AEA E-News March 2013

Editor-Mark Grevelding

• IAFC 2013: Exploring the neighborhood
• IAFC Expo: Showcasing the aquatic fitness industry
• IAFC Drum roll: And this year’s theme is?
• The Aquatic Fitness Professional – Who are we?  Survey results.
• AEA Weekend Events:  Weekend events are selling out
• AEA International: South Korean Powerhouse
• Training Ideas: The debut of AquaFlex

All this and more in this edition of AEA E-News!

IAFC 2013
Exploring the Neighborhood

Classes are filling up quickly for the 26th annual International Aquatic Fitness Conference (IAFC). If you are attending and have been procrastinating on your registration – procrastinate no more. And if you are still on the fence, let’s see if we can’t tempt you with a brief look at our new IAFC neighborhood - the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, FL.

You can expect a more detailed profile of all the nearby attractions in an IAFC E-Update that is scheduled for March 9. We will be providing you with all you need know with a series of IAFC E-Updates as the date draws closer and the excitement builds.

First of all, be sure to tune in to the PGA Tour Tampa Bay Golf Championship being held at the Innisbrook Resort and televised March 14-17 on the Golf Channel and NBC. This will give you a close up view of the stunning beauty of Innisbrook and our new IAFC neighborhood.

So what’s there to do in the neighborhood? Well, onsite you have several dining options, including the Salamander Grill, the Salamander Market, Turnberry Pub, the Lochness Pool Grill and Packard’s Steak House. There is also the Osprey’s Sports Bar which features live entertainment on Friday nights. Offsite, there are over a 100 places to eat within a five minute car ride.

At Innisbrook, you can walk the nature paths, fish in the lake, play a round of golf or splash it up in the Lochness Pool which features waterslides and sandy beaches. Looking for something more tranquil? Then head to the Indaba Spa, an 18,000 square foot spa, salon and fitness center. Innisbrook is a big property and you may want to consider a bike rental. Details on bike rentals will be in the next IAFC E-Update.

Continue your exploration of the neighborhood to the surrounding community and you’ll discover Tarpon Springs just eight minutes away by car. Here you will find the famous Sponge Docks and an abundance of Greek restaurants and lots of antique shops. Fred Howard Park and a beautiful beach overlooking the Gulf of Mexico is also just eight minutes away. Caladesi Island State Park, at one time voted America’s Best Beach is just 3o minutes away and the hotel does provide a shuttle. The best way to explore the outer neighborhood is to secure a car rental during your time at Innisbrook – more on that in the next IAFC E-Update.

There will also be plenty of activities going on in the neighborhood, including the Tuesday night IAFC BBQ Dinner which will feature a Cornhole Toss and Glow in the Dark Putting, to name just a few activities.

Be sure and stay tuned for the first IAFC E-Update on Saturday, March 9, which will provide more details on Innisbrook, surrounding attractions, bike rentals and more.

The excitement is building! Are you registered?

IAFC Details and Registration

AcquaPole®:  Designed, developed and patented in Italy, Acqua Pole features a pole workout that can be choreographed or purely athletic with toning and cardio.  Look for AcquaPole sessions on the IAFC schedule. 

Aqquatix:  Aqquatix equipment includes bikes,treadmills, balls, combat gloves and more.  Aqquatix products include the magic ball, the happy flower, the original combat gloves and the new small combat gloves!

Body Bar®:  The popular Body Bar Flex has been redesigned for use in the water.  The AquaFlex Program features a blend of cardio, toning and stretching.  Find out more about AquaFlex in an article below.

BOWSWIM®:  This resistance-swimming system is durable and versatile, allowing for horizontal, vertical and supine exercise and rehab opportunities.  Olympic Gold Medal winner, Cathy Turner, will be at the BOWSWIM booth.

NZ Manufacturing:  This vendor features the StrechCordz resistance swim training tools that are designed for use in both swimming and fitness.  They also provide MediCordz andTurfCordz for therapeutic and athletic activities.

Wolf Clan LLC:  Features a line of hair coverings, including a swim cap for dreads, braids, weaves or long thick hair.  They also design fashionable hair protectant covers that can be worn poolside, at the beach or at the spa.

YogaFit®:  The largest yoga fitness education school in the world, with more than 200,000 instructors trained on six continents,YogaFit is specifically designed for presentation in health clubs and fitness facilities.  Look for their sessions on the schedule.

In addition to these first time vendors, the 2013 IAFC Expo will feature many of our dedicated vendors and sponsors that IAFC attendees have come to love, including:  Aqua Sphere, ATRI, Arbonne, Arthritis Foundation, AV Now, Dynamix,Exercise Elements, FLS, H2O Wear, Human Kinetics, Hydro-Fit, HydroRider, Isagenix, Muscle Mixes, NekDoodle, NSPF, SCW Fitness Education, SwimsuitsForAll.com, Texas Recreation, USA Swimming, Water Workout, Yes! Fitness Music and Zumba Fitness.

AEA sends a big thank you to all of our sponsors and vendors. Your loyalty and support is deeply appreciated.

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IAFC DRUMROLL
And This Year’s Theme Is?

Each year there is a theme for the IAFC Dinner & Dance Party. (And don’t forget, this year’s dinner and dance is on Thursday night.) So what is the theme in 2013? Are you ready for this? CADDYSHACK! You must have seen the movie...right? Caddyshack was a popular American sports comedy film that garnered a large cult following. The sport featured in the movie was golf and the year was 1980. So how do you prepare for a CaddyShack theme? Well, you can go 80’s, you can go golf and you can even go gopher!

Never seen the movie? Need ideas for a Caddyshack theme? Use your Googling power. Just google Caddyshack and you end up with plenty of clips to watch and costume ideas, but the best way to get in the Caddyshack spirit is to rent the movie.

Here is a short clip below to get you in the mood.

Caddy Shack Clip

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THE AQUATIC FITNESS PROFESSIONAL
Who Are We? Survey Results
By Julie See, AEA’s President and Director of Education

AEA Members – your input makes a difference! A special thanks to the 3000 participants in our 2012 Fall Survey – your time and effort provided valuable information and gives us guidance for future events and programming!

Here is a sneak peak into what we found out about aquatic fitness instructors and trainers….

• No surprise here…95% of aquatic professionals are currently women! Let’s encourage more men to join the ranks and get involved with this exciting career…more male instructors could mean more male participants! Invite your male colleagues, or event students/clients, to attend the next AEA educational event with you so they can join our team.
• The age range for aquatic professionals is fairly evenly divided – about half are under the age of 55 and half over. Being an aquatic professional means that one has a lifelong career opportunity. Just as our members vary in age, instructors and trainers can provide quality leadership from their teens through 75+ years!
• 34% of our aquatic professionals are now making between $21-30 per class! We are seeing a positive adjustment in pay scale and expect this trend to continue. Teaching aquatic classes can be a great opportunity for both part-time and full-time fitness professionals.
• What equipment is the most popular in our pools? Approximately 90% of instructors include noodles and/or buoyant hand bars in their programming. However, expect to see more and more classes and personal training sessions incorporating variety, such as rubberized resistance, weighted equipment and innovative drag tools for both upper and lower body.

AEA WEEKEND EVENTS

Weekend events are selling out!

Aquatic fitness professionals are obviously attending AEA events. We don’t need a survey to tell us that! We want to extend a big thank you to all of you who have registered for a weekend event or IAFC this year. IAFC sessions are filling up and weekend events are selling out. Our first big event weekend, March 9 & 10, is a huge success. New Berlin, WI is sold out with 40 plus in the workshops. Worcester, MA is sold out with 40 plus in the workshops. Metairie, LA has nearly sold out.

AEA Event Calendar

AEA International
South Korean Powerhouse

South Korea currently has the fastest growing contingent of certified AEA instructors outside of the USA. The driving force behind the South Korean success is Mee-Hee Park, one of AEA’s longest serving international trainers and the President of KAEA.

Aquatic fitness is thriving in South Korea thanks to Mee-Hee’s efforts at providing a qualified instructor base to lead the classes. South Korea currently has 650 valid AEA certified instructors in the Korean Aquatic Exercise Association (KAEA). “KAEA leads the aquatic fitness industry in Korea by hosting certifications, workshops and conferences,” says Mee-Hee.  And Mee-Hee makes sure her instructors stay current with their certifications. According to Angie Proctor, AEA’s Executive Director, Mee-Hee has been sending in about 40 certification renewals a month, at least ten months of the year, for the past five years. “She also sells a lot of E-Memberships,” says Proctor. AEA E-Memberships are priced at $45.00 and they are popular with internationals.

Mee-Hee’s fitness career began on land; she started as a yoga and aerobics instructor in 1982. Ten years later she was an AFAA Korean consultant. She expanded into several specialized fields, including therapeutic recreation, Korean dance, Feldenkrais, Maum Meditation and more.

Mee-Hee eventually crossed over to aquatic fitness after taking the AEA certification in Japan. She attended IAFC in 1996 and began her training as an AEA International Trainer. Shortly after, she established KAEA in 1998. Mee-Hee pulled off an exceptionally challenging feat by getting non-profit approval in 2001 for KAEA by the Korean government, an approval that is rarely granted in her country.

Looking ahead, Mee-Hee simply wants to continue developing programs that make both instructors and students happy. “I want to get more people certified and I want to increase global awareness of aquatic fitness through the IAFC,” says Mee-Hee.

Mee-Hee has been a steadfast supporter of IAFC over the years, shepherding large contingents of Korean instructors to the U.S. conference. In 2011, She brought 18 instructors to IAFC. Last year, the Korean contingent numbered 20 strong. This year, Mee-Hee will be bringing 13 of her instructors to the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor for IAFC 2013.

We salute Mee-Hee for her efforts on behalf of AEA and the aquatic fitness industry – truly a job well done!

TRAINING IDEAS
The Debut of AquaFlex

Describe how Body Bar made the transition to the pool?
We had a bunch of our lightweight Body Bar Flex variable resistance exercise bars at a local Boulder, Colorado club. We knew the Flex bar floated and had tested it in the water for a number of years, but had never really done anything in aqua. An inventive AEA certified instructor at the Boulder club, MaryAnn Briggs, borrowed a few bars and started using them in the water. She immediately realized the benefits and approached us about developing programming for what became the AquaFlex program.

What are the benefits of training with an AquaFlex Bar?
The bar is lightweight, flexible and buoyant; plus its variable resistance adds to the natural resistance of the body’s movement through the water. Featuring many of the same moves as the Body Bar Flex exercise programming, the AquaFlex program is an effective low-impact workout for developing muscular strength and endurance, core conditioning and dynamic flexibility. Use of this versatile bar is limited only by the imagination of the trainer. We provide basic programming for AquaFlex, but our most creative trainers love the bar because they can come up with their own moves and make their classes unique. For clubs, it is important to note that the AquaFlex bars can also be used in group exercise, by personal trainers, for physical therapy, in yoga and Pilates classes, with kids, with seniors, and for sport-specific training (such as golf, basketball, baseball, and tennis).

What are your plans/goals for the AquaFlex program?
We hope to continue and expand the exposure of Body Bar, traditionally a fitness company, into the aqua fitness community; via shows, instructor training and certification, social media, and videos.

Once again, you can check out the AquaFlex program at IAFC 2013. Long time IAFC presenter, Marti Peters, will be teaching the AquaFlex session at IAFC. IAFC attendees can also join Marti for a Body Bar Flex land session, Senior Fit, a group exercise program designed exclusively for older adults. Look for the Body Bar booth in the IAFC expo.