Lifting the weight off municipal fitness facilities: how your fitness facility can complete with private gyms.

More than 1,000 citizens of Carrollton, Texas, attended the grand opening of the 20,000 square-foot expansion at the popular Rosemeade Recreation Center in May 2003, The expansion included a second gym, new customer service desk, a 3,800 square-foot dance floor and a 5,000 square-foot fitness room. The fitness room, the number one amenity requested by the citizens, incorporated three components--a stretch area, cardio-equipment and strength training areas with multi-station fitness machines and free weights.

The fitness room was identified as the core service by staff when the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) went through a master planning process in 2001. Many professionals who have gone through the process of redefining parks and recreation services now realize it's not enough to say fitness is a core service--it's what citizens are looking for from most departments. By conducting focus groups with citizens, compiling independent surveys, demonstrating professional competencies in the field, and demonstrating that no existing services in the community were duplicated, the Carrollton Parks and Recreation Department had to determine what made the facility different from private health and fitness clubs and what park and recreation professionals need to do to stay competitive in this market?

First they need to identify what makes parks and recreation fitness facilities different from private-commercial facilities. Parks and recreation fitness center memberships/ annual passes are offered to the community for a fee that is affordable to the general public and is open to citizens of all ages, sex, race and religion. If high fees in commercial health and fitness facilities inhibit participation or prevent the general community from obtaining the benefits of fitness, PARD is there to provide an affordable alternative. A parks and recreation fitness center can even compliment and add value by offering the community a tiered pricing structure.

Parks and recreation facilities also offer special provisions for low-income or financially needy citizens and families. Since it is not a commercial for-profit franchise there are no high-pressure sales. PARD facilities also offer no promises of constantly toned muscles, added curves, and lost inches--the fitness rooms are simply there for citizens to use. The facilities are sometimes not fancy and rarely cutting edge, but they are clean and offer friendly services and professionally-trained staff. Most cannot afford to be open 24 hours a day, but do make every effort to be open as many hours as financially viable. Most park and recreation facilities track usage and are committed to changing operational hours that best meet citizens needs.

What do professionals need to do to be competitive in the market place? First, they need to be aware of resources that are available to the parks and recreation profession (the list below is not intended to be inclusive of all available resources--only those used in preparation of this article). Some of these include the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), U.S. Department of Justice-Federal Staff Fitness Centers, IRS-Exempt Organizations Technical Topics-Health Clubs, Ontario Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Associations (IHRSA), American Council on Exercise (ACE). These resources allow us to collect valuable information in the fitness industry.

A 1999 IHRSA club trend study reports that more than 20 million people from across the country currently exercise in private or public health/fitness facilities. People over the age of 35 hold a majority of these memberships or annual passes with the fastest-growing segment of the fitness boom being 55 and older. Specialty exercise programs for older persons and individuals with chronic diseases--like coronary heart disease (CHD)--are becoming more mainstream and popular among users. If public fitness facilities can diversify, they can attract these types of new members.

A survey in 1996 of 110 private health/fitness facilities in Massachusetts indicated that efforts to screen new members at enrollment were limited and inconsistent, while more than two thirds of the fitness facilities in that study, including the so-called "high quality" clubs, did not routinely practice emergency procedures. Another 2000 study in Ohio by AHA and ACSM published safety measures at health/fitness facilities simultaneously in two medical journals. These recommendations address the importance of screening for chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular screenings for all age groups, staff qualifications and emergency policies. The fitness facilities surveyed included both public and private fitness facilities.

The results were staggering: The survey reported that less than 50 percent of fitness center staff held bachelor's degrees in exercise science or a related field, and 12 percent of facilities reported that fitness staff did not have a degree in a related field. Thirty-two percent failed to certify their fitness instructors in basic life support, and more than 25 percent of fitness facilities did no pre-screening to "identify users/members with heart related medical conditions." Of the screenings that were reported, they were either done routinely or done on occasion. Only three percent reported having an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on site, despite 17 percent of the responding facilities reporting a cardiovascular medical emergency in the last five years. Less than 50 percent of the fitness facilities had a written emergency plan, and of those facilities reporting that they had an emergency plan 91 percent did not practice emergency preparedness procedures quarterly. Eighteen percent of the respondents reported knowing that fitness facility standards existed as published by AHA/ACSM.

Though the sampling of this study is relatively small, specifically because the information was from one state, comparative data from the Massachusetts study show equally poor adherence to nationally recommended safety practices. The safety measures form health and fitness facilities were developed by the AHA/ACSM along with representatives of the HIRSA and the YMCA's of America. These guidelines suggest a framework for optimizing safety during regulated and unsupervised exercise.

So when public parks and recreation departments contemplate what they can do to be competitive in the market place, we need only look to the Ohio and Massachusetts study. National standards for facilities, personnel and emergency preparedness exists. If PARDs can get on board with meeting the guidelines as published by either ASCM or Ontario Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (OASES), they better have the upper hand against private facilities.

ACSM and OASES have developed facility standards and guidelines that address the room design, operational safety, cleaning specifications, repair guidelines; policies, and procedures that can assist facility supervisors ire enhancing the level of service they provide the customer. Program personnel recommendations include: fitness instructors, personal trainers, program coordinators, and fitness center attendants. ACSM, OASES, HIRSA, ACE all recommend fitness staff hold and maintain a non-profit, nationally recognized exercise certification that complies with industry standards.

* Provides fitness staff pre-assessment tools for all fitness users

* Requires all fitness staff maintain CPR/First Aid/AED certifications

* Provides specific certifications for specialized areas

Youth Fitness

Nutrition

Exercise Prescription

Stress Management

ACSM, OASES, IHRSA, ACE each provide their version of a customer checklist that encourages citizens to compare facilities that best meets their needs. The checklist takes into account many considerations concerning the amenities and safety of a facility, fitness personnel qualifications, pre-screening criteria and emergency preparedness. When meeting industry standards, public facilities are also preparing to meet the customers' needs and expectations.

Recreation professionals can also learn a great deal from the experiences of other parks and recreation facilities that leave adopted guidelines to operate their fitness centers and govern staff compliance. In October 2002, seven months prior to the Carrollton grand opening, the staff requested information concerning fitness facility staffing. Several facilities told of certifications they accept and keep on file.

The Ida Lee Recreation Center in Leesburg, Va., the city of Arlington recreation centers in Texas and Hanscom Fitness and Sports Center-Armed Forces Recreation Society in New England recommends accepting ACE, ACSM, Aerobics & Fitness Association of America (AFAA), National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Cooper Institute certifications.

Most facilities, like those in Garland, Texas, prohibit for-profit groups through ordinances, policies and procedures external instructors from profiting using city fitness facilities. Cites either hire internal staff with exercise science degrees or have contracts with certified personal trainers. In all reports of cities using contract staff they require the contractor to carry the liability insurance and maintain certification in First Aid, CPR and AED training. The city of Leesburg in Virginia also uses a modified physical activity readiness questionnaire (PARQ) to screen all fitness center members. The PAR-Q is a simple screening questionnaire that Canadian fitness centers leave shown to be an effective tool for identifying high-risk members and increase the safety of non-supervised exercise.

Joining a fitness facility, whether it is commercial or public, is an investment in the customer's health and quality of life. Purchasing a membership or annual pass is an investment of time and money. It is the park and recreation professional's job to ensure that the facilities have a good reputation, are well-respected and meet industry standards.

The current population of Carrollton is 115,300. The newly-expanded Rosemeade Recreation Center boasts more than 6,000 members in just one year. According to recent customer surveys the main attractions were the fitness facility, the new gym and the affordable nature of membership fees. The city educated the public on the standards the center upholds in order to create the positive, safe experience members have come to expect. Our advice for other professionals involved in such a planning process is to determine if fitness is one of your core services, identify your place in the market and take advantage of the resources and industry standards that are available.

Standards Can Score Big

One way to compete with private facilities is to make sure your fitness center meets the industry standards for service. To be able to continue to offer affordable recreation to the entire community, check these topics to make sure your center upholds standards in:

* Safety

* Emergency Preparedness

* Professionally Certified Staff

* Customer Prescreening-design fitness routines-workouts

* Cleanliness of Facility and Fitness Equipment

* Preventative Maintenance Schedule for fitness equipment

* Use of resources