery
shoppers to chain operations in seven states.
Only one major chain, Life Time Fitness, Inc.
(NYSE: LTM), based in Chanhassen, Minnesota,
placed in the top half of the magazine’s list.
With a score of 79 out of a possible 100 points,
it claimed the No. 2 spot, surpassed only by
the category of yoga/dance/Pilates studios
(80 points). Life Time Fitness, which operates
71 upscale, multipurpose facilities in 16 states,
was founded by CEO Bahram Akradi, a former
member of IHRSA’s board of directors.
Life Time Fitness is tops!
It was followed, in terms of popularity, by
corporate fitness and community recreation
centers, Jewish Community Centers, and school
gyms (78 points each); and YMCAs and YWCAs
(77). Major independent or franchised chains
and residential facilities comprised the bottom
half of the list.
Among the complaints made most frequently
by respondents were long wait times for
equipment, problems involving contracts and
fees, unsatisfactory cleanliness, and inadequate
locker rooms.
The same issue of Consumer Reports
also featured an extensive report on home
fitness equipment —|