Summer 2026: News and updates from across the sector
Stay up to date with the latest sport and physical activity news and stories in our quick round-up for summer 2026
Fitness Industry Technology Council recognises Myzone as top innovator
Myzone has been praised by The Fitness Industry Technology Council, alongside WellnessSpace Brands and SCANECA, for innovation in advancing responsible technology adoption across the global fitness and wellness sector.
Selected from dozens of exhibitors at FIBO, the honourees were chosen for product roadmaps, measurable impact for operators, and their roles in shaping categories – all key criteria set by the FITC and its panel of industry experts.
Stronger Together: Parkwood Leisure and Swim England announce five-year partnership renewal to champion community health and inclusion
Parkwood Leisure is proud to announce a five-year partnership renewal with Swim England, marking a significant milestone in their mission to provide world-class aquatic experiences.
This extended collaboration is founded on two core pillars: professional excellence and unrivalled accessibility. To maintain professional excellence, Parkwood will continue its work with the Institute of Swimming, securing a high-quality training pathway for its teachers and ensuring lesson provision remains best in class for all ages.
Nuffield Health partnership – Moving Medicine
Nuffield Health have recently launched Moving Medicine for Everybody, a new initiative developed from their partnership with the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK (FSEM) to help more people live better-quality lives through movement.
More than half of UK adults are living with at least one long term condition, yet too many people are unsure how to move safely or are never encouraged to use physical activity as part of their care.
This initiative supports Nuffield’s ambition to ensure physical activity is recognised and used as a powerful tool for prevention, treatment and recovery. Led by medical specialists in sport and exercise medicine, the website provides trusted, evidence based guidance, practical tools and a ‘coachbot’ to help people move more in ways that work for them – confidently and safely.
By partnering with FSEM and working alongside collaborators such as Sport England, they’re helping to remove unnecessary barriers to movement and make physical activity accessible to more people, whatever their health circumstances.
CoverMe rewriting how members and personal trainers connect
CoverMe, a fitness workforce management operator, has launched CoverMe PT, an on-demand personal training platform that connects the right personal trainer to the right client in under 10 seconds.
At the centre of the launch is CoverMe’s AI matching engine. Built and refined over four years across millions of instructor-to-club matches, it now powers personal training too, learning from every booking, cancellation and session and getting smarter each time.
CoverMe PT is the second product on the platform, marking the company’s evolution into a multi-product operating system for the fitness industry. CoverMe works with major global fitness brands across four continents and will initially roll out CoverMe PT across the UK, US and Europe.
“Personal training is the most commercially valuable line in any club, and the most operationally overlooked. The way most facilities sell PT hasn’t changed since the 1980s: trainers walking the gym floor, touting for business at reception and hoping to catch a member at the right moment,” says Rosanna Tucker, co-founder and CEO of CoverMe. “But members don’t want to be interrupted mid-workout to be sold to. They want to discover, choose and book PTs on their own terms, with the immediacy and energy of a social media platform.”
Digital inclusion and physical activity
Sport England has worked with Good Things Foundation to understand the connection between digital inclusion and participation in sport and physical activity.
Millions of people experience barriers when it comes to leading an active lifestyle, and there are also millions who face exclusion when accessing and using digital technology.
The digital inclusion movement and Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy are looking to address these barriers, but what about the people who experience both?
In order to learn more about the relationship between digital inclusion and participation in physical activity, Sport England have worked with Good Things Foundation.
Following initial desktop research in March 2025, they conducted in-depth research between October 2025 and January 2026 with people with lived experience of facing digital barriers to being active, and with organisations working across the digital inclusion and sport/physical activity sectors.
Healthcare experts call for bold national action to tackle children’s inactivity crisis
The Class of 2035 Commission warns children’s inactivity levels – driving rising anxiety, poor development and chronic conditions – are at a tipping point.
The Class of 2035 Commission, convened by Youth Sport Trust and bringing together leading voices from across healthcare to address growing challenges in children’s health and wellbeing, has recently published its report and vision for change.
Building on the charity’s previously published Class of 2035 report, which warned of the long-term consequences of declining physical activity levels, the Commission was chaired by former global Chief Medical Officer of Bupa Group, Dr Paula Franklin, and comprised of health experts spanning general practice, paediatrics, public health, mental health and research. The Commission’s report highlights the increasingly visible impact of inactivity in clinical settings, with professionals reporting rising levels of anxiety, poor physical development, musculoskeletal issues and chronic conditions among children and young people.
The Commission reiterates warnings outlined by Youth Sport Trust including projected low activity levels, high screen time and increasing incidents of preventable health conditions, but shifts the focus towards solutions, informed by frontline experience and clinical expertise.
Dr Paula Franklin said, “There is a decline in children’s health and wellbeing, the like of which we have not seen for decades. Children’s lives are changing – they are less active and spend less time outdoors. Screen time dominates interaction, and unstructured, independent free play is limited. These seismic societal changes bring consequences with the impact now reaching classrooms, clinics, homes and communities as the repercussions of reduced movement and physical activity manifests in behavioural, physical and mental health conditions. The need for change is clear and compelling, and we are at a tipping point for childhood. Without significant action, decades of progress will be eroded and children’s health will continue to worsen.”
Read more and download the report below.
