YMCA health club to close after struggling to remain financially viable.

YMCA health club will close its doors at the end of the month after struggling to remain financially viable.
Club members expressed anger after receiving the news last week in a letter from club manager Lissa McIldowney, while Hepburn Shire has promised to investigate new options for a heath club.Ballarat YMCA chief executive Malcolm Healey said the Smith Street facility was not financially viable in its current location in the grounds of Daylesford Secondary College and would close on June 30. “We have explored several alternatives for the health club’s continuation, but unfortunately we have not been able to achieve a positive outcome,” Mr Healey said.He said the site’s location and limited day-time access, as well as issues of amenity, had restricted the health club’s ability to attract sustainable membership.Patrons with term memberships or membership passes will have the balance of their payments refunded. Mr Healey said the six casual YMCA staff affected by the closure would be supported to find alternative employment. Club member Kathleen Murray said Daylesford was being “geographically discriminated against” by the closure. “.This is a sudden and hugely disappointing announcement which leaves the local residents without any access to a gymnasium before and after work.”It also makes it incredibly difficult for locals to try and keep fit during the colder months,” Mrs Murray said. She said many members were angry and the decision to close the gym made the promotion of health and wellbeing in the area laughable.Daylesford Secondary College acting principal Tiffany Holt said the decision by the YMCA came as a shock to the school.”The college has been in ongoing lengthy discussions with the shire regarding ways to maximise the use and availability of the health club, and we will continue to nvestigate ways to maintain this great facility for the benefit of both our school community and the wider community,” she said.Hepburn Shire mayor Rod May said the decision was regrettable but unavoidable.”According to the YMCA, the ongoing operation of the club was clearly not financially sustainable and they were left with no other choice.”Council is committed to working with both the YMCA and the Daylesford Secondary College to explore other options so our community can continue to enjoy the benefits such a club and facility provides,” he said.Club members who contacted The Advocate paid tribute to Ms McIldowney for her leadership of the club and expressed sadness they would no longer be able to exercise together at the facility.
http://www.hepburnadvocate.com
The Advocate

YMCA health club to close after struggling to remain financially viable.

YMCA health club will close its doors at the end of the month after struggling to remain financially viable.
Club members expressed anger after receiving the news last week in a letter from club manager Lissa McIldowney, while Hepburn Shire has promised to investigate new options for a heath club.Ballarat YMCA chief executive Malcolm Healey said the Smith Street facility was not financially viable in its current location in the grounds of Daylesford Secondary College and would close on June 30. “We have explored several alternatives for the health club’s continuation, but unfortunately we have not been able to achieve a positive outcome,” Mr Healey said.He said the site’s location and limited day-time access, as well as issues of amenity, had restricted the health club’s ability to attract sustainable membership.Patrons with term memberships or membership passes will have the balance of their payments refunded. Mr Healey said the six casual YMCA staff affected by the closure would be supported to find alternative employment. Club member Kathleen Murray said Daylesford was being “geographically discriminated against” by the closure. “.This is a sudden and hugely disappointing announcement which leaves the local residents without any access to a gymnasium before and after work.”It also makes it incredibly difficult for locals to try and keep fit during the colder months,” Mrs Murray said. She said many members were angry and the decision to close the gym made the promotion of health and wellbeing in the area laughable.Daylesford Secondary College acting principal Tiffany Holt said the decision by the YMCA came as a shock to the school.”The college has been in ongoing lengthy discussions with the shire regarding ways to maximise the use and availability of the health club, and we will continue to nvestigate ways to maintain this great facility for the benefit of both our school community and the wider community,” she said.Hepburn Shire mayor Rod May said the decision was regrettable but unavoidable.”According to the YMCA, the ongoing operation of the club was clearly not financially sustainable and they were left with no other choice.”Council is committed to working with both the YMCA and the Daylesford Secondary College to explore other options so our community can continue to enjoy the benefits such a club and facility provides,” he said.Club members who contacted The Advocate paid tribute to Ms McIldowney for her leadership of the club and expressed sadness they would no longer be able to exercise together at the facility.
http://www.hepburnadvocate.com
The Advocate

International Health Club News…… Ruling to free health club members from long contracts

Anyone tied into a gym contract of more than a year should be able to cancel it more easily and without cost, following a landmark ruling last month. Working up a sweat: The ruling could mean that other gyms will not be able to tie customers into contracts for more than 12 months. In May, the Office of Fair Trading won a ruling at the High Court against Ashbourne Management Services, which draws up contracts and collects payments from independent gyms. This Friday the High Court is set to make an enforcement order on the ruling which could mean that anyone who is signed up to a gym contract that is longer than 12 months will be able to cancel it for free. During the case the judge looked at 13 Ashbourne contracts, ruling that in 10 of them the lengthy minimum membership periods (usually 12, 24 or 36 months) were unfair when Ashbourne knew that many consumers stop attending the gym after two or three months. He also ruled that three other contracts were still unfair because they tied members in for more than 12 months. The ruling, although not yet legally binding, could see other gyms follow suit. Current contracts for 12 months or longer do not need to be cancelled, but gyms will not be able to enforce penalties or insist that members pay for the whole amount outstanding if members decide to leave.It also means that gym-goers can cancel their memberships without cost, even if it is within 12 months, if they raise genuine issues about the quality of the gym. The OFT said that the ruling should give other businesses in the sector which use similar terms an ‘understanding of how a court would rule’ if its terms or contracts were unfair.Jason Freeman, Director in the OFT Goods and Consumer Group, said: ‘Unfair terms that unreasonably bind consumers into long contracts they cannot leave, and heavy-handed collection techniques, have no place in businesses’ dealings with consumers. ‘This ruling should help traders to understand where the boundaries lie, and sends a warning that if they cross the line, the OFT and local trading standards services can take action.’

International Health Club News…… Ruling to free health club members from long contracts

Anyone tied into a gym contract of more than a year should be able to cancel it more easily and without cost, following a landmark ruling last month. Working up a sweat: The ruling could mean that other gyms will not be able to tie customers into contracts for more than 12 months. In May, the Office of Fair Trading won a ruling at the High Court against Ashbourne Management Services, which draws up contracts and collects payments from independent gyms. This Friday the High Court is set to make an enforcement order on the ruling which could mean that anyone who is signed up to a gym contract that is longer than 12 months will be able to cancel it for free. During the case the judge looked at 13 Ashbourne contracts, ruling that in 10 of them the lengthy minimum membership periods (usually 12, 24 or 36 months) were unfair when Ashbourne knew that many consumers stop attending the gym after two or three months. He also ruled that three other contracts were still unfair because they tied members in for more than 12 months. The ruling, although not yet legally binding, could see other gyms follow suit. Current contracts for 12 months or longer do not need to be cancelled, but gyms will not be able to enforce penalties or insist that members pay for the whole amount outstanding if members decide to leave.It also means that gym-goers can cancel their memberships without cost, even if it is within 12 months, if they raise genuine issues about the quality of the gym. The OFT said that the ruling should give other businesses in the sector which use similar terms an ‘understanding of how a court would rule’ if its terms or contracts were unfair.Jason Freeman, Director in the OFT Goods and Consumer Group, said: ‘Unfair terms that unreasonably bind consumers into long contracts they cannot leave, and heavy-handed collection techniques, have no place in businesses’ dealings with consumers. ‘This ruling should help traders to understand where the boundaries lie, and sends a warning that if they cross the line, the OFT and local trading standards services can take action.’

World Gym Shuts Doors After Dispute Between Owner, Landlord

World Gym Shuts Doors After Dispute Between Owner, Landlord
Sign in window calls closure ‘temporary’ but at least one member is not so sure.

By Karen Sorensen
http://plainfield.patch.com

World Gym members in Plainfield are learning the hard way their workout facility has “temporarily” closed — when they are greeted by a sign on the front window telling them to use the World Gym in Montgomery.The fitness center shut its doors late last week, the result of a dispute between the building owner and the owner of the Plainfield World Gym franchise, said Esther Colima, a staff member for the Montgomery World Gym.Colima said she did not know the nature of the dispute or if the gym, at 12337 S. Route 59, would reopen. In the meantime, she said, they’re seeing as many as a dozen Plainfield members using their facility daily because of the closure.At least one member said in an e-mail Tuesday that he feared that gym may be closed permanently, and that people who had paid in advance would not be reimbursed.”I know people, me included, prepaid for the summer and others have an automatic debit [for] which we will probably never see a refund,” Kurt Corrigan wrote. “All everyone wants is their money back and to move on, but it does not seem they are going to honor that.”The owner of the gym could not be reached for comment. Building owner Joe Ardovich, whose strip mall includes several other businesses, including Limestone Brewing Company, did not return phone calls.Calls to the World Gym corporate offices in Downers Grove also were not returned.If the Plainfield facility does not reopen, it would follow on the heels of the World Gym in Elgin, which is owned by the same franchise holder and shut its doors in May. Customers there, too, are being told to use their memberships at the Montgomery facility or file a claim for a reimbursement.According to the World Gym Web site, annual memberships cost $29.99 and members pay for each month in advance. For singles, that amount is $23.85, for couples it’s $33.85 and for families it’s $43.85 ($25 additional for every family member beyond the first three).So far, the village has not received any complaints about the fitness center’s closure, said village spokeswoman Amy De Boni.

World Gym Shuts Doors After Dispute Between Owner, Landlord

World Gym Shuts Doors After Dispute Between Owner, Landlord
Sign in window calls closure ‘temporary’ but at least one member is not so sure.

By Karen Sorensen
http://plainfield.patch.com

World Gym members in Plainfield are learning the hard way their workout facility has “temporarily” closed — when they are greeted by a sign on the front window telling them to use the World Gym in Montgomery.The fitness center shut its doors late last week, the result of a dispute between the building owner and the owner of the Plainfield World Gym franchise, said Esther Colima, a staff member for the Montgomery World Gym.Colima said she did not know the nature of the dispute or if the gym, at 12337 S. Route 59, would reopen. In the meantime, she said, they’re seeing as many as a dozen Plainfield members using their facility daily because of the closure.At least one member said in an e-mail Tuesday that he feared that gym may be closed permanently, and that people who had paid in advance would not be reimbursed.”I know people, me included, prepaid for the summer and others have an automatic debit [for] which we will probably never see a refund,” Kurt Corrigan wrote. “All everyone wants is their money back and to move on, but it does not seem they are going to honor that.”The owner of the gym could not be reached for comment. Building owner Joe Ardovich, whose strip mall includes several other businesses, including Limestone Brewing Company, did not return phone calls.Calls to the World Gym corporate offices in Downers Grove also were not returned.If the Plainfield facility does not reopen, it would follow on the heels of the World Gym in Elgin, which is owned by the same franchise holder and shut its doors in May. Customers there, too, are being told to use their memberships at the Montgomery facility or file a claim for a reimbursement.According to the World Gym Web site, annual memberships cost $29.99 and members pay for each month in advance. For singles, that amount is $23.85, for couples it’s $33.85 and for families it’s $43.85 ($25 additional for every family member beyond the first three).So far, the village has not received any complaints about the fitness center’s closure, said village spokeswoman Amy De Boni.