The Local Government Association (LGA) has contacted the Register of Exercise Professionals to help them assess the issue and find examples of best-practice.

These positive case-studies will then be circulated via the LGA’s newsletter to its local government members to try to promote successful working arrangements.

Registrar Jean-Ann Marnoch said: “I know that as well as being a hotly debated topic amongst our members, some have come to mutually beneficial arrangements with their local councils and we’d like to work with the LGA in promoting similar schemes.” 

If you would like to take part please email sarah.owen@skillsactive.com

For more information on the LGA click here: http://www.local.gov.uk/

Jean-Ann explains: “We’d like to make checking your instructor is REPs’ registered as automatic as checking your heating engineer is Gas-Safe compliant. Our members are highly-qualified, motivated professionals and we need the general public to recognise them as such. We want to get the REPs message out to the people it was set up to protect and are delighted with the start we’ve made with the radio interviews which reached more than 1.5 million listeners. We’ve also been featured in London Evening Standard, www.femalefirst.co.uk, The People and www.MaleXtra.co.uk, and are working with major consumer magazines to position REPs’ members as exercise experts.”

To help meet this goal REPS is working with consumer public relations agency BOTTLE PR. The team there will be working with the media to secure coverage. BOTTLE MD Claire Cairns said: “Key to this will be challenging consumers to check their instructors’ qualifications before hiring them, thus causing those in the fitness industry to ensure they are included on the Register immediately. BOTTLE will deliver campaigns to support REPs in national, consumer and trade media.”

Jean Ann Marnoch, Registrar of REPs, added: “BOTTLE understood our brief and presented strong, well informed campaigns which really communicate our core messages. Only 28,000 instructors have been approved by the Register, and it is difficult to know just how many instructors there are in theUKwho are working without the necessary qualifications. We need to make a stand against these instructors and we are pleased to have BOTTLE on board to raise awareness of the current situation.”

Centered around the theme of using exercise to keep spirits up in January (in particular black Monday January 23^rd which is officially the most depressing day of the year) REPs Registrar Jean-Ann Marnoch joined celebrity personal trainer Professor Greg Whyte in the studio for a day of radio interviews. As well as working with clients including Cheryl Cole, David Walliams and Eddie Izzard, Greg is regarded as a leading expert in the field of exercise physiology and sports performance and rehabilitation. Greg and Jean-Ann joined radio stations across the country to be interviewed on the importance of ensuring your trainer is suitably qualified. They spoke to 15 radio stations including: BBC Coventry and Warwickshire, BBC Cornwall, BBC Devon, BBC Guernsey, BBC Jersey, BBC RadioSomerset, Pure Radio (Stockport), Verulam FM (St Albans), Wave 102 (Dundee), Jack FM (Oxford), CheshireFM, Black Diamond FM (Edinburgh), Isle of Wight FM, SunriseYorkshireFM (Bradford)

Jean-Ann added: “People invest a lot of time and money in engaging the services of a fitness professional and we want that investment to pay off. We want people to understand what REPs is, why it exists and how it can work for them. We want them to use the facility on our website that allows them to verify their instructors’ registration status as well as searching for REPs trainers in their area. Already we’ve seen searches via our website increase over the last month and hope this continues well into the rest of the year.”

The REPs Member Satisfaction Survey is an extremely informative resource which has led directly to many improvements which have been detailed on the REPs website.  This year’s survey signals our intention to continually improve. This annual survey enables us to learn about your experience of joining REPs, which services you use and value, and what else you think the Register should do for its members. In order to make improvements that meet your needs, it is really important that we receive honest feedback.

We realise this takes up your valuable time, but it really is crucial that we hear from as many members as possible to get a full and balanced picture to help develop the Register.  It should only take 15 minutes. The survey will be conducted independently by SkillsActive’s Research team to guarantee you anonymity.  The results will be treated confidentially in accordance with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct.  SkillsActive will report the aggregated results to REPs, and no individual responses will be identified in the report.  We may contact some, but not all, of those that tick the box stating they would like to be contacted.

Please do take the time to let us know what you think. To thank you for your contribution, we are offering you the chance to win a Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor.  If you would like to be included, just enter your email address at the end of the survey. Click here to access the survey.

Prize draw terms and conditions

1. The closing date for entry is Friday 9^th March 2012.
2. The email address supplied will only be used to contact the winner.
3. The winner of the prize draw will be randomly drawn on Monday 12^th March 2012 and the winner will be notified by email within six weeks.
4. Permission may be sought from the winner to have their name published in marketing material – however, there is no obligation.
5. There is no cash alternative.

As a special promotion REPs’ members are being offered a 15%t discount on all learning resources until Wednesday 29th February. Visit the SkillsActive shop or call us on 0845 647 2120 to check out the range of products and qualify for the discount.

2km is the distance GB’s top stars will race on the water at the Olympic Games this summer but for anyone aspiring to join the GB team the year-long selection process begins with a 2km test on a rowing machine and this is the public’s chance to have a go and win behind-the-scenes-prizes simply by taking part. This is a great opportunity for members of the public to get active and to show their support for the GB Rowing Team. Rowing is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise you can do, and there is the added incentive of challenging your friends and winning great prizes. The challenge also has a more serious message – the importance of an active lifestyle in helping to prevent illness.

Katherine Grainger, 36, a three-times Olympic silver medallist and six-times World Champion aiming for her fourth Olympic Games said: “It’s our Olympic distance, it’s what we do all the time, it’s what we do for trials. We’ll be doing that in early March ourselves and then at the Olympic Games in July and August, so it’s a tough test.
“But I’ll also warn you it is very addictive, so once you get going, if you’re competitive, you will just want to keep improving. So good luck, train hard, race hard and enjoy it”.

Anyone of any ability aged 16 and over can register on the event website www.nationontrial.org  and access expert training advice on how to use a rowing machine as well as enjoy messages of encouragement from World Champions such as Grainger, Richard Chambers and 1992 Olympic gold medallist Searle. The challenge is simple in theory – participants train and build up to rowing 2km as fast as they can on a rowing machine at a local gym or rowing club, getting fit in the process and reducing their risk of having a stroke by taking regular exercise. Participants can record their time as many times as they like on the event website which will show how they compare with friends and workmates as well as the entry standard for the GB selection process.

The reward for anyone taking part is the chance to rub shoulders with the GB Rowing Team’s World and Olympic medallists as they will be entered into a prize draw to win a trip for two to watch the Senior Trials at the Olympic rowing venue, Eton Dorney. The times for those aged 16-24 will also be assessed to see if anyone has the talent to be considered for the opportunity to train to be a member of the GB Rowing Team. The event could throw up a new generation of rowers destined for the GB Rowing Team as well as provide the chance for the nation to keep up their New Year get-fit resolutions.

Register now at www.nationontrial.org

However once the March 31^st deadline has passed any additional income (and therefore additional tax liability not declared) could lead to investigations, fines and penalties. According to the Labour Force Survey (2010, Office for National Statistics) 40% of fitness instructors are self-employed, and many more who are PAYE may offer additional classes and training sessions on a freelance basis.

As part of its services to members the Register of Exercise Professionals has teamed up with specialist tax accountancy firm Celerity Accounts to offer a dedicated free advice service to its members, in particular the 40% who are self-employed or offer classes on a freelance basis. Celerity’s team will be able to advise  on all tax issues including the implications of the tax amnesty, self-assessment, book-keeping, statutory accounts and Corporation Tax. To find out more contact Shayne Savill or Adrian Pollard at Celerity on 020 7036 2500 or Email: shayne.savill@celeritygroup.co.uk or Adrian.pollard@celeritygroup.co.uk

Click here for more details on HMRC’s Tax Catch Up Plan

More than 35,000 health and fitness enthusiasts are expected to attend the show at Earl’s Court, and the REPs’ team hopes it will provide the perfect opportunity to encourage visitors to check out their instructor’s registration status.

As exhibitors REPs is also able to offer its members special discounts on show tickets. Use code ROEPROF to buy two tickets for £24 (a saving of £14) on any bookings made between February 1st and March 21st 2012. http://www.vitalitylive.co.uk/vitality-show

A survey by Radio 4′s You and Yours found more than 40% charged personal trainers a fee to run exercise sessions in their parks. In north-east England, 72% of councils charge, while only 14% in Wales charge. The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) says it is disappointed with the findings.

Jean-Ann commented: “This issue has prompted the biggest response we have ever seen from our members. While some appreciate the need for a nominal fee to pay for wear and tear on parks and open spaces many are finding themselves charged for multiple licenses for individual parks and by neighbouring borough councils.

“Often our members are having to find hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds to use parks – costs that they often don’t feel they can justify passing on to their clients. One of our members said they wouldn’t be able to justify the £350 cost for the few clients they train in the park. So what then? Do we tell clients to forget a healthy lifestyle and go back to sitting in a chair all day? That’s certainly not what we want.”

She added: “If there has to be a charge the Register would like to see councils working together on a cohesive and reciprocal approach that would mean each instructor pays a one-off fee allowing them to using any park in their borough and maybe parks in neighbouring boroughs too.”
Jean-Ann also expressed concern that charges would be passed on to clients and make exercise less affordable. She argues that classes in parks are often a cheaper way to achieve an active lifestyle.

Nine out of 10 councils responded to the survey, a total of 354 local authorities.
Of them, 150 confirmed that personal trainers had to pay a fee to run exercise sessions in their parks. To read more, or to listen to the broadcast click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16656288

Happy New Year to you all! As mentioned in the last e-zine 2012 marks the 10th Anniversary of REPs and the team has planned a series of events to mark this, including a public awareness campaign.

Registrar Jean-Ann Marnoch says: “During its 10 years REPs has been incredibly successful within the fitness industry and has earned the support of employers, training providers and, most importantly, individual instructors.

“We’d now like to spread the message of what we stand for to the general public – the very people REPs was set up to protect. We want to make checking your instructors’ registration status as automatic as using a Gas Safe registered heating engineer. We’re also asking members to act as ambassadors for REPs, wear your lapel badges with pride and use the REPs’ logo on your marketing materials.”

As part of this drive to make people aware of the importance of choosing a REPs registered instructor the REPs’ team is taking a stand at the Vitality Show from Friday 22nd March to Sunday 25th March. Billed as the UK’s largest health, beauty, fitness and wellbeing event, the show is set to attract more than 35,000 guests. http://www.vitalitylive.co.uk/vitality-show/about-the-show/

Jean-Ann Marnoch will also be taking part in a series of radio interviews on Monday January 23^rd – known as Black Monday – the day when people are most likely to give up their New Year’s resolutions. She’ll be encouraging them to keep up an active lifestyle and promote working with REPs’ registered instructors.