POZNAŃ, 2 JUNE 2016
Positive, full of business talks, passion and all the time on the move.
The FIT-EXPO 2016 is over!
Over three days the FIT-EXPO Fair was visited by industry professionals such as owners of gyms, fitness clubs, sports centers, instructors and fitness coaches as well as physically-active individuals.
The FIT-EXPO Fair has been a successful venue for making business contacts and building a positive image of the whole sector for 11 years. It offers a chance to gain and share knowledge and present the latest trends. It is also a place where discussions about the sector's condition are held and where the most important contests are settled. This year 102 exhibitors showed at least 60 brand new products and a range of other solutions for the fitness sector. With the exposition occupying 3,376 sq. meters the fair was visited by 6,890 people in total this year, which means the number of the visitors has increased by 28% compared to 2015. The number of attendants at the 10th International Fitness Convention EU4YA powered by Tiguar, on the other hand, has increased by 30%. As far as professional visitors are concerned, their attendance has gone up by 9%. The visitors could again take advantage of our FIT-EXPO bus, which picked the people willing to come to the fair from Warsaw and Łódź as well as Cracow, Katowice and Wrocław. We also continued the Meeting of Fitness and Body-Building Bloggers, whose second edition was more popular than the one last year.
Out of the novel products presented at the fair five were awarded with the FIT-EXPO Gold Medal 2016 for their innovativeness: the MIHA BODYTEC II - training equipment based on electrical muscle stimulation; the Cardioscan Test Center – a health diagnostic device; the Queenax™ - a modular system for functional and suspension trainings; the SYSTEM FLOW - aimed at retaining the myofascial balance and the eFitness Access Control – an IT solution for fitness clubs. Apart from those, the exhibition areas of the EMS – TRAINING Ltd. and the PERFECT GYM SOLUTIONS S.A. were awarded with the Acanthus Aureus for the best exposition marketing strategy.
The opening ceremony of the FIT-EXPO Fair and a wild AFTER-PARTY
It was the first historic and solemn opening ceremony of the FIT-EXPO Fair where the abovementioned awards were presented. It was also a great opportunity to celebrate anniversaries of some companies on a special stage such as the 5th anniversary of the Tiguar brand, the 10th anniversary of the ITP and the 25th anniversary of the Matmarco. This brand new point on the FIT-EXPO agenda was well received and it should remain a permanent part of the whole event.
So far the FIT-EXPO business evenings have only been addressed to exhibitors. This time, however, the fair’s different form and the first ever FIT-EXPO After Party were a great opportunity to integrate the exhibitors, the participants of the FIT-EXPO Trends and Innovations Congress, the participants of the EU4YA Convention powered by Tiguar and all other invited guests. It was a real hit! There was a great atmosphere, hot music rhythms and great moods at the After-Party. That kind of atmosphere gave a chance to talk about future plans, make new contacts and refresh the old ones. Today we promise to repeat the success next year so that the whole sector can have a possibility to have fun on the dance floor up all night.
A dose of knowledge
The FIT-EXPO Fair offered vast professional knowledge. A wide scope of the authorship FIT-EXPO Trends and Innovation Congress attracted fitness club owners and managers. Organized for many years the event has been very popular and has become a regular event in the calendar of decision-makers who decide about the strategy, management and investments in their clubs. The need for exchanging experiences, discussing and analyzing specific examples led to numerous discussions among the participants which continued long after the fair had finished. All that proves the topics suggested, including issues related to social media and video marketing for branding, employment, payment, motivating employees, topics connected with club statistics analysis which should lead to certain conclusions, managed to meet the participants’ expectations because they were still discussed during the evening after-party.
The FIT-EXPO Fair also tries to stay up-to-date with the sector’s problems and, therefore, the cooperation with the Polish Association of Personal Coaches was started. That made it possible to highlight, during a discussion panel, the importance of regulating the personal coach profession in Poland, creating a proper act and setting out standards which should be binding for all professionals involved.
The fair offered a separate dose of knowledge for fitness and body-building lovers. Adding some relevant points on the FIT-EXPO’s agenda was an answer to the growing popularity of these areas in Poland and we couldn’t miss it. Thanks to our cooperation with the FENIX TEAM the visitors had a chance to take part in the Harco Reis by Larissa Reis, which was promoted by a fitness star and an icon of world fitness - Larissa Reis. During the seminar, Hubert Kulczyński, Szymon Łada, Emil Kaleński and Anna Zientalska shared their knowledge as well. On the second day of the FIT-EXPO everyone interested could attend a seminar featuring Adam Małecki, who explained the secrets of a proper diet and supplements while training strength, reducing mass, and developing muscle mass. The lecture was additionally complemented with a model training session by the PRECOR.
Moreover, expert counseling sessions regarding information on getting funds for a fitness club held by the dotacjefitness.pl were also very popular with fitness clubs representatives. The experts shared their practical knowledge with both fitness club owners as well as those who are thinking of investing in the sector clearly and attractively. Apart from that, there was a chance to win the writing of an application form for EU funding.
What’s hot in fitness clubs? EU4YA by Tiguar
Is there a place where you can get everything that has to do with the fitness world? Is it possible to accumulate such a lot of inspirations, trainings and education in one place? Yes!
That was clearly visible during this year’s 10th International Fitness Convention EU4YA powered by Tiguar. The FIT-EXPO Fair offered a chance to find out about the training schemes by the most important fitness schools in Poland, discover the strategies and talents of worldwide presenters and the best Polish coaches and participate in top-class fitness sessions.
This year, nearly 1,300 fitness instructors and enthusiasts of group activities took part in simultaneous trainings in nine different training zones. Following the latest trends which emphasize strengthening activities a functional training area was created for the first time. The convention offered a whole range of activities which are available in fitness clubs, such as trainings with steps, trampolines, and TRX, body&mind and bodyart trainings, and a therapeutic fascial training. There were more than 180 hours of practice and trainings to choose from. Every single part of the convention enjoyed great popularity, no matter if it was the theoretical or the practical part. The EU4YA powered by Tiguar was full of energy! Over three days the convention areas filled up with those taking part in exercises and those who participated in lectures on dieting carried out by Jakub Mauricz and his team Mauricz.com as well as Jacek Bilczyński who is an expert in nutrition, healthy lifestyle and body shaping. It was the second time in the Convention’s history that the practical exercises had been attended by people on wheelchairs proving that fitness had no limits.
And the Coach of the Year is….
Due to the fair's prestige and the fact that it is Poland’s most important and professional event for this industry, it was the second time that the FIT-EXPO had become a partner in the COACH OF THE YEAR contest. With 120 coaches joining in, the second edition of the Coach Of The Year contest, held by the Top Gym and the LiveFitAcademy, proved very popular. On Friday and Saturday the fair became an arena for a fair-play competition of female and male coaches. The winner this year was Radosław Bierzanowski from Chełm. He was a unanimous winner according to the jury members and Marek Plawgo, who trained with the finalists.
Sport stars and valuable information
The three-day-long fitness festival in Poznań was visited by world sport stars giving the fair visitors a chance to take part in training sessions with the invited guests and get valuable tips and hints. For Larissa Reis, an icon of world fitness and body building and a competitor of the IFBB PRO Figure, it was her first visit in Poland. However, we also hosted other outstanding Polish body builders who have managed to win the most important trophies in the world. Hubert Kulczyński (a gold medalist of the prestigious ARNOLD CLASSIC USA 2016 contest) and Natalia Kordus, who are the Gold Couple of the Polish body building, visited the stand of the Formotiva Pharma Nutrition. Szymon Łada (World Champion 2015) and Marek Plawgo (an athlete and a sprinter) shared their knowledge at the stand of the TOP GYM. Volleyball fans met Piotr Gruszka (a Polish Volleyball Team member), an ambassador of the MihaBodytec in Poland, who trained using the electric muscle stimulation technique. Patryk Szypuła (a multiple medalist of the most important events in Poland and abroad) carried out a two-hour training session at the stand of the Del Sport. There were even more opportunities to train and talk to sports personalities.
Every day all visitors had a chance to take part in open training sessions and other attractions at the stands of particular exhibitors, including the Technogym Group Cycle Show, Del Sport’s barbell press strength training, Hammer Strength’s “Herculean grip", body flow shows as well as a model training with the b-body Innwell device. Moreover, on Saturday and Sunday, after watching the performances by the Euphoria Pole Dance &Jump Fit instructors from Swarzędz as well as Basia and Natalia from the Emona Pole Dance Studio, the fair participants could try their chances at pole dancing. Many people took advantage of the sports fair where they could buy the products offered at the FIT-EXPO at good prices.
Sport investments
The SPORT INVEST Fair dedicated to sports infrastructure was held alongside the Fitness Fair at the Poznań International Fair. The three days spent in Poznań were a chance to get familiar with the latest products and technological solutions for sports, recreation and wellness facilities and SPAs. The days were also filled with comprehensive meetings with experts in the industry who talked about the current trends, using technology for boosting the economic effectiveness of sports and recreation centers as well as safety.
We invite you for the coming edition of the FIT-EXPO 2017 which will take place from 12 to 14 May 2017.
www.fitness.mtp.pl