Image courtesy of Adrian Suarez-Avila
Adrian Suarez-Avila / Staff Writer
Yanelis Suarez was annoyed that she had to pay $2 for afternoon fitness classes at the FIU Recreation Center when those in the morning were free.
“I had classes during the morning,” said Suarez, a junior business administration major. “My only chance to work out was in the afternoon, and all the classes then were tagged with a fee.”
To balance this problem, the Rec Center at Modesto A. Maidique Campus started charging $1 for all of the classes it’s offering.
Both Robert Frye, director of Recreation Services, and Lia Jiannine, assistant director of fitness programs, decided that this was the best solution.
“We decided to make it more consistent and made it $1 across the board,” said Jiannine. “There were certain students who couldn’t come in the morning, so it wasn’t fair to make them pay $2. It just made more sense to make every class $1.”
Frye said that part of the reason for charging evenly was also to motivate students to begin working out in the morning, the time of day in which the fewest amount of students would participate.
Some students complained about the difference in prices.
“The point was to get people [to work out] because less people were coming in the morning and working out on the weekends,” Jiannine said. “Students even came in complaining about the price difference.”
But the price change has had positive effects.
According to Jiannine, the all-access pass that was sold previously for $60 is now sold for $30 as a result of the change in class fees.
With the all-access pass, students can take advantage of all the available classes until the end of the semester. They may even reserve a spot in classes that normally fill to capacity quickly.
The pass also prevents the hassle of carrying money.
“The biggest thing, at least I would presume, is that you don’t have to constantly bring a dollar,” said Jiannine.
Jiannine also drew attention to the fact that, outside of the University, a single fitness class can cost up to $20.
Students, like Suarez, seem appeased as a result.
“I settled on getting the all-access pass,” said Suarez. “The new system really does make getting in shape more affordable.”
The schedule of classes changes every semester based on Jiannine’s evaluation of participants’ schedules.
“I don’t make a schedule until every student gets a chance to register for classes,” she said. “A lot of people [pick] their academic classes around their [exercise] schedule.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is the Center’s incentive program, which rewards students who have taken advantage of services with prizes such as water bottles, sweat towels and tank tops.
Among the various classes offered by the Recreation Center are Cycling, Fierce and Fit, Zumboxing, tabata, Bollywood bodyworks, yoga, pilates, turbo kick, capoeira, and twerk fit.
Enrollment in some classes that had previously been free has even remained consistent.
Jiannine is glad with the present results.
“So many more [classes] are cheaper,” she said. “This should definitely be an incentive to get people in here.”
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I’m surprised a Business Administration major doesn’t understand the concept of supply and demand. If you schedule yourself to morning classes, it’s no one’s fault but your own to not be able to attend morning classes. Now the people who actually took advantage of the free classes aren’t going to show up. Not a smart move.