The winners of the first annual Members' Choice Health Club Awards, supported by Health Club Management, will be announced at an event at the Hilton Metropole Birmingham, next to the NEC during the Leisure Industry Week (LIW) in September.

The awards are unique as the first consumer awards for the industry where members rate their clubs by completing an online questionnaire.

Simon Brown who runs the competition explains "The philosophy of our awards is very simple, all clubs whether small, large, independent, private or otherwise are all trying to provide good customer service and value for money.

"We believe the best judges of these factors are the customers who use the clubs on a regular basis, these awards are about the relationship between staff and members and the experience offered in relation to cost."

A total of 18 independent operators have been shortlisted and they have high hopes of doing well.

One such club is Thornton Health Club in Liverpool. Roy Burkey, general manager, said: "These are fantastic awards, just what the industry needs at this difficult time, best of all it is the members who vote, not a panel of judges, so the results are real in the eyes of the members.

"We all have our fingers crossed for the next stage!".

The winners will be announced on 21 September. The shortlisted clubs include both privately and publicly-owned clubs. For the full list of shortlisted clubs, click here for the July issue of Health Club Management pp.74-75.