Pilates News Roundup 2009

Written on December 29, 2023 - 4:39 am | by admin

Before we leave 2009 and resolutely march into 2010, I thought it would be fun to take a quick look over our shoulders at some of the Pilates news from the past year. I’ve put together a short list of the headlines that stand out for me.

Peak Pilates Sale to Spin Fitness - When Peak Pilates announced its sale to a bigger, and not specifically Pilates, company I had a lot of questions about what the sale meant for Peak Pilates, and what that kind of move might imply for the Pilates industry in general. I was able to fill in a few blanks with an Interview with the president of Peak Pilates, Julie Lobdell.

Pure Classical Pilates by Peter Fiasca - This informative and provocative guide to classical Pilates stands out for me as the most influential Pilates book of 2009. It certainly sparked some intense conversations in studios and around the internet. Read my review.

The Pilates Method Alliance Cancels 2009 Conference - A painful sign of the economic stress of the times, in May of 2009 the PMA announced it would not be able to hold its annual conference in November because registration sales were down 70%. The PMA says the 2010 conference is a go and on the calendar.

Power Pilates Sells to Apogee Lifestyle LLC - It’s starting to look like we might have to get used to Pilates companies selling to general lifestyle and fitness companies, but I still find it newsworthy, and vaguely disturbing.

Pilates Training Programs Dropping the Term “Certification” - In lieu of its annual conference, the PMA held a Pilates Teacher Training Summit. At that summit, many members of the PMA agreed to stop using the term certification to mark the completion of their teacher training programs. Other members of the PMA are considering adopting this policy. This is an important and contentious topic in the Pilates industry. Read more.

Certainly this is a short list of the “newsy” news. Lots of interesting things are happening in the Pilates world. Wonderful new Pilates DVDs and videos were abundant this year, for example. And one of the big trends I saw in 2009 was great new opportunities for continuing education for instructors — but that’s a topic for another big discussion. Did I miss something that sticks out in your mind as big news of 2009? Leave a comment below.

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