Bear Grylls personal trainer to advise Quest NBS Conference on engagement

Bear Grylls’ personal trainer, Natalie Summers will advise the industry on engaging with its workforce and customers when she takes to the stage as key note speaker at this year’s Quest NBS Conference in February.

Summers, a personal trainer supporting a range of clients from rehabilitation patients to globally recognised television personalities, premiership footballers and gold medal-winning Olympians, is co-founder of BG Epic Training, Bear Grylls’ multi-level indoor obstacle training course, designed to build strength, flexibility and fitness. She will offer delegates a unique and interesting perspective on physical activity, getting people active and her view of the fitness industry today.

Summers is one of many speakers already confirmed for this year’s conference, which will take place on Tuesday 20 February, followed by the CIMSPA conference on Wednesday 21 February, at Chesford Grange in Warwick. For the first time, the Quest conference is looking at best practice across the entire industry and the programme has been designed for both Quest Facility Management and Quest for Active Communities, with specific workshops relating to each. However, focussing on the industry as a whole, the programme will also be of benefit for organisations that are not part of Quest.

During the day, Westminster Council will explain why Everyone Active is no longer just a provider opening and closing the doors of their facilities, but a partner in their Active Westminster delivery strategy, as the two become the first to jointly undergo both Quest Facility Management and Active Communities assessments alongside their National Benchmarking Service (NBS) report.

“Working with Everyone Active in this way is a step into the unknown and will really expose areas where we need to improve, but it’s that longer term view we are taking by working together that will help us to make tangible differences,” says Andrew Durrant, Head of Sport, Leisure & Wellbeing at Westminster City Council.  “It’s not about badge collecting, but a long term thing where we show commitment on both sides that we want to work together and get better.”

Public Health England will look at the health of the nation and how we engage with our communities and then lead a Q&A session to discuss how we can get more people active. Carrying on theme of getting more people, more active, more often, Matt Charles, Head of Health and Wellbeing at Age UK Hertfordshire, will discuss the value of the silver pound and why the needs of the over 60s should not be a grey area of operators.

“The ‘older peoples’ landscape has changed dramatically in recent years.  Due to advances in medicine and treatment many people are now living longer, leading to an increase in general life expectancy across the country,” said Charles.  “Due to this and other factors, the 50+ age range is fast becoming one of the biggest areas of growth.  With increases in retirement age and disposable income there is a growing opportunity to engage with this demographic, which can be financially profitable, but also a way of supporting older people within our communities to live well in later life and retain their independence.”

Following the biggest data protection shake up for 25 year, international sports management and major event consultant, 4 global, will present on the implications of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and what measures operators should be putting in place ready for its inception in May.

Also on the agenda is an update from the NBS on the industry’s current performance, highlighting key areas for improvement through our offering and customer experience, as well as lessons learned from the last two years; a panel discussion with topics including fire safety, insurance claims and chemical spills. Luke Griffiths, Technical Manager for Pool Plant at the STA will also discuss water pollution and bather hygiene.

The event will be followed by an evening networking meal, with the CIMSPA Conference taking place in the same venue the next day. Tickets are priced at £100 for each of the conferences, £40 for the evening meal or all three events for just £200. For more information or to book your ticket visit https://questnbs.org/training-events-conference/conference.

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For further information contact:
Abigail Harris at Big Fish Public Relations
Tel: 07738 331019
Email: abigail@bigfishpublicrelations.co.uk

Editor’s notes:
Quest is the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure. Managed on behalf of Sport England by Right Directions, it is a tool for continuous improvement, designed primarily for the management of leisure facilities and leisure development. Quest defines industry standards and good practice, and encourages their ongoing development and delivery within a customer-focused management framework. questnbs.org