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EuropeActive and ukactive have today 3rd February announced a new agreement which will see the sector bodies continue to work together closely following Britain’s exit from the EU.
ukactive CEO Huw Edwards and EuropeActive Executive Director Andreas Paulsen signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the organisations’ joint mission of improving physical activity levels through the support and development of the sector.
The MoU sets out the terms for ensuring that organisations and the workforce within the fitness and physical activity sector are equipped with the insight, knowledge and standards to meet the needs of the population now and in the future.
The agreement includes a commitment to supporting the development of the sector by working towards establishing an evidence base that demonstrates the impact of physical activity on society. The organisations will work across their memberships and with their partners to address any gaps in the sector’s ability to deliver lasting impact, as well as to identify long-term strategic challenges and opportunities for the sector and to ensure it is fully supported to meet them.
Most recently, the organisations collaborated on a European-wide report showing COVID safety data gathered by operators across the UK and Europe.
In addition, a Mutual Recognition Agreement was signed between the European Register of Exercise Professionals (EREPS) and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), which maintains the CIMSPA Exercise and Fitness Directory.
It represents a commitment to upholding and respecting the decisions made by each body in the practice and governance of their registers. As part of this commitment, both registers will recognise and accept the registration of members of the partner register. The alignment between EREPS and CIMSPA is a significant step forward in the promotion of global standards for fitness and physical activity professionals.
Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with EuropeActive at this time, building on our successful relationship, and demonstrating the unity of the physical activity sector across Europe at this challenging time.
“Faced with the political and economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, the strength of our partnership has never been clearer or more important. Together, we can ensure that physical activity plays its fullest role in the future health and success of our nations.”
Andreas Paulsen also commented on the agreement: “The signing of the MoU with ukactive is a significant step forward towards building on and strengthening the way we work together on a number of key issues and activities across Europe.
“Our expanded partnership with our close British friends is a concrete symbol of the unity of the fitness and physical activity sector, which EuropeActive is vigorously working for, and which will pave the way for coming Active Alliances with many other trade association partners.
“Particularly as we move out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the unity and collaboration of our sector is pivotal to its general recovery. There will be no time or place to put ego before the collective interests of our industry, but every opportunity to be ambitious and innovative through our collective power like never before.
“EuropeActive is honoured to be working closely with ukactive as we firmly believe our combined resources will help position our sector as providers of physical activity which also supports social and mental health and wellbeing".
About EuropeActive
EuropeActive, formerly the European Health and Fitness Association (EHFA), is the leading not-for-profit organisation representing the whole of the European fitness & physical activity sector in Brussels. Membership is open to all stakeholders - public or private - including operators, suppliers, national associations, training providers, higher education and accreditation institutions.
The EuropeActive Team is fully committed to consulting and working with the different mentioned stakeholders, including other NGOs promoting health-enhancing physical activity, sector media and research and scientific institutions. EuropeActive aims to co-operate with the European Union and other international organisations to achieve its objective to get more people, more active, more often.
According to the EuropeActive/Deloitte Market Report 2020 the European fitness sector serves over 64.8 million consumers, generates 28.2 billion Euro in revenues, employs 750,000 people, and consists of approximately 64,000 facilities. In 2019 the European market grew by 3.8 % and in the past 10 years the number of fitness users has increased by 72%, and 9.7% of all European citizens aged over 15 are users of fitness facilities.
For further information, please visit www.europeactive.eu
About ukactive
ukactive is the UK’s leading not-for-profit health body for the physical activity sector, with more than 4,000 members, from activity providers to major consumer brands, training facilities and equipment manufacturers. Members come from across the private, public and third sector and are united by ukactive’s longstanding and uncompromising commitment to getting more people more active, more often. ukactive facilitates high-impact partnerships, conceives and drives breakthrough campaigns, conducts critical research and galvanises key stakeholders to develop and deliver projects that support and champion the physical activity agenda. The organisation’s efforts are centred on supporting a national ambition to “turn the tide of physical inactivity”.
For further information, please visit www.ukactive.com