IHRSA 2018 by the Numbers
- More than 12,000 industry professionals (health club operators, suppliers, and fitness industry professionals) including over 7,100 Convention and Trade Show attendees.
- Attendees traveled from over 80 countries.
- The exhibit hall, with over 400 exhibitors, was alive with activity during the two-day Trade Show and early morning workouts.
- More than 150 educational sessions, networking opportunities, exercise classes, workshops, and small-group tutorials.
- Social posts with the #IHRSA2018 hashtag achieved more than 49.4M impressions and reached more than 7.2M people.
A Goal Was Set
Noting that there are currently 162 million health club members worldwide, IHRSA Chairperson Derek Gallup announced that IHRSA has set an industry goal to reach 230 million members by the year 2030. Gallup presented a top 10 country list for the highest number of health club members as a percentage of population, as well as the ten countries that saw the biggest increase in membership penetration rates in 2017.
Gallup noted that the biggest competition for health clubs is not other fitness facilities, but the living room couch (i.e., inactivity). “Only 6% of the world’s population has a health club membership,” noted Gallup. “As an industry we can and must do better. It is our mission to increase the number of people globally who are physically active.”
Additional Convention highlights included:
- Four keynote presentations from Lisa Bodell (sponsored by Myzone), Leah Busque (sponsored by Technogym), Josh Linkner (sponsored by Matrix Fitness), and Isaac Lidsky (sponsored by Daxko).
- The 22nd Annual IHRSA Financial Panel moderated by Rick Caro.
- The 21st Annual ILC Summit (sponsored by ABC Financial) and Reception.
- The 9th Annual Women’s Leadership Summit (sponsored by Daxko).
- The 13th Annual Bash for Augie’s Quest, which raised a record $6 million for ALS research and presented Kevin McHugh of the Atlantic Club with the 2018 Augie’s Quest Leadership Award.
- Jim Worthington, of Newtown Athletic Club, was elected to IHRSA Board Chair for the 2018/2019 year.
- Three new directors were welcomed to the IHRSA Board: Monica Marques of Companhia Athletica, Brazil; Michele Melkerson-Granryd of Castle Hill Fitness, U.S.; and Chris Craytor of acac Fitness & Wellness Centers, U.S. And two Board members, Gustavo Borges of Academia Gustavo Borges and Jim Zupancic of Stafford Hills Club, were thanked for service as they leave after this year.
- Translated sessions were offered in Chinese (sponsored by ChinaFit), Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
2018 Award Recipients
Criteria, past award winners, and applications for next year’s awards are available on the awards page.
IHRSA 2018 Resources
- Audio (MP3) and video recordings of approximately 70 IHRSA Convention sessions will soon be available for sale in the IHRSA Store. Store order forms can be downloaded here.
- Official show images are available for a limited time at thephotogroup.com, access code: ihrsapress18, or take a look at the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday recaps in photos and videos.
- For IHRSA Live video interviews from IHRSA 2018 exhibitors.
IHRSA 2018 Sponsors
IHRSA gratefully acknowledges all of the sponsors that helped to make IHRSA 2018 possible:
3Act Slide, ABC Financial, Airex AG, Allstate Capital A Crestmark Bank , American Council on Exercise, ASF Payment Solutions, Augies Quest, Balanced Body, Century Martial Arts, ChinaFit, Crunch Franchising, Daxko, Fitness Brasil, Fitness Business Canada, Fitness Business Podcast, Fitness Industry Council of Canada, Fitness Master Inc., Freemotion Fitness, Genavix, Inc., Gympass, Healthy Learning, Helix, HydroMassage, Hyperwear, Iron Grip Barbell Company, Jonas Fitness, Inc., JumpSport Inc., Keiser Corporation, Les Mills International, Management Around Sports, Master Lock Company LLC, Matrix Fitness, Mercado Fitness, Merrithew, MINDBODY, Motionsoft, Inc., Movement, MYE Fitness Entertainment, Myzone, NuStep, LLC., OJMAR, Peerfit, Perfect Gym Solutions S.A., PFP media, Polar, Power Systems, Precor Incorporated, Spirit Fitness, SportsArt, STRONG by Zumba, TAG Digital Marketing, Technogym, Torque Fitness, Total Gym, TrainChange Fitness, Transaction Services Global (TSG), TRUE Fitness, TuffStuff Fitness International, Inc., Twin Oaks Software, VersaClimber, VFP-Visual Fitness Planner, Virtuagym, WaterRower, and Xponential Fitness.
About IHRSA
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is a not-for-profit trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, racquet and sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. IHRSA and its members are dedicated to making the world healthier through regular exercise and activity promotion. Preparations are already underway for IHRSA 2019 in San Diego, CA, March 13-16, 2019. For upcoming events, see the events page.
