Health & Fitness Business ‘07: Attendee numbers up, golf scramble ready to boogie, plus women’s networking, celebrity putting game, education, silent auction, a.m. workout

Less than a month out from the Health & Fitness Business Show Aug. 2-4 in Denver, the events, education and activities are shaping up, retailer registrations are running well ahead of last year, and new and returning exhibitors continue to seek space. Plus, the second-annual SNEWS® golf scramble on Aug. 1 is gaining widespread attention and energy.

Numbers and exhibitors
Pre-registration by retailers as of late June was up 25 percent over the same time a year ago. Considering last year’s show was a bit slower, SNEWS® checked on how it compared to two years ago, discovering this year’s numbers for retail attendees compared to the 2005 show are down a couple of ticks, but the number of stores is up significantly (9 percent). Show management said the numbers are trending up and we’ll see of course who shows up when the doors swing open.

When it comes to exhibitors, the numbers have crept up again from our last update story by about 10 percent, now hitting 111 as of July 1, compared to 130 a year ago. Brands represented usually come to about 40 percent to 50 percent more than the exhibitor booths, with last year hitting 200. Show management said it expected to near last year’s count.

Newly signed exhibitors include Batca, Omni Health & Fitness, Valor Athletics, and ProSpot Fitness. Already in for the first time in a few years is Precor. A first-timer is CycleOps/Saris Cycle.

Registration for free
Although the date has past for free registration, the show is offering a special to subscribers and readers of its media sponsor, SNEWS®: If you register by July 11, you can still get free registration as a retailer.

Click here to take care of that today.

On-floor and show events
In the past few months, SNEWS® has tried to keep its readers informed about everything that’s going on. Here is a line-up of events to take place in the SNEWS®/GearTrends® booth next door to the Community Hub (#544) as well as a summary of others on the floor and during the show in various locations:

Aug. 2-3, ongoing in the SNEWS® booth
>> SNEWS® Putt-Putt All-Am golf challenge – Step up to the green to take your turn putting for points from stability balls or balance boards. Donation requested for Augie’s Quest, raising money for ALS research. Prizes to top point-earners.
>> Silent auction, including a chance to have the winning bid for products including a Brunswick pool table, football signed by former NFL pro Steve Beuerlein, bike jersey signed by Tour de France-winner Greg LeMond, Brunswick foosball table, and other great items. Donations go to Augie’s Quest.
>> Java Jive – During select show hours, come by for your sample of Kinetic Koffee.

Aug. 2
• 8:30-10 a.m – Keynote by Paul Zane Pilzer, businessman, entrepreneur and author of New York Times best-seller, The Wellness Revolution
• 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. — Third-annual SNEWS® Fitness Forum: “Scoring With The Women: How to satisfy a woman and make her a customer for life” will take up the debate about whether the fitness industry is doing a good enough job selling and marketing to, promoting to and designing for women. With a panel of inside- and outside-industry retailers and manufacturers, but this isn’t about talking heads; audience participation expected!
• 12-6 p.m. – Exhibit hall open.
• 1:30-2 p.m. – Keynote speaker Paul Zane Pilzer to be available to discuss one-on-one any issues or address questions (SNEWS® booth).
• 2:30-3:30 p.m. – Three-time Tour de France-winner Greg LeMond meets and greets (SNEWS® booth).
• 3-4 p.m. – Former NFL quarterback and Charlotte Fitness owner Steve Beuerlein, and former NFL defensive end and co-GoFit owner Trace Armstrong meet and greet. (SNEWS® booth)
• 3-3:30 p.m. – Watch LeMond, Beuerlein and Armstrong go head-to-head in the Putt-Putt All-Am and put your money on who will win, with donations going to Augie’s Quest (SNEWS® booth).
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Industry party at Lucky Strikes Lanes, sponsored by Precor and SportsArt

Aug. 3
• 8-9 a.m. – Early morning workout, exhibit hall floor. Come try it all out and take special demo classes and workouts by participating exhibitors.
• 9:45-10:30 a.m. — Women’s Networking Coffee, SNEWS® booth. A casual drop-in to meet other women active in the fitness business.
• 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Exhibit hall open.
• 5:30 p.m. – Awards and prizes announced for the Putt-Putt Challenge; silent auction results revealed (SNEWS® booth). Come by for your chance to snag a collector’s edition SNEWS® T-shirt!

Aug. 4
• 8:30-10 a.m. – “Boutique thinking in a big box world,” an interactive workshop with sales trainer Joe Marcoux.
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Exhibit hall open.
• 10:30-11:30 a.m. – Visit with Marcoux to address your questions (SNEWS® booth).

Check out the new SNEWS® HotSheet daily newsletter on the first two days of the show for event updates and summaries, news, tips on new equipment and products, exhibitor updates, pictures (yes, pictures!) and other vital information to be in-the-know and not miss a trick. Sponsored by Fitness Master (Aug. 2 edition) and Bodyguard (Aug. 3 edition). Look for it at registration, at the door, or in the SNEWS® booth/Community Hub, where attendees are always welcome to drop in for a chat, get a coffee sample, rest their dogs, check email or swap stories and tips.

Note to exhibitors: Got company or personnel news, information about events in your booth, or product tips? Send them along to HotSheet@snewsnet.com to be considered for inclusion in the HotSheet dailies! Put “HFB Show Daily” in the subject line.

Golf scramble going for a hole-in-one
It’s still possible to take part in the second-annual SNEWS® Golf Scramble at the Health & Fitness Business Show, raising money for Augie’s Quest’s search for a cure for ALS (www.augiesquest.org). Sponsors are Health & Fitness Business Show, AccuFitness, BH Fitness, Diamondback, FreeMotion Fitness, Iron Grip, Life Fitness, Octane Fitness and Spri Products, not to mention your hard-working organizers, SNEWS®, plus a bevy of product and prize donations from others.

Former NFL pro and Charlotte Fitness owner Steve Beuerlein will be on-hand to challenge foursomes. Watch out for other athlete celebrities on the course, including Greg LeMond.

Registration for the scramble starts at 12:30 at the Green Valley Ranch Golf Course, about 25 minutes from downtown. Tee time, 1:30 p.m.

To open a printable one-page sheet with all the details, click here; to open a printable registration form, click here. Or email gene@geartrends.com for information. Registration and payment preferred by July 16. Feel free to forward this information to any friends in the industry who will be attending the Health & Fitness Business Show or others in the industry in the Denver area you think may be interested. The more players, the better!