Chris Ryan says, ’Let’s Talk Tactics’

In a taster exert from the opening keynote speech which he will deliver to delegates at the 4^th annual FIA Flame Conference in Sheffield next, SAS hero Chris Ryan talks about how his team’s tactics could switch from stealth to violence in a blink of the eye, and how they had to be able to adapt to any situation in order to survive…

“When I was undergoing SAS continuation training, it was drummed in to all of us that the role of a special-forces operator is twofold. Sometimes we would be sent in to gather information: this meant putting in an observation post, lying low, watching and waiting. When that was the case we’d need to go in light – armed, of course, but only with the precision tools we needed for the job. Our role was to stay invisible.

“To do our job with the minimum of fuss and without anybody knowing we were there. If we were compromised, our tactic was to ‘shoot and scoot’ – to engage the enemy if necessary then exfiltrate as quickly and stealthily as possible.

“Sometimes, though, we’d be looking for a fight. If our orders were to take out personnel or installations, our tactics would need to be altered accordingly. Stealth would still be the order of the day at the beginning of the operation. Often we’d be setting up an ambush, so it would clearly be essential that we worked silently and without being seen. If it was possible to take out any of the enemy clinically, with suppressed weapons and without alerting anyone to our presence, we’d do that. One less person to worry about later on.

“At some point, though, we knew things would go noisy. When that happened, the tactics changed. Stealth was no longer our best friend; violence was. We’d use all the weaponry at our disposal to eliminate the enemy completely, or to destroy their installations. If things went according to plan, the operation would go noisy at a time and place of our choosing. Good for us. Bad for the enemy.

“Tier 1 operators need to be equally skilful with the scalpel and the hammer. They need to be the Grey Man, able to merge into the background – which is why a lot of the operators working in Afghanistan wear beards, so they don’t stand out when they’re among the locals in-country. But when the situation requires it, these men must be able to bring all the most brutal forces of war to bear in order to overcome the enemy and achieve their objectives…”

The battle field may be a long way from the gym floor, but the lesson we can all learn as professionals  from Chris, aside from sheer courage and perseverance, is adaptability. As the saying goes, all failure is failure to adapt.

You can hear more of Chris’ extraordinary story at the FIA Flame Conference on 27^th June, Sheffield. Places are going fast so book now.

Follow Flame Conference on Twitter @FIA_Flame, #tametheflame

In Search of Excellence

By Tim Webster, FIA Flame Conference programmer

Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer. Sometimes the improvement is just 1%, but that 1% is often the difference between winning and losing, between the good and the great. Blindingly obvious isn’t it?

This year’s FIA Conference is all about celebrating the fact that we have come a long way as a sector, indulging in a little “what-if” thinking, challenging what we currently do and asking if it could be done better, differently, more efficiently, more cost-effectively or not at all?

Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” This is of course much more difficult than it sounds but if we are to grow our sector we must challenge our own thinking and that of our colleagues each and every day.

As Tom Peters says: “Doing what worked yesterday is always the default option. Thing is, that doesn’t work anymore.”

In my opinion, in order to challenge our thinking we must look outside our own sector at businesses that are doing things differently and so this year’s conference features non-industry speakers from top-to-bottom. That’s a risk in itself, but there’s no point in challenging you to think differently if we aren’t prepared to do the same.

Over the coming weeks and months we aim to bring you some of the thoughts of our speakers at this year’s conference, starting with our keynote speaker, SAS hero Chris Ryan later this week.

‘Our Flame Award gave us the spark to build on our success’

Guest post by DC Leisure

As the deadline for entering this year’s Spark of Innovation Award rapidly approaches in less than a week, DC Leisure look back on winning the first ever Spark and how being recognised by the FIA and the sector for their innovation has helped them build on its success since then.

Last summer, William Gregg VC Leisure Centre, managed by DC Leisure in partnership with Amber Valley Borough Council, celebrated a fantastic win at the FIA & Matrix Flame Awards when we scooped the first Spark of Innovation award. 

As one of five finalists, we won the award for our Swim4Health programme - a simple, yet strong innovation based around original thinking and efficient use of resources.

The Swim4Health idea came about from DC Leisure asking the question of how we could get more people swimming and how we could address the potential barriers to participation that exist through what we have learned from a gym setting.

DC Leisure decided to enter the competition as we felt it was an innovative idea and a natural progression for the fitness industry to show diversification of fitness into non-gym areas such as a swimming pool.

After we won the award, Councillor Chris Short, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities at Amber Valley Borough Council commented: "The Flame awards are the Oscars for the fitness industry, and the partnership achievement here cannot be underestimated.”

For Jackie Goacher, General Manager of William Gregg VC Leisure Centre, winning meant that the hard work of her and her team had been recognised but most importantly it was the recognition from the FIA (Fitness Industry Association) and the sector that their focus went beyond the gym.

The coverage gained since winning this award has provided DC Leisure with further opportunities to develop the programme and attract external partners such as Sport England who are funding the roll out of Swim4Health as well as Kelloggs and the ASA who have invested into a poolside instructor training session for regular swimmers.

In addition DC Leisure has now built links with Weight Watchers and used the Swim4Health programme and Spark of Innovation award as a pivotal point to move this relationship forward.  By tailoring Swim4Health and working in partnership with Weight Watchers DC Leisure are helping tackle the issues of overweight and obesity.

Winning the Spark of Innovation award really was the catalyst for the continued development and success of Swim4Health, and we would encourage any FIA members considering entering either the Operator or Supplier categories of the Award this year to bite the bullet and get their entries in; winning really can change the face of your business.

Entries for the Spark of Innovation must be received by 10^th April. Click here for more information on how to enter or call Pete on: 020 7420 8571

Hooray for Hollywood…

I’ve just stepped off the plane, back from a brilliant week at IHRSA in not so sunny Los Angeles.  My IHRSA highlights included Simon Sinek’s session on leadership to inspire action, and the debut of ground-breaking new fitness equipment offerings including the Life Fitness  Synrgy360 and the Les Mills SMARTBAR.

The FIA hosted a packed schedule of social events for delegates, including a relaxed welcome reception on the first night and a day out in LA, taking in Beverley Hills, Mulholland Drive and Universal Studios (not forgetting lunch at the Hard Rock Café, sponsored by LIW). The week culminated in a ten-pin bowling session at the sophisticated Lucky Strike LA, where over 70 industry peers joined us to celebrate the end of a great week.

In addition to our annual trip to IHRSA, the FIA has had a very busy couple of months since my last blog post.

On the public affairs front, we marked one year of the Government’s Responsibility Deal and our efforts to promote physical activity through working with corporate partners. I also gave evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image on the role of the FIA and physical activity in promoting body confidence and self-esteem. The FIA also hosted the Vanguard Council and Conservative Party Dinner in February, where FIA members were joined by Parliamentarians plus delegates from key organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, Chartered Socity of Physiotherapists and the Big Lottery Fund.

Les Mills UK have come on board as Vanguard Members and I joined Les Mills International CEO Phillip Mills on a UK Roadshow last month, which culminated in hosting a panel discussion at Lords' Cricket Ground about ‘The Future of Fitness’, with panellists including Carl Liebert, Fred Turok and Craig McAteer We visited some iconic sporting venues and have had some great feedback from those who attended.

At the beginning of March the FIA also hosted its quarterly Communications Forum, which this time focussed on the speakers' dos and don’ts of using social media; look out for a guest blog post from Comms Forum chair and FIA board member Sue Anstiss next week.

Finally, we have just opened online booking for the 2012 FIA Flame Conference, which will be taking place in Sheffield on 26^th and 27^th July. Watch this space for blogs from some of our inspiring speakers, including keynote speaker Chris Ryan, who will be giving a taster of their conference sessions.

Sprinting into 2012

Well, our Olympic year is finally here. And whilst it we may only be three weeks in to January, it’s all systems go at the FIA, where we already have lots to look forward to over the coming months.

Amid the predictable media flurry of January fitness fad stories, the FIA has sprinted into the new year, with the nationwide launch of a health and wellbeing programme with a difference.

A fantastic corporate partnership kicked off this month between the FIA’s Shift into Sports programme and the UK’s largest entertainment and communications company, Sky - a partnership that delivers a newly engaged audience to health and fitness operators across the country. 

We launched Shift into Sports in 2010, in partnership with Sport England, the Mayor of London, Addison Lee and our technology partner Haulmont. The programme offers sport and fitness activities supplied by FIA members, at reduced cost and off-peak hours to suit shift workers. The involvement of Sky now takes this nationwide – rolling the programme out to nearly 17,000 Sky employees.

It really is a win—win situation for all: employees can access brilliant fitness deals which fit around their shifts; their company benefits from happy, healthy and productive employees as a result and FIA members gain the opportunity to increase their footfall during off-peak hours.

Partnerships such as this will be key to the work of the FIA and our industry over the coming year, as all eyes turn to the UK to see whether we can deliver on ambitious Olympic legacy targets. Watch this space for announcements about future projects and partnerships which will mean we can rise to the challenge.

This month we also announced the dates and venues for the FIA’s annual Flame Conference, which will take place on 27th June. Any previous Flame Conference delegate will tell you – this is an event not to be missed! This year Flame is coming to Sheffield – where the magnificent Magna Centre will host the main conference. Of course, there is also the FIA Golf Day on 26th June (start practising that swing now!) and the Ball of Fire – I am already looking forward to being on stage to announce the winners of this year’s Flame Awards.

Finally, as the now world-renowned and instantly iconic London 2012 brand takes over the UK as the Olympics hots up, the FIA’s rebrand exercise will be in full swing, as we look to better position ourselves for what the physical activity sector can achieve in 2012 and beyond.

I hope you will follow myself and guest bloggers from the FIA team over the next 12 months. You can also join me on Twitter and LinkedIn – remember folks, the future is digital!

Are you the crème de la crème?

There is only a week left to get a 10% early-bird discount on entry to the FIA & Matrix Flame Awards 2012. Have you entered yet?

Established in the 90’s and receiving more and more entries year on year, the longevity and desire to win a Flame award is plain to see. But what is it that makes these the hottest awards in our industry?

Delivered by the FIA for over 15 years, the Fitness, Leadership And Management Excellence (Flame) awards are our crème de la crème industry awards that recognise excellence and best practice within the health and fitness sector.

The strict Flame award criteria and in-depth three stage Flame assessment process offers clubs and centres a rigorous independent business assessment to help benchmark their facility and honour the people who make such a profound contribution to their communities and organisation.

The assessment process may be tough going but this gives the Flame awards their credibility and therefore any club or facility who succeeds in getting a Flame award knows that they are delivering the best quality service in their category.

The 2012 FIA and Matrix Flame process encompasses; stage one qualifying information through an online entry form and participation in a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, stage two, the formal assessment through an onsite visit by an independent auditor, Leisure-net Solutions in partnership with Right Directions and stage three a customer satisfaction survey. The winners are announced in front of a large audience of over 800 industry peers at the prestigious Ball of Fire at the Flame Conference in the summer.

You may have seen that earlier this year the Health Club Awards, run by HCM and the National Fitness Awards, run by Workout magazine were launched. These are consumer awards voted by members, which are valid in their own right but do not follow the in-depth and diverse Flame award assessment process. 

To enter or to find out more about Flame, visit www.fia.org.uk

Together we can build an Olympic health legacy

I am still on a high following the great success of the FIA & IMSPA Industry Summit: Winning in 2012 and Beyond, which was held at the Congress Centre in central London this week.

Over 350 delegates from 241 organisations came to discuss, debate and network with their industry peers, and I am happy to say that the venue was buzzing throughout, as we engaged on the subject of working together as an industry to create a health legacy post 2012 Games.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we were lucky enough to be joined by a great selection of high-profile guest speakers from the worlds of sport, fitness, politics, medicine and economics.

Highlights of the day included the brilliant John Inverdale, who expertly hosted proceedings, an announcement from the Public Health Minister Anne Milton about the Government’s national ambition for physical activity, and a fascinating talk from the Chief Medical Officer for the Olympics and Paralympics  Dr Richard Budgett, who provided an insight into looking after our athletes as well as our nation’s health during and after the Games.

Also, for the first time at an FIA event we had a Tweet Wall, which was a tremendous hit. Over 200 Tweets were sent in the run up to and during the event with the hash tag #LegacyReady. I hope that you will continue to keep in touch with me and the FIA team using #FIA and #LegacyReady to tell us how you are preparing for 2012.

The theme of partnership was highlighted by all of the speakers, and I look forward to the FIA collaborating with new partners in both the public and private sectors in the New Year. The next twelve months really will be key for establishing priority status for our sector on the political agenda, and we must all work together to achieve this.

With 40 million adults in the UK still not taking part in just one 30 minute session of exercise each week, we really do have our work cut out; but I am game for the challenge, and I hope that you are to.

The feedback on the Summit from those who attended has been extremely positive, and we look forward to welcoming this year’s delegates and plenty of new ones as well to our next Summit and other key events in 2012.

Welcome aboard!

After an election process which rivalled that of the general election earlier this year, the votes have been counted and I’m delighted to welcome three new members to the FIA Board!

John Cleland, CEO of Esporta, Innes Kerr, Group Operations Director at Energie and Debra Stuart, CEO of Premier Training have been voted by yourselves to join the other standing members.

With increased credibility of the industry within the public health agenda, the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games and the new five year industry strategy there has never been a more important time to have a wealth of experience sitting alongside us.

Congratulations all three and thank you all for your votes.

Dave Stalker

A Look Back on the Lim Dem Party Conference

Stephanie Creighton, Public Affairs and Policy Officer at The Fitness Industry Association looks back on the Lib Dem Party Conference.

On the first leg of my political relay I spent four days in Liverpool with the Liberal Democrats. This was a historic conference, the first in 65 years when the Liberal Democrats have formed part of the government. But of course it is not only a Liberal Democrat government but a coalition in partnership with the Conservatives, some of whom made history by coming to Liverpool and addressing the Liberal Party faithful.

Before this landmark conference we waited with baited breath in anticipation of the political fireworks which could explode before our eyes. Media speculation was rife about potential splits in the party and that conference would be the time for the left of the party to voice any anger they had over the coalition and its plans. But no such luck! Liverpool’s conference came and went with relatively little drama. Only a couple of motions and votes took a different line to the official coalition government position but who expected the Liberal party to vote in favour of the ‘coalition’s’ free schools policy?

The man of the moment, the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, roused the crowd on the third day of conference with his leaders speech. ‘Stick with us’ was his message to the party, take the opportunity to change politics and make history. A firm speech was delivered which was gratefully received by the conference floor although this led me to consider what he could have said which would have not resulted in a standing ovation?? A confession that he was secretly a Tory who had infiltrated the party years ago and had waited for this day to come? Disappointed this hadn’t happened, I left the hall to reflect on his words.

Luckily I had been sent the speech so I didn’t have to remember much but lo and behold! There was no mention of public health and sport in his address. How could this be? With a public health white paper due to be published in December, the increasing burden on the NHS due to the physical inactivity epidemic, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games being hosted in Great Britain in 2012, surely this should have been high on the liberal democrat political agenda?

But fear not! One Lib Dem Minister covered it. Speaking at a fringe event put on by the FIA in partnership with MEND, WSFF and PSNC, the Paul Burstow MP outlined his party’s commitment to tackling the public health crisis. Referring to a psycho-social-physiological approach to public health, he said that the government had no choice but to tackle the growing number of diseases which were becoming a burden on the tax payer. Announcing that the government would be prepared to use regulatory intervention to tackle public health issues, Mr Burstow highlighted government plans to work in partnership with the private sector to combat these issues with a shared responsibility.

Earlier in the week at the London 2012 fringe event, Don Foster, Chair of the Lib Dem backbench committee voiced his support for the need of a physical activity and sporting legacy from the games. The audience, which was full of local councillors, were supportive and eager to get involved and capitalise on the power of the games in their local areas.

Although we are still waiting for policy specifics, and tangible ways in which industries and local authorities can get involved and deliver, it is clear this is a party (and a part of the government) that is serious about these ambitions.

And so the journey conditions.  Next, I will be reporting in on a new labour leader stepping into the limelight and rallying the party for the very first time and a very busy conservative conference who are still basking in their new government position.

Stephanie Creighton

Public Affairs and Policy Officer