This year’s event took place at the ExCeL in London on 18 and 19 June.
Reflecting on what has been without doubt CIMSPA’s busiest and most impactful Elevate to date, we look back on our two days at the UK’s largest trade show dedicated to fitness, sport and physical activity.
Bringing together professionals from the fitness industry, healthcare and allied fields, Elevate continues to be an essential annual pilgrimage for the team at CIMSPA. A selection of our staff represented both on the exhibition stand and on the numerous expert panel discussions included in the programme, covering subjects ranging from AI and weight-loss medications to the international portability of our workforce.
At the stand, our Workforce Development Managers Megan Richardson, Minal Hawkins and Cherelle Mitchell were joined by Accreditation Manager George Sheldon and Education Partnership Manager Angus Milligan to speak to a constant stream of professionals visiting the two-day event. Discussions ranged from how to achieve chartered status, employer partnerships to training endorsements and CIMSPA Conference 2025 sponsorship and exhibitor packages.
The packed programme of panels began with the keynote session ‘Does our data add up to action?’ featuring CIMSPA CEO Tara Dillon FCIMSPA (Chartered).
Tara was joined by David Stalker from Myzone, Sarah Watts, founder and CEO of Alliance Leisure, Marianne Boyle, Director of Membership and Sector Development at ukactive, and Matthew Wade, Head of Research and Development at ukactive, and used the opportunity to relay to the sizeable crowd the impact that AI is predicted to have on the sector’s workforce over the next ten years, how it should be embraced and how the people-centric nature of many roles should allay many of the concerns that leaders in the sector might have about its long-term impact on workforce numbers.
Tara’s expertise was in high demand across the two-day event, as the Thursday saw our CEO unveil two important benchmarks for the sector…
A generation on pause: can the leisure sector reignite 1,000,000 young lives?
During this session, Tara spoke about a new initiative in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), designed to give young people and jobseekers the skills, confidence and support they need to thrive in meaningful, long-term careers across our sector.
She also invited all employers attending to sign a pledge to support the Employability Academy and help to ensure employability training is shaped by industry need and driven by national government workforce strategies.
You can find out more about this exciting new opportunity for the sport and physical activity sector here.
The importance of professional status to the fitness sector: unlocking the power of fitness, sport and physical activity professionals
Tara’s second big announcement was to relay the imminent introduction of professional status for the sector’s workforce.
In a session hosted by CIMSPA’s Associate Director for Business Engagement Clare Dunn, Tara was joined by Rachel Frances Thomson from Biomechanics Education, Dr Davina Deniszczyc from Nuffield Health and Ruth Jackson from The Gym Group to discuss how the development of professional status for sport and physical activity professionals is set to revolutionise our sector’s impact and perception.
Set to launch this September, professional status will drive greater recognition of the sector’s crucial role in enhancing community wellbeing and contributing to national health and development. It also highlights the standing that an individual achieves within their profession, signifying their qualifications, experience and commitment to meeting and adhering to professional and ethical standards.
This alignment with sectors such as engineering, accountancy, healthcare, aviation, teaching, law and many others is set to have a transformative effect on our workforce’s credibility and influence.
Keep your eyes peeled for more information on professional status later this month. In the meantime, you can read our strategy, Releasing the Power of our Profession, to learn more about professional status accreditation and how it will elevate professional recognition within our sector.
Other sessions where CIMSPA was represented included:
People first: the link between recruitment, training, culture and customer satisfaction
Our Workforce Development Manager for Scotland Megan Richardson joined this panel to explore how to tackle the perennial challenge of retaining good staff, covering areas such as onboarding processes, culture and brand, as well as the use of research and data to support retention.
The female health business: it works if you work it
Hosted by The Well HQ, this was another session to include Tara Dillon, who spoke about the drive to make female fitness a priority, with a recognition that a change is needed to move away from the man-as-the-default human approach and how that should be reflected on the gym floor.
ICREPs (International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals) and CIMSPA focus on setting global standards for fitness professionals: aligning scope and portability
CIMSPA’s Chief Strategy Officer Spencer Moore chaired this panel session exploring the future of global consistency in fitness education and practice. The speakers discussed how establishing global standards and enhancing trust through standardised qualifications can lead to greater freedom of movement for sector professionals and increased recognition and cooperation with health professionals worldwide.
GLP-1 weight-loss medications and opportunities for the fitness industry
In this session, Tara was joined by representatives from Bodyline Clinics, ukactive and Active IQ to talk about weight-loss management medication’s increasing presence in the physical activity landscape and how clinical and fitness professionals can collaborate to help clients to look at positive and sustainable lifestyle changes.
