EHFA Update No. 007/2009
Welcome to the seventh edition of EHFA Update
Dear EHFA Friends
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Items in our newsletter cover issues related to the health and fitness industry, such as, the latest developments at EU level; features that EHFA are currently working on; EHFA Members’ activities, and many others.
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Thank you
EHFA Editorial Team
In this issue:
- EU Sport Forum in Biarritz & EHFA
- 2nd EU Stakeholder Forum on Education & Training
- EHFA 2nd EU Policy Forum on VAT & Public Health
- EHFA Upcoming Event: 2nd European Fitness Forum in Prague
- EHFA Annual General Meeting 22 April 2009
- Members' Corner: High Five Health Promotion & Intenz Join Forces
- EREPS Newsletter "MORE"
1. EU Sport Forum in Biarritz & EHFA
Following the EU Sport Forum which took place in November 2008 in Biarritz, France, where Herman Rutgers delivered a speech on the EHFA activties, the Commission has published a Report of which the extracts concerning EHFA are quoted below:
"EHFA explained that the European health and fitness sector was still relatively young and underdeveloped, but nevertheless represented 400,000 employees, 40 million customers and a turnover of € 20 billion per year. It was thus important in global terms, with a higher turnover than the football sector.
EHFA welcomed and supported the EU Physical Activity Guidelines which had recently been published by the Commission.
EHFA considered the EQF and ECVET as crucial tools for the development of the sector in Europe. It informed that it had carried out its work with financial support from the Commission in order to promote the quality of staff and recognition of qualifications. A set of pan-European standards had been developed. In July 2008, EHFA had started the creation of EREPS, an independent register of all exercise professionals in Europe, based on an existing UK register with 27,000 professional trainers representing 70% of the sector in that country.
EHFA considered that the rollout of the European register, based on independent national registers, was likely to take several years. The most important factor was probably the role of national authorities in terms of recognition of qualifications. EHFA also worked on a code of ethical practice".
2. The 2nd EU Stakeholders Forum On Education & Training
The 2nd European Stakeholders' Forum on EU co-operation in education and training was organised by the EU Commission, Directorate-General on Education and Culture in Brussels on 9 February 2009 and gathered around 80 representatives from European stakeholder organisations and social partners. EHFA and EOSE were representing the Sport and Active Leisure sector.
The European Commission invited European stakeholders with an objective to discuss immediate policy priorities and to improve ways of working together in the long term. The exchange was based on the Commission's proposal for a strategic policy framework in education and training, presented last December 2008, but also on the ongoing European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009.
Following a wide consultation with Member States and key stakeholders the Commission adopted the updated strategic framework on 16 December 2008 (An updated strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training). In this updated strategic framework, the Commission identifies long-term challenges to guide policy co-operation for the next decade and outlines its suggestions on how education and training can contribute to the EU's wider reform projects, the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs and the renewed Social Agenda. The paper also outlines the most urgent priorities which deserve particular attention in 2009 and 2010.
The primary objective of the EU Stakeholders' Forum was to get feedback and opinions on these short term priorities, which include for instance action on school dropout rates, ways of assessing future skills needs, mobility and the follow-up on national strategies for lifelong learning. In addition, participants were asked to reflect on their responsibility and involvement when it comes to improving working methods for the time up to 2020.
The afternoon of the Forum was dedicated to the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. The overall objective of the Year is to support the efforts of the Member States to promote creativity both for its role in stimulating innovation and for its contribution to personal development and creativity, and innovation is identified as a strategic challenge in the updated strategic framework. The draft report from the Forum can be downloaded here.
The Commission’s speaker announced during the meeting a creation of the European Institute For Life Long Learning. At the same time the Commission signaled about the new funding opportunities to support the implementation of the EQF.
The full report from the Forum can be downloaded here
3. EHFA 2nd EU Policy Forum Discusses VAT & EU Health Policy
- EHFA 2nd EU Policy Forum with guest speakers from the EU Commission: Mr Robert Madelin and Ms Ase Fulke - DG Sanco, and Mr Rolf Diemer - DG TAX UD
Senior health and fitness industry professionals from across Europe came together for the EHFA 2nd EU Policy Forum, which took place in Brussels on 11 February 2009.
The event, organized by EHFA, and attended by 25 participants, aimed at promoting constructive dialogue between fitness industry professionals and high-ranking EU officials in order to clarify the practical application and impact of the EU policies in two major fields: the Taxation on Fitness, and the EU Health Policy.
Mr Marcus Sauer of Deloitte gave a background presentation on the VAT treatment on Fitness across the EU. Thanks to his input, key elements to be addressed by the EU have been clearly targeted, namely a clarification and simplification of the EU VAT rules, as well as a better recognition of the fitness industry as a benefit to public health.
Mr Rolf Diemer, Head of Unit of the DG Taxation and Customs Union informed the meeting that the Commission was preparing a review of the VAT rules in the two years to come that would be preceded by a Consultation process. This process will be of primary importance, as the fitness industry as a whole will have a powerful and official channel to voice its concern and influence the perception of the fitness sector. Rolf Diemer strongly emphasised that “the more contributions we get, the more powerful your claim will be”.
Mr Robert Madelin, Director General Health and Consumers, presented the EU Health Policies impacting health and fitness, and challenged our sector: “there are different vehicles where we can go beyond the current paths of partnership, and where we (the European Commission) are very interested to hear from you (the EHFA and its members) how you can be a partner to policy shaping”. His listing of future possible collaborations and sources of funding will be used by EHFA as a springboard to better promote its objective to get ‘more people, more active, more often’.
Harm Tegelaars, President of EHFA warmly welcomed such a productive discussion with top-EU officials. He said that “the EHFA EU Policy Forum has been once again successful in its mission to build a bridge between fitness industry professionals and EU officials. These Forums are meant to be a place of interaction, dialogue and debate to foster a mutual understanding of each other’s activities that will result in deeper, more interconnected and more effective partnerships”.
The Proceedings from this meeting are available on request from the EHFA Secretariat.
4. Upcoming EHFA Event - The 2nd European Fitness Forum
- Join EHFA in Prague for the 2nd European Fintess Forum 18 & 19 May 2009
Following the launch of the European Register of Exercise Professionals (EREPS), which took place last year in May, Hilversum, the Netherlands, the EHFA 2nd European Fitness Forum is taking place in Prague on 18 & 19 May 2009.
The Forum will bring together training providers, accreditation bodies, academics, key suppliers, exercise professionals, and operators across Europe with the objective to explain the way forward in professionalising the European fitness industry and to discuss possibilities offered by the EREPS.
The rationale of the EREPS is simple: the European countries lack a common approach in the design of the standards required from the fitness professionals. The EREPS gives a unique opportunity to gather under a single umbrella members with a minimum standards of qualifications of members who are also bound to an Ethical Code of Conduct. The EREPS, whose registration is given after a close scrutiny of qualification, is permanently advocating and working for the raising of standards in the fitness industry. More professionalisation and more credibility are key elements for the continuous thriving of the industry.
The EHFA 2nd European Fitness Forum aims at giving practical tools for action to its participants through the dissemination of facts and inspiring ideas. This is the most important date in the fitness calendar for anyone involved in delivering training, and places are limited.
The registration fee of 99 Euro includes conference, lunch on arrival and departure, refreshments, and a dinner cruise with live music on the evening of 18 May 2009. EHFA has negotiated a preferential rate for single/double rooms at the IBIS hotel for 75 Euro, with breakfast included.
More information, including the Registration Forms are here.
5. EHFA Annual General Assembly 22 April 2009
The Annual General Assembly of EHFA is taking place in Essen, Germany, Moevenpick Hotel, on 22 April from 13:30 to 16:30hrs. A draft Agenda, together with accompanying documents will be circulated to the membership of EHFA one month in advance of the meeting. According to the EHFA statutes, only members with paid-up membership are allowed to vote during the General Assembly. For more information, please contact the EHFA Secretariat
6. Members' Corner: High Five Health Promotion & Intenz - Join Forces
- Rene Sielhorst of INTENZ & Paul Kienstra of HIGH FIVE HEALTH PROMOTION joined forces
Employers can use the possibility to offer company fitness tax free to their employees, so as a result, companies save on social security costs and have healthier personnel; employees can join a fitness club in the vicinity of the employers with tax advantages, and thus save some money.
In order to meet this growing demand, the two market leaders in the area of corporate fitness and lifestyle programmes, High Five Health Promotion and Intenz, decided to join forces and continue to work together.
Already since the eighties, both companies have been active as providers of ‘in house’ corporate fitness, i.e. at the employee’s place of business. Furthermore, both organisations started with the set up of a network of very high quality fitness and health clubs for out-company corporate fitness.
Thanks to the current merger, an impressive network of 60 in-company corporate fitness centres joins up with a network of more than 500 certified fitness and health clubs. This is a novelty in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.
Large insurance companies also acknowledge the potential of this network and offer their group policyholders the opportunity to purchase fitness programmes in bulk at the High Five – Intenz Groep. The fitness sector is happy with these developments as well. In a market, which is more and more at the mercy of the emerging large chains and low budget centres, such initiative, which offers high quality and certified clubs, gives the possibility to distinguish from the others with quality and results.
Participating centres have exclusive access to conventions and trainings, which have to make sure that the fitness centre becomes the place where one not only spends an hour ‘on the machines’ but where one can work practically and effectively towards a healthy lifestyle!