Clubindustry

The governor of New York, David Paterson, is proposing that health club memberships be taxed. Other states have proposed this option, too, some successfully and others not. Read more about the New York proposal here, and go to the bottom of this story for other states that proposed taxes on memberships.

Let us know what you think about taxing these services. How do you think it will affect health club memberships if this goes forward? If you are in a state that already taxes health club memberships, how has it affected your business?

Is the pool in your facility compliant with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act that goes into effect this Friday? See the story posted on our Web site for more details about this act. If you aren’t in compliance by Friday, Dec. 19, then you could be subject to a fine of up to $1.825 million and possible jail time.

Some organizations in the industry are calling upon Congress to delay the effective date of this act, saying that one year wasn’t long enough to replace the drains in their pools. They are asking pool operators to contact their congressional representatives to request a delay.

I’d be interested in knowing how many of you think one year was long enough. What were some of the issues you ran into when trying to come into compliance with this act?

Offer your thoughts on the subject by adding a comment to this blog.

A growing number of club owners are using active gaming in their children’s programming. However, I recently read about a retirement home using a Wii to engage their residents in more physical activity. That led me to wonder whether there was a market out there for active gaming with the growing senior population.

If you have an active gaming program that engages the senior population, please let me know. We may be writing a future article on this topic, and we could feature your facility in the article.

Today, we welcomed a new member to our staff, Stephanie Bloyd, our new senior associate editor. We’re trying not to overwhelm her too much today with information. You know how that goes on your first day at a new job, right?

Stephanie has a good background in print and online journalism. She had the great taste to go to the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!), where she earned a journalism degree. She’s worked for several magazines, including Mother Earth News and some food magazines at Sosland Publishing. Her reporting, writing and online experience will be valuable to the magazine/Web site and to our readers.

Stephanie will cover part of the for-profit sector (franchised clubs) as well as the military and university beats. So if you have news in those areas, feel free to contact her at stephanie.bloyd@penton.com.

The editors are excited to let you know about a free teleseminar we are offering with sales and marketing expert Casey Conrad. On Dec. 18, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, join Casey for a FREE teleseminar focusing on key skills and strategies every fitness salesperson needs to have for maximizing sales success. January is the busiest time of the year for health clubs. In tough economic times, you want to be certain your sales team is tuned up and ready to sell. This is training your club can’t afford to miss. (And best of all, it’s free!) Click here to register.

Brought to you as an educational service by Club Industryʼs Fitness Business Pro magazine.