Fitness Australia Board Nominee: Edwina Griffin. Why You Should Vote For Me.
My interest is to give back to an industry that I have worked in for almost 30 years. I have been on the Fitness Australia Councils on and off throughout my career giving feedback however I would like to be more involved in the decision- making process now given my years of experience in different areas and roles in our industry.
There are some key areas for the future of Fitness Australia and the Fitness industry overall that have inspired me to want to be involved at the decision-making level for our industry:
- The current registration requirements and assessment and allocation of CECs- This includes the process to ensure compliance, the level of entry and accessibility to the industry, the assessment process and subsequent system of allocation for CEC points.
This is already a major focus area for Fitness Australia. I have personal experience of the CEC assessment process having recently released a CEC accredited program and I have also assessed many personal trainers when in national training roles for franchise groups so I have a good awareness of the various levels of fitness professionals and personal trainers coming into the industry and continuing to work in the industry. I feel this knowledge is highly relevant to the conversation.
All this progress in accreditation and standards is positive as long as there are considerations for the many skillsets and backgrounds that already exist in the industry. In my opinion, there also needs to be a consideration for the future needs and qualifications of various health professionals that may enter our industry into the future. The importance of bringing the industry together with inclusive strategies is high on my agenda as there is a risk of alienating and segregating our industry with these new standards.
Bringing industry ‘veterans’ into the education loop to share skills in mentoring type roles is also a potential opportunity that we have talked about at a Council level for many, years and I see it as a lost opportunity for both knowledge sharing and strengthening relationships within our industry.
Collaboration with various other professional bodies is essential earl on to establish the most appropriate and relevant accreditation standards and recognition of prior learning and experience. If this is not done effectively early on, there is the risk that qualified fitness professionals may not maintain their registration.
- Fitness Australia strengthening its lobbying role with more structured support (both in financial support and relationships with government and other similar industries) has been identified as an area needing long-term strategic planning. Better collaboration within the industry itself, with other industries and government is a key area of focus. My background and consulting in areas of facilitating strategy days, conducting community consultation reports and conducting mediations for local state and federal government gives me a strong foundation to contribute to these strategic conversations. I currently work in franchising and government relationships for a national allied health company.
- One of the key areas that has been an issue in the past for Fitness Australia has been creating value in our memberships. I hope Fitness Australia will continue to utilise technology to provide more collaborative opportunities and platforms for various stakeholders to communicate, give feedback and share ideas and advice between members. The recent Covid-19 situation has strengthened the industry’s ability and access to technology and so this opens up more opportunities to expand this offering creating more value for memberships and a low cost to Fitness Australia. This is one of many potential opportunities to create value.
- Innovation- I feel there needs to be a balance in the strategic approach with Fitness Australia so that it is not seen as only bringing in more stringent education measures but also sharing the latest innovations and trends in the fitness industry to inspire members to move into future directions. There is huge growth in the technology space and into areas of allied health, wellness and partnerships with sporting organisations and I see a huge opportunity for Fitness Australia to direct more positive conversations as we all move out of the “history” of Fitness Australia into a “positive, collaborative future” for Fitness Australia and our industry as a whole.
In my opinion, the leadership role of Fitness Australia could include more consultation with registered fitness professionals to identify more useful, relevant conversations that we can focus on to enhance the industry’s growth rather than some of the negative conversations that exist currently. Criticising our industry body (Fitness Australia) in my opinion, only fragments our industry, damages industry credibility and wastes energy that could be put into more positive innovations, collaboration and outcomes for our industry as a whole and for the individual professional members.
I would love to be supported on the Board to use my 30 years of experience in the industry and recent years of experience in strategy and planning to help move Fitness Australia forward to enable the industry I love to maximise its potential. I feel I am currently working across areas of government, allied health, fitness, technology and strategy which feels the right time to be part of the Fitness Australia conversation. I have many opinions about what I would like to happen to help our industry grow and rather than talking about it, I would like to be involved in making it happen.
Thanks for considering what I have to say!
About Edwina
Eddy has worked in the fitness industry for almost 30 years. She started her business as a sole trader personal training out of her car which she built to run Fitwomen & Fitmen centres with 15 staff and setup her Fitmum Accreditation Program. She won NSW Fitness Professional of the year in 2010. She then worked with national franchises Jetts Fitness and Fernwood Fitness.
Now she consults to the fitness industry in the areas of mediation, and is a trainer in negotiation and emotional intelligence. She continues to do some personal training, is working in government relationships for an international allied health company and is the Director of a startup tech company in wellness technology.
Voting is now officially open for board elections.
Business members would have received an email from TrueVote with a specific link directing them to the voting platform whereby they can cast their votes. Voting closes 2nd November.
Not a Business Member and want to have a vote? Go to www.Fitness.org.au and join now.
Justin is the Managing Director of Active Management, which he began January 2004. He offers coaching to businesses worldwide in everything from start up and design to marketing and sales systems. Justin also facilitates four Australian and New Zealand ‘fitness industry roundtables’ events, which allows him to see a huge cross section of business models.