DR JOHN MORGAN

LIW REVIEW
The Life Fitness Keynote theatre hosted a range of
interesting discussions on hot industry topics
LIW Evolution Hub: Delegates were asked what the industry
looks like now, and what it should look like in the future
Luke Lancaster, aged just 18 and
CEO of Young Pioneers, presented
three keynotes sessions, revealing the
learnings from Young Pioneers’ awardwinning
YP Be Healthy Programme,
which has used young mentors to
engage over 7,500 young people into
healthier lifestyles.
The Thursday of LIW – this year
named Independents’ Day – provided an
educational programme geared towards
the topics relevant to independent
operators. The keynote was delivered
by Thomas Plummer, a fi tness business
guru with 30 years’ experience in the
sector who’s renowned in the US for
coaching independent operators to
success. Plummer talked about how
to survive and thrive in an increasingly
competitive market, and how to
embrace new ways to do business.
The REPs National Convention on
the Wednesday and Thursday of the
show was headlined by Olympians such
as Louise Hazel, Olympic heptathlete
and REPs ambassador. Fresh from her
Glasgow 2014 commitments, Hazel
delivered a session on how her life as an
elite athlete has infl uenced her career
as a personal trainer.
Hazel was followed by Olympic
weightlifter Zoe Smith, who was
joined by her KBT Education colleague
and coach, Sam Dovey, to present
a workshop discussing the essential
factors to consider when developing a
programme to ensure athletes peak at
the right time for competition.
NETWORKING
This year’s programme reflected visitor
feedback about the importance of
networking opportunities at the show.
For the first time, visitors and exhibitors
were able to pre-schedule show floor
meetings through LIW Connections.
The highlight of the Tuesday evening
was the Members’ Choice Health Club
Awards, with a black tie dinner and
awards ceremony taking place at the
National Motorcycle Museum (see p74).
Wednesday saw the return of the
ukactive VIP Programme and aftershow
drinks reception, which was
followed by the LIW drinks reception
at the Hilton Metropole.
LOOKING AHEAD
On the future of LIW, event director
James Samuel comments: “The
independent research jointly
commissioned by ukactive and LIW
ahead of the show provided some great
insight into what the industry places
importance on when looking at an
event, and in particular LIW.
“It was clear that as an event, LIW has
health, activity and wellbeing at its heart,
and this must be a focus moving forward.
There’s an exciting opportunity for the
industry to evolve the show into what
it wants and needs, and this year’s show
included a dedicated Evolution Hub,
where attendees had a chance to share
their thoughts and suggestions for the
future direction of the event.
Samuel continues: “We want to
continue to reach out to new audiences
with market-leading products, high
quality educational content and
networking opportunities.”
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November/December 2014 © Cybertrek 2014