DR JOHN MORGAN

John Halls, Physical Company’s
sales & marketing director,
addresses the audience
Sponsor Physical Company, which
was celebrating 25 years in the industry,
agreed. John Halls, sales & marketing
director at Physical Company, said in his
speech: “In 25 years, one thing hasn’t
changed: to be at the top of your game
in an industry that works with people,
you have to put your customers at the
forefront of everything you do.”
Word from the winners
Alongside énergie, other big winners on
the night included Fitness4less, which
took gold for Best Medium Chain among
its haul of 17 awards. Director Emma
Edwards said: “The most important
thing for us is that entering these awards
allows us to gain valuable feedback from
our members. Although we’re a very
small fish in a big pond of gyms, we’ve
received some very motivational
endorsements from our members, as
well as some incredible feedback on
where we can do better. Seeing our
managers so delighted at the awards
ceremony is so worthwhile – it brings
our team closer together.”
Trusts and independents
There were some notable successes
in the regions for independent clubs,
including Westwoods Health Club
based in Edinburgh, which won gold
for the Best Premium Club in Scotland.
General manager James Matthew said:
“Westwoods Health Club was delighted
to take part for the fi rst time as a genuine,
audited means of assessing our club
against many others in both Scotland and
the UK. I think it’s great that the awards
are based solely on members’ feedback
and ratings, which provide a clear insight
into what we do well and what we can
improve upon. It’s fantastic for our
staff and our brand to be recognised as
Scotland’s Premium Health Club 2014.”
Also picking up gold in its region
was fi rst-time entrant i-motion Gym,
based in Rotherham. The club beat off
strong competition from other budget
operators to take the Best Budget Club
title for the Yorkshire & Humber region.
Rick Thompson, club manager, said:
“While building our brand, we’ve based
our core values on delivering outstanding
value and encouraging our staff to deliver
top rate customer service by developing
real relationships with members.
“The fact we’ve won based on their
votes proves to us that we’re on a good
track, and the award gives us greater
exposure in the market. It’s great to say
our Rotherham club is the best in its
sector for the entire region.”
Meanwhile Avalon Leisure picked up a
regional silver, as well as silver at national
level for the group. “We’re delighted by
the success we’ve achieved in these high
profi le awards,” said Bob Buckingham,
membership manager for Avalon Leisure.
“Recognition of our efforts at both a
national and regional level is a testimony
to the drive and enthusiasm our teams
display each day to achieve excellence in
all that we do. It’s really gratifying to have
such a strong endorsement from our
members – our ultimate judges.”
Will you win in 2015
Awards owner Simon Brown added:
“We’re absolutely thrilled with the way
this year’s competition has gone: 400
clubs took up the challenge and 35,000
members voted for their club. This
competition is about getting out on the
shop floor and engaging with customers,
and that’s exactly what the shortlisted and
winning clubs did very well.”
For a full list of this year’s winners,
visit www.healthclubawards.com
Entries for the 2015 competition open
on 1 November 2014.
November/December 2014 © Cybertrek 2014 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 75