No personal trainers have applied – yet – to access Servus Place during a one-year pilot.
The city, which launched the pilot in January, set the price at $1,200 a year for personal trainers who wanted to use the fitness facilities at the city-owned recreation centre to work out with their clients.
That’s eight times the fee that personal trainers pay to use facilities in Edmonton.
It’s been nearly a year since Mark Kay, a resident of St. Albert and a personal trainer, convinced council to order a one-year pilot program be conducted at Servus Place.
Prior to the council vote, an individual seeking to get personal training at Servus Place would have had to use the personal trainers employed by the city.
That saw Kay and other trainers heading to Edmonton to use the city facilities there, where there’s a program in place to allow them access for an annual fee.
This year, the fee for external personal trainers to be allowed to train in City of Edmonton recreation centres is $154, Kay said. Trainers and their clients also have to pay admission fees.
It’s a much less expensive option than the St. Albert fee, which was set $1,200 for a year. Admission fees would also have to be paid.
Kay said when he asks his contacts it seems cost is one of the big factors in keeping personal trainers from applying for the program.
“It’s mainly cost. Why pay 10 times more to be in St. Albert?” he said.
That isn’t the only reason Kay personally didn’t apply after campaigning for such a program to be implemented. He felt the notice on the program was too short – he only received details in December for a program starting in January. He would have liked more time to be able to set up clients who wanted to train at Servus Place.
He voiced his concerns with the city and did meet with some city staff including Jack Ballash, manager of Servus Place.
Ballash said a handful of trainers have inquired about the program.
“We’ve had five people who have expressed interest,” Ballash said. Of those five, a couple would fit the qualifications for the program, which would allow external personal trainers to access the fitness facilities at Servus Place to train their clients – for a price.
Ballash said the city stands by its program, which was created and priced out after a market assessment that looked at a variety of facilities across Alberta.
The price for external trainers to use the facilities ran from free to $10,000 at a place in southern Alberta.
“We’re proud of the program,” Ballash said.
He said guidelines are in place to ensure that any trainers using Servus Place would be on par with what city staff are offering.
The $100 a month fee was based on two hours of personal training a month, he said, which is close to the city’s personal trainer rates.
He said he feels it’s a fair and equitable program. He said many of the municipalities that were contacted for market research purposes are now asking for copies of St. Albert’s program to possibly use as a model.
Requirements for external personal trainers looking to access Servus Place include the need to have one of three accepted personal training certificates, commercial liability insurance with a minimum of $2-million, a City of St. Albert business licence and a security check.
Ballash said anyone applying now wouldn’t face the whole $1,200 fee, but instead would be pro-rated for the amount of time left in the year.
