This year’s National Fitness Day, the biggest annual celebration of fitness and physical activity across the UK, will see leading retailer Argos become the headline partner.
The event which takes place for the third time on Wednesday 7th September, co-inciding with the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, is run by ukactive – the leading not for profit health body with the aim of championing the fun and enjoyment that physical activity can bring to all the family.
In 2015, 12,000 people took part in over 2,000 events organised across the country. The new partnership with Argos provides a platform to reach new audiences with ranges of products that include sports, fitness, outdoor toys, healthy grills and juicers – all aiming to help their customers lead healthier lives, and will involve its 30,000 colleagues across 800+ stores
ukactive works alongside its 3,500 members drawn from the public, private, and third sector to achieve its shared ambition of a more active nation. Increasingly, well known consumer brands – such as Argos – have been using physical activity and fitness to engage with both their consumers and their workforce.
This year’s event coincides with the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games which will be attended by cross-party peer and ukactive Chair, Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, ukactive Chair said:
“Partnering with a nationally recognised brand such as Argos is a fantastic opportunity to promote the physical activity agenda and provide a platform to take up exercise for an unprecedented number of people across the UK.
National Fitness Day is a powerful tool to raise the profile of physical activity and the role it plays in increasing the health of our nation. By engaging people across the country we can help provide a pathway into continued involvement in physical activity.”
Argos’s involvement comes at a time when they are focussing on promoting the fun of fitness for all the family as part of their wider Healthy Living campaign.
Stephen Vowles, Marketing Director, Argos said:
“Argos is committed to helping customers achieve their well-being goals, and we are encouraged by their increasing desire to be more active, eat and feel healthier, as the demand for products like Fitbit has taken off. Through our sponsorship of National Fitness Day we want to encourage people to realise the benefits of doing a little bit more every day – walking in the park, cycling, taking an exercise class – and we will be encouraging our 30,000 colleagues across 800 plus stores to do the same.”
National Fitness Day will continue to promote and allow people to engage in physical activity on the day through free gym passes, exercise classes, outdoor events, taster sessions and a host of physical activities from health and fitness operators around the country.
Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport said:
“With lots of taster sessions and free events, National Fitness Day is a fantastic opportunity to encourage greater participation in physical activity, in line with our sports strategy.
“It’s great that ukactive is partnering with the private sector and that Argos will be helping to spread the message across the country to both consumers and their own workforce.
“Sport and physical activity can have a really positive impact on people’s lives, improving both physical and mental health – I hope as many people as possible get involved on the day.”
More People More Active More Often
