» Industry Advocacy


TEN YEARS STRONG


Fitness Industry Council of Canada celebrates a decade of success


BY BARB GORMLEY


keep asking and nominating people at meetings, but so far no one else has been willing to take it on,” he says with a laugh. The fact is that as FIC celebrates its


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tenth year, Hardy’s colleagues and the industry as a whole are eager for him to maintain the role and the organiza- tion’s momentum. It’s been a decade of remarkable successes. “Things are running pretty smooth-


ly and efficiently at this point,” says Hardy, who is also the majority owner of the 9-club World Health Edmonton chain, a partner in the Orangetheory Fitness franchise and owner of 11 Orangetheory Fitness studios in Edmonton and Toronto. “It’s been a great 10 years. I’m excited about what we’ve accomplished.” The roots of FIC go back to 2006


when a piece of consumer protection legislation passed that was detrimental to the fitness industry. Because there was no one to represent the club side of the issue, it easily passed into law.


Vulnerable years Helen Durkin, a Bostonian who


ave Hardy smiles when asked about his long tenure as president of Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC). “I


is currently IHRSA's executive vice- president of Global Public Policy, made a comment at the 2007 IHRSA convention that hit home with the Canadians, recalls Hardy. “She said that in Canada we were


basically sitting ducks,” he says. “At the time, we felt we were sort of cov- ered by IHRSA when, in fact, it doesn’t have the resources to do public policy work outside of the U.S.” It was that particular comment


that spurred on Hardy, Don Longwell, former publisher of Fitness Business Canada, and Michael Levy, former president of Sports Clubs of Canada, along with the support of 40 or 50 more people who were at the conven- tion’s Canadian Forum event to cre- ate a trade association for the fitness industry. According to Longwell, the idea of


starting a professional organization for club owners and managers had come up at the end of every IHRSA Canadian Forum event for at least four years.


FIC Gets Moving “When Dave became


part of the group, he’s the one who made it all happen,” says Longwell. “He set up a board of


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“We’re a public policy organization with the support of our members. We have a very committed board of directors, money in the bank, no debt, and we’re doing what we said we’d do—protect the industry.”


20 Fitness Business Canada March/April 2017


Fitness Day on the Hill: Organized by FIC, this event brought greater awareness for an Adult Fitness Tax Credit to members of Parliament. Joined by active Canadians, FIC hosted this event on National Health and Fitness Day.


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