Bluewater’s new gym hours prove a big hit
July 27, 2018
Bluewater’s new 24/7 gym hours are proving a big hit, with more than 900 extra workout sessions already completed in the first month of operations.
The centre’s gym and Les Mills virtual room opened for 24/7 access on Friday, June 29 and Mayor Joe McCracken said the community response had exceeded expectations.
“It has been wonderful for the team at Bluewater to welcome so many new faces through the doors,” he said.
“I’m proud that we listened to the community, heard the message that more flexible operating hours were needed and got to work modifying the centre to deliver the 24/7 access.
“Now, a month into the operation, we have some wonderful data to show that the decision was a good one and that by removing barriers to participation we can improve the health and wellbeing of more and more people.”
Centre manager Lucy Vesey said staff had received great feedback and the numbers spoke for themselves.
“Since the 24/7 opening we’ve had 119 new Gold and Platinum members sign up and 63 of those Platinum memberships were Family Passes – so the number of new gym users is actually higher than 119,” she said.
“Although 24/7 access is provided to members at no extra cost, we do require that members complete a short induction before their swipe cards will allow access. So from that, we know that 403 members have been inducted for the 24/7 gym and virtual room.
“Our system shows 910 visits outside of our previous operating hours in the first four weeks, which equates to about 32 extra workout sessions each day.”
Cr McCracken said the Council was committed to including the community in its decision making and he was proud that Bluewater’s 24/7 decision was driven by the community, for the community.
“Our Council Plan talks about our culture around community partnerships, knowing and understanding our community’s needs and working with the community to deliver great outcomes and this is certainly one of those,” he said.
“Specifically, our Council Plan lists a goal to provide resources to support physical activity by the community and to deliver programs at Bluewater that promote physical activity and encourage participation.
“This has proven to be an extremely successful initiative to drive health and wellbeing outcomes in Colac Otway Shire.”
Council Enquiries
(03) 5232 9400