Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 Oldcrabs
Is there a YWCA or a YMCA nearby ?
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Unfortunately there is no "Y" nearby. I've never seen anyone walking the 18 hole courses here, and I used to do it all the time up north. They are not set up for walking - long distances between some holes, and there are pace of play issues.
We have no way of knowing how many people would use a gym/health club without doing a survey. We can all guess any number we want. But the thing is, if the gyms were here, there would obviously be more people using them. People don't have any uncrowded gyms to use now!
To advertise the Villages as an active retirement community, and not have the gyms to support the residents is a major gaff in my opinion. As to whether or not the facitlities should be provided - what percentage of Villagers do clogging? how about polo?, how about billiards? how about paddle tennis? We provide facilities for all of the above and many many more - there is a small niche of people who support each activity. If I recall there were no paddle tennis courts at all so
no one was doing it until they installed the paddle tennis court up by Seabreeze.
Of course there are people who sit in the house and don't exercise for various reasons - infirmities or illness, lack of motovation or interest, etc., but for those who do need to exercise it would be great to have the facilities. We really have no idea how many people that would be without doing a good survey. Some people can't walk long periods of time or jog or play pickleball which by the way, is one of the most injury prone sports in the Villages, but they
can exercise on a treadmill or elliptical. As someone else mentioned, if you are a babyboomer, you are part of a group that has fueled the rise of healthclubs since the 1980's. I've read various statistics that show the percentage of health club members that are aged 55 and older ranges from 20-30%. That is huge. When we don't offer the health club facilties in the Villages, my opinion is that we are really missing the boat. You try living here in the summer when the heat index is 110 degrees and walk an 18 hole golf course. Good luck - they'd be scraping you off the cart path. I ride 20 miles/day on my bike, and had to be on the bike before 7 a.m. or it was just not do-able because of the heat. An airconditioned facility where I could do aerobic activity would be bliss.