Games, 'net and match – Venue, 29th September - 8th October, 2006 Inspiration and perspiration are harmoniously combined at the fitness friends website. Launched in Bath in May, the operation has expanded recently to cover Bristol, so now sports lovers across the West can meet their match when it comes to everything from team sports, table tennis and water sports to golf. Specify your sport, ability and age group and click for the buddy to train with or compete against. (It's free to create your own profile and browse: making contact and enjoying members' benefits requires signing up for £5 per six months.) The users' ranks are likely to grow with the students' return and the current 50/50 male/female split may change with women seeking jogging partners for winter nights. If you're new to the area or prefer meeting to sweating, you don't have to do the sporty bit. Spread the word! This is one idea that will run and run...
Find Your Perfect Sporting Partner In The Bath Area – Bath Magazine, July 2006 A new and exciting internet service has just been launched for Bath and the surrounding area for anyone interested in combining the excitement of meeting new and like-minded people, with the benefits of looking and feeling great for the summer. Fitnessfriends.org.uk aims to unite people with similar sporting/recreational interests and ambitions, and offers some great discounts to local gyms, health clubs, sports therapies, personal trainers and retailers along the way. It might be that you’ve been meaning to get fit but lack the confidence or motivation to get started, or maybe you would like to double up for a game of tennis or round of golf? Fitnessfriends.org.uk has already proven to be hugely popular, with people looking for buddies to partake in anything from jogging to surfing, triathlon to mountain-biking, tennis to golf etc. It is hoped the site will soon expand further a field until the whole UK is eventually able to benefit from the service.
Website Hopes to Find Perfect Sports Partners – Bath Chronicle, June 22 2006 Running alone can often be tedious, sometimes unsafe and, for many, not very motivational. And when you are in training for a half or full marathon, or similar event, it can be tough to find people who want to run with you and at your pace. So the team behind a new business idea believe they may be onto something by offering to pair like-minded people up with each other in the name of exercise. Fitness Friends, based in Great Stanhope Street, Bath, allows people to place their profile on its website for free. Then, if they spot someone they would like to exercise with, they pay a £5 fee to become a member and get access to their contact information. The website is run by Charlie Unwin, Lindsey Weedon and Giles Hancock, who all have a lot of experience when it comes to fitness and finding people to train with. Pentathlete Charlie, 25, said: "The fitness industry is growing, and we're always bombarded by pressure to keep fit and diet. Many people don't know how to start or how to go about doing it. They don't realise how easy it can be to keep fit, or how enjoyable." Fitness Friends can put people in contact with others who have a similar sporting ability, or with others who are much stronger and happy to train up somebody else. The website is a new venture, and the trio want to build up profiles of people so members can start picking out people they would like to train with. Already on the website are people hoping to contact golf, running, tennis and netball enthusiasts. n.stone@bathchron.co.uk |