Lacy: York students not receiving value for money gym membership
Athletic Union President Alex Lacy has accused the University of reneging on an agreement over fitness suite fees. Figures obtained by Nouse have shown that York students receive the worst value for money gym membership of any of the Complete University Guide’s top 20 universities.
Lacy claims that the Sports Centre and the University had agreed a deal in return for lower fitness suite fees. He said: “I understood the deal between the AU and the university to be that we incorporate the sports centre membership into the membership of the AU, and they would return by meeting us in the middle with fitness suite fees. I feel that the sports centre have made a mistake with their annual membership costs.”
Formerly, Sports Centre membership has been optional for York Sport members with the understanding that some sports clubs will not need to use their facilities. Under the new rules, those looking to join a York Sport club will have to pay a combined membership fee of £40 before they can participate.
The current cost of fitness suite membership is set at £180 for 12 months, compared with an average of £120 per year for other universities across the country, many of which having superior facilities.
Lacy said the price should be brought in line with the £120 average gym membership figure, especially as many of the facilities, including the running track and outdoor courts are still “entirely unacceptable.”
Director of Commercial Services Jon Greenwood admitted that there is much left to be
done: “Last year, a lot of people weren’t using [the sports centre] because it was a state. We desperately need new netball courts and need to invest in the track as soon as possible.”
Greenwood also said that he had to “scrounge” for money every year to update sub standard facilities: “I think I’ve done really well to get the money that I have for sports over the past three years. If I wasn’t here, it would have just plodded along and the university would have left it to fall apart.”
According to documents given to York Sport, acting Sports and Recreation Manager Rena Quarton had compiled a set of tariffs much lower than the current prices, but had the proposals rejected by Jon Greenwood. When asked about the figures, Quarton said “I had put through some lower estimates that I thought were competitive, but at the end of the day I have to agree with my line manager”.
In a meeting about the raises, Greenwood told Nouse: “We’ve had to tweak the prices so that we wouldn’t lose a shed load of money again… The fitness suite is the only place we can make any real money from, and that subsidises the timetable that the AU have been given for club use. I think what we have there now justifies the money we’re charging for it.”
Concerns are also being raised about the new sports development on Heslington East. Due to a £2,000,000 investment in the project by the local council, Greenwood suggests that student access to the facility will be limited, with more focus being put on supporting local residents: “For students, the centre of sport will still be [on campus], but I think that the new development will be aimed at the public.”
The Heslington East sports facility is expected to include a swimming complex and a state of the art fitness suite.
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“I think what we have there now justifies the money we’re charging for it.”
Regardless of whether it’s value for money or not, charging £40 to any Sports club member is an absolute farce.
As a member of the Pool and Snooker Society, I am required to pay £40 this year, instead of £15 last year. This is despite Yorksport not providing our club with any facilities at all. Whilst the lack of facilities isn’t an issue, being forced to pay for sports facilities we do not use is a complete rip-off, and we shouldn’t be forced to subsidise the cost for those who do use the Sports Centre facilities.
This article is taken from my personal blog…
“If you logged on to my website and saw a message that told you that you had to pay £15.00 per year in order to read this blog then I have no doubts that you would simply leave the site, never to return. If, however, you decided that £15.00 was a fair price – and that you liked the blog enough to consider it value for money – then you would then have the ‘choice ‘ of paying the fee or not. That would be fair enough. Nobody can complain about being given an informed choice. But what would you think if, having decided to pay the membership fee, you were then told you must pay a further £25.00 per year to be able to comment on the articles? You’d probably draw the line here and either stick with the basic membership fee or not bother at all. But what if it went further than this? What if it transpired that to be eligible to become an ordinary site member, paying the £25.00 fee to have the right to make comments was compulsory – making it a case of paying £40.00 per year just to read the site? You would almost certainly be so outraged at this blatant profiteering that you would go straight to The Press website and slag me off on the forums. And rightly so!
What am I waffling on about? Well the fictional scenario I have just described is exactly the situation created by the University of York Athletic Union (now known as York Sport) for students wishing to represent the University at British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) events. Previously it cost £15.00 for membership of the society, which was fair enough. If you wanted to use the sports centre you then paid a further fee on top of your membership. Again this was all about that word ‘choice’ again. Imagine my surprise when I went on to the York Sport website to renew my membership this year only to discover that the price had gone up by £25.00! It turns out that joining the sports centre is now compulsory. Seeing as the sports centre does not provide any facilities for the sports I enjoy (snooker and pool) I, quite naturally, was somewhat aggrieved at this stealth tax being imposed on me. When I emailed York Sport’s secretary, Harry Collins (pictured), with my concerns he replied with a load of bluster and rhetoric – failing to address any of my points – and proceeded to accuse me of being “aggressive” and of trying to blackmail York Sport into agreeing to my demands. In fact his email could have been written by a Labour MP, such were the levels of spin and deflection of the issues I raised.
Harry Collins
Harry Collins
I wouldn’t say I had made any demands other than my basic consumer rights. I should not have to pay for something I neither want or need in order to be eligible to do something I have done for the last two years.
In true Rust style, I have decided to make a stand on this issue and fully intend to kick up a stink until York Sport realises that they are morally and, possibly, legally in the wrong here.
I think Harry Collins has failed to understand that he is not dealing with some naive eighteen-year-old who will just pay without questioning what he is getting for his money. I actually surprised myself when I realised how angry this rip-off attempt had made me. I’m usually so calm and tranquil!”