Financial Stability:
The financial stability of a club is a very important consideration as many clubs have closed due to financial problems. Members have lost prepaid dues and initiation fees. The Gorge Fitness Centre is an affiliate centre of the Go Rowing and Paddling Association of Canada (est. 1996), which is a non-profit Amateur Athletic Association, and registered charity, dedicated to sharing the benefits of sport with Canadians of all ages and athletic abilities.

Membership Sales:
Take special note of the way a club is presented to you. Is it high pressure with statements such as "join today - the price is going up tomorrow"? Does the club constantly run specials such as two for one? Are you going to join today and next month find out a friend joined for half price? Does the club have printed information readily available on its fee schedules, or do the amounts change with each sales pitch? If the club is using high pressure techniques, think it over first.

Any of our staff members would be pleased to show you around our facilities. We do not try to pressure you into joining; in fact, we encourage you to look at other clubs. We are confident that the quality and accessibility of our club will sell itself. Our membership dues are never varied as we realized a constant cash flow is necessary to keep us in business.

Lifetime Memberships:
Do not purchase a "lifetime membership" as it does not refer to your lifetime, but the club’s lifetime. If the club closes, you have lost your membership fees with slim recourse. Three to five year memberships should also be avoided. Clubs that offer long term contracts are usually in poor financial condition, and are often trying to create cash flow to keep them operating.
The Gorge Fitness Centre does not offer memberships on more than a yearly basis and we offer several payment options. We want our members to be happy and satisfied.

We do not bind our members to lengthy contracts; in fact you can cancel your monthly membership payments at any time by giving us 30 days written notice. Therefore, the success of the Gorge Fitness Centre is based totally on our ability to keep you and the rest of our membership happy.

Talk to Members:
Talk to club members as they are a great source of information. Seventy-five percent of our members have joined as a result of members recommending the Gorge Fitness Centre to their friends and business associates.

Fee Increases:
Beware of clubs that promise no dues increase. In this day of rising costs, there are only two ways to cover them - raise dues or sell more memberships.
Gorge Fitness Centre dues have not increased over the past few years and we try to keep them as reasonable as possible. However, we are in one of the highest rent areas of Victoria and in order to keep services and facilities at a high standard, we must occasionally increase dues. Your dues are guaranteed at the same level for one year from joining.

Staff:
How well trained are the club’s fitness staff and what does "certified" instructor mean? Some clubs run their own "certification programs" which generally are not recognized by the fitness industry. Our fitness centre is run by a University Physical Education graduate and all our fitness instructors must be fully certified by a B.C.R.P.A. approved course, have CPR and are constantly upgraded with seminars and training.

Maintenance and Cleanliness:
These are very important clues as to the quality of a club and also its financial stability. Often when a club is in difficulty, the maintenance is the first thing to be cut back. We are proud of the condition and cleanliness of our club.

Suggestions:
Our club is open to all suggestions for improving the facility and programs; however, we will only implement a suggested change if it benefits the entire membership.

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We hope this letter has been of interest and help to you in selecting a club and we hope we will be able to welcome you as a member of the Gorge Fitness Centre.