Leisure Week - Industry news and jobs in sport, health & fitness, spa & beauty, attractions & museums, commercial leisure and hospitality


	News \| Jobs \| Sign up for our free e-zine	23 May 2022

Latest news

Strava integrates with injury-prevention app
Strava, a leading social platform for athletes, has acquired Recover Athletics, a startup providing evidence-based prehab workouts to runners. The move gives Strava subscribers access to Recover Athletics’ app, which includes personalised injury prevention plans and exercises. “Recover Athletics addresses a .... more

UN picks Go Fit’s public-private model as example of best practice
Go Fit has been selected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as an example of best practice for public–private partnership collaboration (PPP). The company’s core values, model and achievements were presented in a case study at the 6th UNECE International PPP Forum, in Barcelona. The .... more

Ness raises US$15m for health rewards app ahead of credit card launch delivering health insurance in the US
Ness, a US startup that is developing a range of wellness-driven credit cards, has launched its first product, the Ness Rewards app, with longer-term plans to deliver health insurance in the US via its credit cards. The company, founded by Derek Flanzraich, former CEO and founder of health website Greatness has .... more

Scruffy Dog and Simtec launch Fisher-Price themed trackless ride
Scruffy Dog Creative Group and Simtec Systems have partnered to launch a new immersive trackless dark ride featuring the popular Mattel IP, Fisher-Price. The ride's narrative and concept were developed by Scruffy Dog, while Simtec designed the trackless system. With a capacity for six to nine people, the .... more

BIG's designs Prague concert hall to be vibrant centre of life
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have been selected as the architect for the Vltava Philharmonic Hall in Prague, Czech Republic. The first national concert hall to be built in the country in 100 years, the venue will be the home of the famous Prague Symphony Orchestra and will have an audience capacity of more than .... more

Dohmen and Bertens join forces to launch Tourist Development and Attraction Consultants
Former Efteling COO, Coen Bertens, and former BRC Imagination Arts exec, Bart Dohmen, have partnered to set up a consultancy for the tourism and visitor attraction sectors. Called Tourist Development and Attraction Consultants (TDAC), the firm will be structured as around a group of associates and will .... more

Young girl dies after tragic incident at David Lloyd club in Luton
A young girl has died following an incident at the David Lloyd gym at Capability Green, Luton. According to the BBC, police were called to the club last Thursday at around 8pm. They confirmed that a four-year-old girl was taken to hospital by emergency services and that she died not long after. “It is with .... more

Circuit Society signs first London franchise – will open in Dubai in 2023
New fitness franchise, Circuit Society, has signed its first London location in Bayswater. The 3,000sq ft (280sq m) micro-gym, run by franchisee Liz Benjamin, will open in August 2022 following a period of construction starting in June. Another Circuit Society club is due to open in St Albans in July this year. .... more

Active Nottingham publishes a free book called Can We Splash? to get families into swimming
Active Nottingham, part of Nottingham City Council, has released a children’s book called Can We Splash? to encourage more parents to take children swimming. The team at Active Nottingham became aware that many families in the area have never been swimming and the book has been developed to help parents .... more

Tillt gamifies running with financial rewards
Tillt, an athletic performance-based betting app – where runners get paid if they win – has been launched by co-founders Sam Mackie and Taber Gifford. Described as an athletic companion app users view each other’s data-led profiles and decide who they can compete fairly against. Competitions are focused on .... more

Harm Tegelaars returns to fitness industry – joins the board of Hussle
Fitness industry veteran Harm Tegelaars has returned to the fitness industry by joining the board of directors at Hussle. Tegelaars founded the Cannons Group in 1980 and built it from one club into a national brand with more than 3,500 employees and 60 sites – which were absorbed into the Nuffield Health .... more

Sport England puts £5.25m on the table to tackle inequalities in partnership with UK Active
Sport England and UK Active have signed a five-year partnership agreement which will see the two organisations tackle inequalities within the sport and physical activity sector. The systems partnership, spanning seven strategic areas, includes £5.25m worth of funding over the five-year period, provided by .... more

Planet Fitness gives teens free access to its gyms and app
Planet Fitness is offering high-school students free access to any of its 2,200 locations in the US and Canada from 16 May to 31 August. Once enrolled, users can also get their Summer Pass digital key and access the accompanying app (PlanetFitness.com/SummerPass). From virtual tours to equipment tutorials and .... more

Puy du Fou to create first US attraction
Puy du Fou is set to enter the US attractions market with its iconic, immersive themed visitor experience, after securing a partnership with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian (ECBI). The EBCI Tribal Council has approved plans to provide US$75m worth of funding for phase 1 of The 407: Gateway to Adventure .... more

Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public
A visitor attraction celebrating the history of the Scottish parish of Gretna Green – and its heritage as a destination for 'runaway marriages – has opened to the public. Gretna Green, located just inside Scotland on the border with England, first became famous for its weddings nearly 260 years ago, following .... more