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Important Legislative News from New Jersey

4/16/09

Last week we informed our members about our victory in New Jersey with regard to the proposed Fitness Professionals Licensing Act. This information is so important we wanted to share it with the whole community at large!

The PMA has been very aware of the proposed bill in New Jersey which was designed to license ‘fitness professionals’. Unfortunately, the bill included Pilates teachers as a subset of personal trainers and fitness instructors. As the professional association and certification organization for the Pilates Method, we felt it was imperative to respond to this situation.

The bill's authors appeared to presume that the body of knowledge and skills of a personal trainer, as well as personal training certification, should be required of New Jersey Pilates teachers. The PMA has been deeply concerned about the negative effect the bill would have on New Jersey Pilates teachers and their clients. We have been encouraging New Jersey-based Pilates teachers to lobby the bill’s sponsors, Senator Paul A. Sarlo, and Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. against the passage of this bill.

On March 23, we sent an extensive package of materials to both the Senator and Assemblyman containing the following:

An Issue Brief delineating our key concerns, and identifying key factors in distinguishing Pilates from personal training
The PMA document ‘What is Pilates?’
The ‘PMA Role Delineation Study’ conforming to US Department of Labor Standards for job definition and workforce testing that demonstrates the critical differences between personal trainers and PMA Certified Pilates Teachers
PMA Code of Ethics & Scope of Practice
A copy of the proposed Fitness Professionals Licensing Act, with our suggested amendments, in order that they could most easily see where our concerns lay

The great news is that yesterday we spoke to Senator Sarlo’s Legislative Director, Kelly McGahn, who said that as a result of all the phone calls and emails they received from New Jersey Pilates teachers, which was followed by the package from the PMA, they have made the decision to remove any mention of Pilates from their bill. They assured us that this would be done, and that the bill would not go through its current form.

Pilates teachers who do not live in New Jersey may be inclined to dismiss this issue. However, it is important to remember that as Pilates continues to permeate mainstream consciousness, and with state and local governments desperate to find ways to bring in revenue, it may be a matter of time until regulation and licensure takes hold somewhere in the U.S. The likelihood is that when a state does eventually establish a license for “Fitness Professionals”, it could set a precedent that other states will follow. Therefore it’s essential that the PMA, its members, and everyone in our industry respond in unison when these bills are proposed, to protect Pilates teachers and their clients, and to educate those outside our industry about the distinctions between Pilates and other exercise methods. The PMA’s psychometrically validated ‘Role Delineation Study’ is the ultimate way to establish this.

PMA membership dues support our ability to do this essential work on behalf of Pilates teachers and their clients. We invite anyone who is not currently a PMA member to join our industry association, and support this essential work to protect the viability of the Pilates teaching profession.