Festival del Fitness: Lessons from Rimini
For the 12-member group of trainers from the Estonian Aerobics Association, the fitness festival in Rimini was a training course, a holiday and a big look at where group training is heading, all at once. It was not just a trip to a warm resort town, but 10 days packed with classes, stages, new equipment and ideas to bring home.
Why did Festival del Fitness in Rimini work so well?
What people remember most about the 16* Rimini Fitness Festival is its scale. The Estonian Aerobics Association took its group there for the third year in a row, and by then the festival had risen alongside the fitness festivals in Munich and Miami as one of the most important meeting places for sports and fitness people.
The sports celebration ran in the hot Italian resort town from 5-13 June. For comparison, the organizers cited the figures from the previous, 15th anniversary festival: almost half a million visitors, about 100,000 of them active exercisers. Over the ten festival days, more than 48,000 kcal were burned in more than 12 aerobics halls, where the world’s top trainers led the classes. There were also 444 accredited journalists and photographers from around the world. The youngest fitness enthusiast was a baby boy just 40 days old.
These numbers say one simple thing: the festival was not a narrow industry event. It was a place where fitness, sport, show and business came together as one big whole. The organizers also brought 14 different sports federations into the festival with their best athletes, and this just 1 month before the Olympic Games.
Festival del Fitness showed a new direction for training
Call it an “aerobics festival” and it sounds too narrow today. In Rimini the picture was much broader. The program included aerobics, step, funky, spinning, hydro aerobics, bodybuilding, kick boxing, fitness multi-events and martial arts. There were also sessions on beach volleyball, beach tennis and street basketball, and the Rimini marathon took place as well.
On the festival grounds you could ride scooters in specially set-up pools, climb a wall and race mountain bikes on a purpose-built artificial terrain. A separate Kids’ Village had been built for children, where the little ones could join in at their own level.
One of the most colorful examples was the World Master Class. It was the aerobics class with the largest number of participants, where over 1.5 hours the 9 most acclaimed trainers in the world took turns every 20 minutes. The same festival also hosted an international congress on how physical activity affects disease prevention and improves quality of life. For dance fans there was the Samba Festival. And yes, there was even a competition between acrobatic pizza makers, where the fastest could make up to five pizzas in one minute.
What did trainers take home from the Festival del Fitness stages?
For a trainer, a festival like this is a good litmus test. What is merely spectacular? What actually makes it into the studio? And what stays a flashy trick of the trade-fair hall?
The World Master Class mega workout on 1500 spinning bikes, held in the final days, showed just how popular spinning had become. It was especially interesting to see spinning taken into the pool as well. At the time it felt trendy, but also logical: people were looking for new experiences, not just new music as a backdrop to the same old workout.
There was plenty of training equipment. Some of it was familiar from previous years, some almost unknown in our region. One example was fit fencing, a fencing-style workout in the aerobics studio, done both with punching bags and with a partner. There was also a bow-shaped device introduced in stability training classes, aimed at developing the body in a more versatile way.
The STRIDE stage offered workouts from stretching to strength training with walking poles. The core-board workouts left the Estonian trainers with a slightly dull impression, but the classes with SPRING ENERGIE spring-loaded step benches brought some variety. In the organizers’ view, the hottest piece of equipment of the year was the BOSU. Trainers could complete a BOSU course on site and get a license to teach BOSU workouts.
A practical lesson: the show sells, substance lasts
The 16* Festival del Fitness in Rimini was sponsored by big companies such as Panatta and Biosan. Biosan advertised its electrical devices widely and handed out brochures on almost every corner. Ott Kiivikas from the Estonian group tried these “clamps” out first-hand, but despite the company’s tireless explanations, the device’s upside stayed elusive. Honestly, the most important skill at fairs like this is telling what is merely new from what is genuinely useful.
It also stood out that Nike, Reebok and Adidas, who had been the crowd favorites at the previous anniversary festival, did not have their own stages this year. Even so, no gap was left. The Estonian group’s favorite trainers from last year were quickly found on other stages. Boris Bazzani’s step classes were perfect again, and Laura Cristina’s Afro classes, which she had also taught at the FitGirl final event in Tallinn, had the crowd in Rimini whooping with delight too.
The most visited aerobics stages were Meeting, Crunch, Datch and Lineaflex. Still, the Estonian group’s favorite turned out to be the Freddy stage. It had not only strong trainers and good classes, but also a well-thought-out show. A darkened hall, screens the size of three walls, multi-camera footage and the energy of the exercisers created the feeling that you were at a fitness concert.
Freddy’s success didn’t come from lights and screens alone. Carlo Freddy and Luca Sordi had built a fitness group that offered everything from sneakers to trainers, and it adapted quickly to what fitness consumers were looking for. The truth is simple: a show gets people through the door, but a good class brings them back.
FAQ
What was the main value of Festival del Fitness for Estonian trainers?
The main value was a fresh perspective. Estonian trainers got to see world-class classes, new equipment, the setup of a big stage and how fitness is moving ever more toward the experience, all in one place.
Was the Rimini festival only for aerobics fans?
No. Aerobics was an important part, but the festival also covered spinning, bodybuilding, kick boxing, martial arts, beach sports, a marathon, a children’s area and presentations of training equipment.
Why did the Freddy stage stand out so much?
The Freddy stage combined tough training with a big show. It showed well where group training was heading: an instructor had to be a professional, a motivator and a strong personality on stage all at once.
The Rimini festival awaits us all again for a great sports party in 2005, on June 4–12!
Author: Eike Feigebaum
Source: WHO – physical activity.
Come and work out! ArtGym
