Who's headed to IHRSA this year in Los Angeles? The four day conference will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, March 8-11, 2017. Whether it's your 1st time or your 30th time going to IHRSA, make sure you're making the most of your time there with these simple IHRSA survival tips.
What to Bring
1) Comfortable Shoes
Between walking through the convention center and back and forth from the hotel, you will definitely want to plan on wearing comfortable shoes.
2) Business Cards
You're bound to talk with a lot of new people in the industry, so you'll definitely want to make sure you have plenty of business cards on hand.
3) Notebook and Pen
Between business sessions and meetings, you will probably be doing a lot of note-taking. Be sure to be prepared with a notebook and pen.
4) Refillable Water Bottle and Snacks
Water bottles and food are not cheap around the convention center. Be sure to bring snacks and a refillable water bottle so you're never desperate for the essentials.
5) Jacket or Sweatshirt
Even though it might be warm outside in Los Angeles, convention center rooms tend to get chilly. Bring a jacket just in case.
What to Plan
1) Meetings
Do everything you can to set up meetings ahead of time. It's rare that so many people in the fitness industry will be in the same place at the same time, so take advantage of the in-person face time by going through your contacts and setting up meetings with people a few weeks beforehand so things aren't frantic when you arrive.
[Note from Ravi: If you're a fitness manager or owner, I'd love to meet with you at IHRSA and give you a free trial of ClubConnect. Email me at rsharma@ideafit.com]
2) The Trade Show
Plan on giving yourself a few hours at the trade show itself. The hall is huge and has over 350 exhibitors from around the world. Make sure to leave yourself time between the sessions you attend and meetings to walk the floor and check out the products and trends at the booths.
Where to Be
1) The Keynotes
Check out the keynotes for each day and try to go to at least one of them. The keynote speakers this year include Seth Mattison, Martin Lindstrom, Johnny Earle, and Soraya Darabi. They always have such inspiring speakers at IHRSA and you don't want to miss out on them.
2) BASH for Augie's Quest
Augie's Quest is a "cure driven effort focused on finding treatments and cures for ALS." Each year, IHRSA hosts the BASH for Augie's Quest to raise money for the organization. It's a really fun event for a great cause. This year it's an 80's theme so if you plan on going, be sure to bring your best and brightest 80's gear!
3) The Bar
Much of the networking happens after the official IHRSA events are over every day. If you want to meet people in the industry and socialize a bit more, the unofficial parties tend to happen at the host hotel bar (generally the JW Marriott) after everyone does their own thing for dinner. Hope to see you there!
What to Join
1) The App
2) Top Health Club Managers & Owners Facebook Group
Hopefully this IHRSA survival guide helped make planning for the event a bit easier for you. I'm looking forward to meeting you in LA!
Cheers,
Ravi
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P.S. Did you know? ClubConnect is now the number one resource for health clubs and gyms. We power the education and development for over 4,500 health clubs and growing. Learn more about how we help health club managers, directors and owners here.