Meeting of minds in Croatia

I must be getting old. I’ve just returned from SIBEC in Croatia and I have added ‘meetings fatigue’ – as opposed to just the ‘traditional’ fatigue usually induced by the inevitable excess which accompanies any industry event to my list of post event ailments.
Twenty meetings in two days is a lot – ask Richard Blackmore who was too ‘fatigued’ .......... but that’s another story.

I met some smart people, some good people, some dreamers and thankfully, no time wasters. But there was one meeting which really excited me, not only because the guys were interesting and had a clear idea of what they wanted and how ‘it would work’, but because the outcome will be a significant milestone for our industry.

The meeting was with Craig McAteer, Chairman of SPORTA (the trade body for the leisure trusts and social enterprises in the culture and leisure sectors) and Ian Kendall another SPORTA executive. True Blaine Dodds sits on the FIA Board and passionately represents the views of the Trusts however, this was probably the first time our two organisations have sat round a table and focused entirely on how we could work together to grow the industry’s market share and consolidate our ‘public health delivery partner’ status.

To give this meeting context Blaine, as part of the FIA Board, focuses on a wide spectrum of issues – from Governance and strategic issues, to financial accountability. However, the last time our two organisations sat around the table and brainstormed more tactical delivery plans was probably when someone at the FIA thought that we needed a SPORTA representative on the Board. That was before Change4Life redefined our industry’s relationship with Government and before there was greater acknowledgement of the role of our industry in the minds and strategies of those responsible for ‘disease prevention’.

Its early days yet but I am really excited by the thought of SPORTA and the FIA really turning our individual talents into a highly effective collective campaign and helping both sets of members achieve their own corporate goals whilst beginning a new era for both our organisations and our industry, just listening to Craig and Ian gave me a great insight on how much we can all learn from there success in delivering quantifiable positive health changes to the heart of communities.

That, I’m afraid is another sign of age ...... being excited about two trade bodies working together.

Is there no hope for me!

David Stalker
COO
Fitness Industry Association