The Town of LaSalle has seen a jump in fitness memberships at the Vollmer Recreation Centre over the past year.
Annual memberships are up 5%, the flex pass has seen a 33% hike while the bronze package has jumped 117%.
Director of Recreation and Culture Julie Columbus attributes the increase to the many options the Vollmer offers that residents can't get anywhere else.
She says many parents have started to work out while waiting for their kids.
"The unique part about the Vollmer, that maybe some other fitness areas don't have, is that we have a dual ice pad and we have an aquatic centre where there's a lot of parents that are sitting watching their kid's practice or in games or they're an hour early to drop them off and they're actually taking advantage of that down time to focus on themselves," she says.
Treadmills in the Fitness Centre at LaSalle's Vollmer Complex Jun 27. Many will be replaced as part of a $70,000 overhaul. (Photo by AM800's Gord Bacon)
She says they're hoping to further increase membership as the centre's walking track is free for 2018 and it appears a new marketing push is working.
"Marketing is always a struggle for businesses and municipalities to get the word out there," says Columbus. "Social media is a fantastic outlet for us. It's free. People of all ages use different kinds of social media platforms. We're also using print media, we're started to look at commercials, radio commercials, to get the word out."
The Vollmer Fitness Centre offers several membership packages with all seeing increases in 2017.