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.

Hollywood and the Future of Health and Fitness

I am not a political person but even I get caught up in the excitement of Party Conferences – especially the last one before an election.


When we come to write the history of our sector, this administration will go down as the one which helped to put activity on the health map – a factual observation not a political comment. I guess that’s why I feel a bit like Captain Kirk on USS Enterprise: the FIA’s goal is to boldly go (into the healthcare and wellbeing universe) where no fitness trade body has been before. Our challenge, should we accept it, is to use the last two years as a springboard to really establish ourselves as a public health delivery partner which has proved itself and can do more.


This is why the Party Conferences have so interested me. I’ve tried to look for the bits which would give me some indication of where our agenda (more people more active more often) fits into the bigger issues. The post apocalyptic agenda was understandably dominated by what Boris called the ‘Leper colony’ in the City and MPs with a liberal interpretation of expenses. There was talk of jobs (yes!): green (perhaps): transport/housing/security (OK): schools and sport (yes) and, in the midst of all the grand strategies, there was talk of the NHS and health (brilliant).


My remit, irrespective of who is in power, is to make our sector more valuable to those who care for and are responsible for the ‘health of the nation’ and that means more money for MoreActive4Life, Fit For The Future, go and the other ‘wellbeing’ initiatives we’ve developed and our members run.


I guess our message is clear. We’ve proved we can make a difference, now give us the tools (or cash) to finish the job.


Finally, there is a prize for the person who spots the most references to films in my blog.


David Stalker - FIA Chief Operating Officer