Health and Fitness Club Industry News: IHRSA
Saturday, September 20th, 2025
Congressional Failure to Act Could Cost Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs
Posted: August 7, 2020 in IHRSA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On the eve of the end of the Paycheck Protection Program, Joe Moore, president and CEO of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), released the following statement... Read More...
IHRSA Refutes Negative Press, Provides Leadership for Industry
Posted: August 4, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - Overall, health and wellness are essential to reducing the risk of severe COVID-19. So, why is it that health and fitness clubs seem to get so little respect while giving members a safe and clean space to improve their health? The answer is simple: the fitness industry is receiving an abundance of negative press that is overshadowing the safety protocols and cleaning guidelines that health and fitness clubs have put in place to keep members, staff and the community safe. The issue at hand? Op-ed writers, misinformed medical professionals and self-proclaimed internet experts have labeled fitness facilities as dirty or germy spaces, which could not be further from the truth. Read More...
IHRSA Reveals Innovation Summit Schedule & Speakers
Posted: August 3, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) has released the schedule of events, along with the full list of speakers for the IHRSA Innovation Summit. As the fitness industry navigates the coronavirus pandemic, come together virtually with the best minds of the industry on Thursday, September 17, to reimagine, reinvigorate and rebuild. The one-day event includes... Read More...
IHRSA Teams Up with MXM for ‘Visit-to-Virus’ Ratio Tracker
Posted: July 23, 2020 in IHRSA, Suppliers
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and MXM have formed a research team in the hopes of gathering “visit-to-virus” ratio data from health and fitness clubs across the U.S. and Canada. The goal of the tracker is to challenge the idea that health and fitness facilities are guilty of assisting in the transmission of coronavirus. Read More...
Majority of Members Make Good on Plans to Return to Clubs
Posted: July 22, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - After a long layoff from accessing health clubs, surveys show a vast number of members have already returned or plan to return to their health club, gym or studio. Data from four markets also indicate that physical activity decreased among users while clubs were closed. Read More...
IHRSA Announces New Virtual Event: The IHRSA Innovation Summit
Posted: July 20, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - To bring the fitness industry together --health club operators, industry suppliers and everyone in-between-- IHRSA is going virtual, hosting a one-day interactive event: The IHRSA Innovation Summit. When the landscape of the fitness industry changes, we must learn how to reimagine, reinvigorate and rebuild—together. On Thursday, September 17, join IHRSA and the best minds of the industry to learn how to come out of the crisis stronger. Read More...
Congress Must Act to Save Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs
Posted: July 20, 2020 in IHRSA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) released a new study showing the impact of COVID-19 case spikes on the health and fitness industry. IHRSA has also shared these stunning new numbers with Congress in a letter to both chambers. The letter not only lays out the job loss estimates but also urges Congress to pass legislation immediately. Read More...
IHRSA State Fact Sheets Frame Health Clubs as Force for Good
Posted: July 8, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - To help IHRSA members advocate for their state’s fitness industry, IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, provides Health Club Industry State Fact Sheets. Each fact sheet gives detailed explanations of health club operations for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The state fact sheets empower IHRSA members to advocate on behalf of their businesses, the industry and the importance of physical activity. IHRSA suggests that club operators use these fact sheets to educate their local lawmakers and policymakers on the positive impact health clubs and fitness businesses have on their state’s physical and fiscal wellbeing. Read More...
IHRSA to Governors: “Gyms Aren’t Responsible for Spread”
Posted: July 7, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - In the continued fight to open health and fitness facilities across the country, IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, sent a letter to all 50 U.S. governors to show that the fitness industry is not part of transmitting COVID-19. To show a united fitness industry, the letter was signed by many industry leaders, representing thousands of gyms, fitness clubs and studios. Read More...
IHRSA Launches Legislative Effort to Save the American Fitness Industry
Posted: July 7, 2020 in IHRSA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is launching a new legislative effort to save the American fitness industry. In a letter to Congressional leaders, IHRSA laid out the economic devastation felt by the industry as a result of the pandemic. Roughly 1/3, or $10 billion, of health club industry revenue will leave for at-home fitness options, putting at risk the 3 million full- and part-time workers who are employed by the almost 40,000 clubs and studios in the U.S. Read More...
The 2020 IHRSA Global Report: Clubs Post Record Numbers in 2019
Posted: June 26, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) has released The 2020 IHRSA Global Report. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the publication shows the global health club industry finished the decade with record performance. Worldwide, industry revenue totaled US$96.7 billion in 2019, as more than 184 million members belonged to nearly 210,000 health and fitness facilities. A perennial IHRSA bestseller, The IHRSA Global Report provides a comprehensive overview of the health club industry. Read More...
Gyms Ramp Up Safety and Cleaning Protocols to Welcome Back Members
Posted: June 25, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - Most of the nearly 50,000 U.S. health clubs were mandated to close in mid-March. Fitness professionals have spent this time increasing their cleaning and safety protocols and creating safety plans to share with their regional authorities to receive permission to reopen. Clubs are using a four-pronged framework to plan safe and thoughtful reopening protocols while working with local health boards. IHRSA developed this framework to help clubs mitigate risk and provide a safe and supportive place for physical activity. Read More...
IHRSA Launches Campaign for Relief and Stimulus from Congress
Posted: June 15, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - America’s health and fitness clubs, which were flourishing before the shutdown, were one of the first businesses mandated to close. With near-total closures, no real opportunities to earn revenues since mid-March, and severely restricted operations for the foreseeable future, the hard-hit fitness industry requires federal relief. As the voice for the health club industry in Washington D.C., IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, has continuously been sounding the alarm on the dire consequences the industry is facing since the early days of the pandemic, even before Congress took up what became the CARES Act (“Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security” Act). IHRSA asks Congress for federal relief for the fitness industry so that fitness clubs and gyms across the country may continue to provide vital services (safe, secure, proven places to achieve their health and fitness goals) for their communities. Read More...
Senate Passes 8 Badly Needed PPP Fixes
Posted: June 4, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - On Wednesday evening, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that aims to provide fixes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The bipartisan bill, known as the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act was passed almost unanimously by the House last week. The bill now heads to President Trump for his signature. The bill would... Read More...
IHRSA Announces Key Considerations & Risk Assessment Tools
Posted: May 28, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is pleased to announce the release of the key considerations document for sports, fitness, aquatics & ancillary facilities and clubs in the context of COVID-19 with accompanying risk assessment and mitigation tools. A working group, instigated and led by IHRSA, produced these documents. In addition, consultation took place with ICREPS (International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals) and EREPS (European Register of Exercise Professionals). Read More...
IHRSA Outlines Safe & Successful Reopening of Clubs Worldwide
Posted: May 21, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - It's been over four months since the first countries began mandating the closure of more than 200,000 fitness clubs across the globe, with China closing clubs on 24 January. Since the lockdown period began, global exercise levels have declined sharply. The more than 200 million global health club members have been without access to their health clubs. This lockdown has had a disastrous impact on mental health, stress and depression, all serious afflictions mitigated by regular exercise. Because of this, IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, is assisting the industry to open as quickly as safely possible. Read More...
First 10 States to Reopen Provide Rules Affecting Health Clubs
Posted: May 20, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - IHRSA reviewed the guidelines and requirements issued in the first 10 states to allow indoor fitness operations to resume. Every state has, or will have, general guidelines for businesses related to coronavirus-sanitation protocols. All fitness centers should review their state’s general business protocols in addition to any health club-specific requirements. The following states demonstrate the wide breadth of guidance and requirements released so far... Read More...
Potential Legislation Impacting Gyms In a Post-pandemic World
Posted: May 20, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of virtually all health clubs across the country have impacted the industry in unprecedented ways. Although the crisis is far from over, it is important to consider what the world might look like post-pandemic. It is a common practice of legislators to create laws reactively. While most clubs have conducted themselves responsibly during these turbulent times, the actions of a handful of operators could result in a legislative backlash against clubs. Read More...
IHRSA Outlines 4 Key Areas to Safely & Successfully Reopen Clubs
Posted: May 16, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - It's been over a month since states began mandating the more than 40,000 U.S. clubs, employing nearly 800,000 Americans pre-shutdown, to close. Now, as states prepare to reopen, IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, and fitness industry leaders are ramping up efforts and guidance to help club operators work with their local administrators to reopen safely. Read More...
IHRSA Shares Videos that Celebrate 2020 Award Recipients
Posted: May 6, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, is pleased to share these videos honoring the industry’s 2020 award recipients announced earlier this year. The IHRSA Awards Program seeks to “recognize, celebrate, and inspire.” These videos were originally scheduled to premiere during IHRSA 2020. Read More...
