WHile jogging on the track at the Y, I noticed a sign saying that people under 18 were prohibited from using the track without adult accompaniment. This struck me dumb (didn’t take much). Are they saying that the responsibility inherent in running fifty metres is the same as for voting, more than driving a car? What’s the problem with these morons?
The warning was probably there for a several reasons.
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Kids would be more likely to commit an act of vandalism.
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Most adults that go to gyms do not want to be bothered by a group of teenagers goofing around while they try to have a serious work out.
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Most adults that go to gyms may feel a bit of frustration at watching a teenager with a metabolism that allows them to eat anything and not gain a pound, running around as if they needed to lose any weight.
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To prevent possible law suits resulting from the angry adults in #3 from beating the daylights out of said teens.
friend dr_paprika,
i would love to have signs like that at my gym. sunday is the day that people can bring their kids to swim. there always seems to be someone who will drop a few kids off at the pool and go on to work out, possibly assuming that there will be someone there to fish the little imps off the bottom if they drown. pool toys in the whirpool are pretty much a drag too.
there are also high school athletic programs that send their kids to our gym (unsupervised) to work out. we greatly anticipate the end of football season.
And then there are the people my parents have to kick out of my sister’s way while she does laps. She’s a swimmer, and she does about an hour of laps (fly and back mostly) three days a week at open swim. (No one under 18 at lap swim) So my parents (10 mins of laps a piece, tops) get to sit in the pool and toss teenagers out of the single lap lane for 40 mins because they don’t respect a little redhead trying to do fly.
So while I understand unattended children shouldn’t use equipment as a way to goof off, I also understand my determined little sister’s complaints that everyone else in the pool is there to play and they get in the way of her excersise.
Not all teenagers have the best metabolisms. There are many teenagers who like to go to the gym to tone up and get healthy, and if there are insecure adults who don’t like it because a teen may be skinnier than them, then that’s their own freaking problem.
I agree with Broken Doll. I know a lot of teenagers who use the gym for it’s intended purpose. I assume that the signs would be in place so that the management can have a reason to toss out those who are the trouble makers. I’m sure that if a 16 or 17 year old was in there behaving properly no-one would complain.
Teenagers may be more likely to commit an act of vandalism, so they shouldn’t be allowed to run on the track? I’m not sure I fully follow your point. Gym members who vandalize should have their membership revoked and possible legal charges. Gym members who use the facilities responsibly should be a llowed to do so. Gym members who live in this town are sufficiently righteous that the one act of vandalism I have seen in the entire town was someone who scribbled the profane and deviant words “cock in cunt” on the sidewalk in chalk. Hoo hoo!
Teenagers should be allowed to use the facilities; if they are breaking other rules than fine.
I think the lawsuit argument is closer to the mark, but it strikes me as a weak and cowardly act. Age should not be a factor on whether the track is well maintained… assuming the facilities are used properly, a restriction based on age is unfair… I think an age restriction of 12 or 14 is sufficient if one is needed at all, which I question. I don’t thoink that many teenagers use the indoor track to begin with, and promoting fitness at young ages in as many ways as possible is beneficial to the community.
I go to a “family” YMCA, and you need to be at least 10 to be on the running track or anywhere else in the upstairs exercise equipment area. It doesn’t matter if the kids are with their parents or not (children under 10 are also required to be with a responsible adult anywhere in the building.) This makes sense to me, since younger children could get hurt (run over, pinched in the equipment, etc.) If you are under 18 (I think…maybe it’s 16), you need to wear a colored wristband showing that you’ve had the appropriate orientation in order to use the equipment. I don’t think you need to have an orientation to use the running track, as long as you look over 10 and are following the rules (going the right way, etc.)
There have occasionally been days where anyone of any age is allowed to use the running track.
I would guess that either Dr_Paprika’s gym has had problems in the past with teenagers, or that they are just trying to discourage children and teenagers and want to be an “adults-oriented” gym for whatever reason. We chose to join this YMCA because it was so family-oriented…other gyms in our area are much less tolerant of children. I haven’t had any problems with the teenagers I’ve encountered there so far.