BOSTON, MA—March 21, 2019—Fitness industry professionals from nearly 80 countries were in San Diego, CA for IHRSA 2019, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’s 38th Annual International Convention & Trade Show, held March 13-16.

IHRSA attendees experienced the cutting edge of fitness industry equipment and technology during the two-day Trade Show and early morning workouts, attended education sessions given by industry experts, worked out and power walked, networked and socialized.

To see the event in action, watch the IHRSA 2019 highlight video.

IHRSA 2019 By the Numbers

  • More than 12,000 health club operators, suppliers, and fitness industry professionals.
  • Attendees traveled from nearly 80 countries, taking advantage of simultaneous translation into Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese during the keynotes and sessions.
  • The exhibit hall, with nearly 400 exhibitors, burst at the seams with vitality and motion throughout the two-day Trade Show and early morning workouts.
  • Over 150 education sessions, networking opportunities, exercise classes, workshops, and—new this year—Fireside Chats were offered.
  • Social media efforts hit more than 25.2 million impressions, reaching over 4.2 million people from posts mentioning IHRSA and the #IHRSA2019 hashtag.

Highlights Include:

  • Keynote presentations from Chris Riddell (sponsored by Myzone), Mel Robbins (sponsored by Technogym), Rohit Bhagarva (sponsored by Matrix Fitness), and Denise Lee Yohn (sponsored by Gympass).
  • The 10th Annual IHRSA Women’s Leadership Summit headlined by Sarah Moshman (sponsored by Club Automation + CSI Spectrum), Award-Winning Filmmaker and director of "The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things”.
  • The standing-room only 23rd Annual IHRSA Financial Panel moderated by Rick Caro.
  • The 22nd Annual IHRSA ILC Industry Leadership Summit (sponsored by ABC Financial) and reception.
  • The 14th Annual BASH for Augie’s Quest which raised over $1.9 million for ALS research. During the BASH, IHRSA President and CEO Joe Moore was awarded the 2019 Augie’s Quest Leadership Award.
  • Jason Reinhardt of Go M.A.D. Fitness was elected as IHRSA Board Chair for the 2019/2020 year.
  • Four new members were welcomed to the IHRSA Board: Chris Smith, Chris Stevenson, Frank Lawrence and Greta Wagner. Missy Moss, Ray O'Connor, Larry Conner and ex-officio Derek Gallup were thanked for their service as they leave after this term.

2019 Award Recipients

For more information about IHRSA’s annual industry awards, including open applications, please visit the awards page.

IHRSA 2019 Resources

Update to IHRSA’s 2030 Global Membership Initiative

During IHRSA 2018, the association set an industry goal to reach 230 million global health club members by the year 2030. During his IHRSA 2019 presentation, Derek Gallup, IHRSA ex-officio, noted that the health club industry served 174 million health club members worldwide in 2018, a 7% increase over 2017’s 162 million. Gallup also presented the 10 countries with the highest number of health club members as a percentage of population as well as the 10 countries with the greatest increase in membership penetration rates.

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.”

IHRSA 2019 Sponsors

IHRSA gratefully acknowledges all of the sponsors that helped make IHRSA 2019 possible:

9Round Franchising LLC; ABC Financial; Active Management; Airex AG; Aktiv Solutions; American Council on Exercise (ACE); ASF Payment Solutions; Augie’s Quest; Balanced Body; ChinaFit Trade Co. Ltd.; Club Automation + CSI Spectrum; Club OS; Eleiko Sport Inc; Fitness Brasil; Fitness Business Canada; Fitness Industry Council of Canada; Fitness Master Inc.; First Degree Fitness / GDINA; Fitness Master Inc.; Freemotion Fitness; Functional Remedies; Genavix Inc.; Gympass; HydroMassage; InBody; Intenza/HealthStream Taiwan Inc.; Iron Grip Barbell Co.; JumpSport Inc.; Keiser Corp.; Les Mills Shared Services Ltd.; Lumen; Management Around Sports; Master Lock Co. LLC; Matrix Fitness; Merrithew; MINDBODY Inc.; Motionsoft Inc.; MYE Fitness Technologies; Myzone; NormaTec; Perfect Gym Solutions S.A.; Polar Electro Inc.; Precor Inc.; SportsArt; Stealth Detox Performance Water; Styku; Technogym; Texas Capital Bank; The Helix Co.; Torque Fitness; Total Gym; Trainerize; True Fitness; TSG; TuffStuff Fitness International Inc; Twin Oaks Software Development Inc.; Upper Hand; VersaClimber / VersaPulley; Virtuagym - Digifit BV; WaterRower; and Zumba Fitness LLC.

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 and happier through regular exercise and activity promotion. Preparations are already underway and registration is already open for IHRSA 2020 taking place in San Diego, CA, March 18-21, 2020. For IHRSA events around the globe, see visit our events page.