Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 12, December 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Seattle Athletic Club adapts

to changes in fitness industry

By JAMES BUSH

Opened during the height of the early 1980s racquetball craze, the Seattle Athletic Club/Northgate has proven that change is good.

"This club was built as a racquetball club: we had 10 courts here," says general manager Kip Heilman. "Guess what, we have two courts now."

The courts didn't disappear: One now houses a fleet of stationary bicycles for fitness classes, another is filled with cardiovascular machines, such as treadmills and StairMasters. Three more are now dedicated to squash, another racquet sport. The ever-expanding weight room has claimed a couple more. The last serves as the "Kids Court," the club's child care space, and is now filled with toys, rather than racquetball players.

Heilman, who first worked at the club as a college student in 1987, has had a ringside seat for the changes. "I outlasted everyone else, so now here I sit as the general manager," he jokes.

The case of the reusable courts shows how fitness clubs must closely follow (and even anticipate) trends in how people exercise. "What the industry and the customer demands is what you're going to do," says Heilman. "It's gone from just a racquetball club to all things to all people."

Some things have stayed the same. The club's gymnasium (filled on the day of our tour by members of the Silver Sneakers senior fitness class) is still the site of many basketball games; the club's pool converts from a four-lane lap pool on weekdays to a family play area on weekends. "It's not the sleekest, newest facility, but it certainly is comfortable space," notes Heilman.

Programming is another key to the club's success. A glance at the summer activity schedule shows classes in yoga and triathlon training, fun runs, walking and hiking groups, and instruction in white water rafting.

The Seattle Athletic Club/Northgate is affiliated with the San Francisco-based Western Athletic Clubs, which also operates the Seattle Athletic Club/Downtown and the Bellevue Place Club (their joint Web site is at www.ThreeGreatClubs.com). All three clubs are independently operated and maintain their own membership lists.

Heilman, raised in a small town in Eastern Washington, says each of the clubs is run as almost "a mom-and-pop operation," each with longtime members and traditions of its own. For example, a college professor who is a member of the Seattle Athletic Club/Northgate has run a film screening and discussion series in the club's second-floor cafe for several years.

Heilman, who was preparing for a career in law when he got hired at the club 16 years ago and never left, fits right in. "It's hard to do business in this economy," he says. "But it's easy to come to work here."

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The Seattle Athletic Club/Northgate is located at 333 N. 97th St. For more information, call 522-9400.