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COMMENT: The high price of fitness at the PEC
In theory, a university Sports Centre like Queen’s PEC should be making its facilities as accessible as possible to students, due to the fact it’s a university sports centre.
BY EMMA CREEN
The PEC claims to have made membership “even more flexible”, with “new student packages” such as the option of paying monthly by direct debit, offers for peak and off-peak times, as well as an academic year 9-month membership. But what is not advertised is the fact that the prices of these membership packages have inflated to double what they were two years ago. Just two years ago, a Queen’s student could avail of an all-inclusive membership for £100. Now this has gone up to £222.
“Even more flexible” perhaps on paper, due to the various membership options, (which start at £112 for Queen’s students, if you opt for the 9-month off-peak rate, which isn’t much use for those with classes after 4pm) but sure to leave a large dent in your student loan. Even the cost for a non-member Queen’s student’s admission per visit to the gym, swimming pool or a fitness class has doubled from £2 to £4.
Instead of making the most of the facilities, many students are now unable to afford to use the PEC as often as previously; swimming three times a week now costs as much as paying for monthly membership by direct debit. It is clear that the PEC’s new price rates are there to encourage students to take out pricey memberships instead of coming and going as they please.
Regardless of the quality of facilities and equipment or the interior design of the building, surely a university sports facility should be there primarily for all students to enjoy, not reaping an enormous profit.
Tags: Emma Creen, Gown, newspaper, pec, qub, Queen's, Queen's Sport, queen's university, student, The Gown
This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 1:12 am and is filed under Opinion, Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The library at queen's is available for public use, but when we as students pay our (fairly hefty) fees, we are automatically entitled to free access to it.
Why should sports facilities be any different?
Any time I have been in the PEC in the evenings recently, i've seen more middle aged, middle class men there than students. It seems to be becoming something of an after-work club for the lawyers and estate agents of south belfast.
Why? Because they're the only ones who can afford it ;).
I am in a club that requires me to purchase about £170 worth of gear (after student discounts) and pay about £180 on trips throughout the year (before supplies - food, etc.). I simply cannot afford to pay for the PEC membership also. I have been forced into a situation where I must photocopy and laminate a friends card to get in. It's either that or give up a new passion. Not. Fair.
as a former trinity sports centre member the levy introduced 2 or so years ago is 150 euro, this applies to all student whether you use the facilities or not. its fair in my opinion as the college funds plenty of things i dont use myself and this promotes sport/health. the issue with clubs in the pec is that non members have to pay 4 pound to enter the building for each club session even though they're not using the gym or pool, very tight on the PEC's behalf.
When the price rise originally happened in 2008 I compared QUB prices with other uni gyms in Ireland and the UK. We have by far the most expensive membership (£20 more than the next - DCU in Dublin).
year off-peak
QUB - £222 £150
DCU - £203
Newcastle £175
UCD - £170 £122
Oxford £160 3 years for £355
Galway - £134 £97
Jordanstown £100
Coleraine £100
Edinburgh £95 £55
Trinity - £57 Student levy
Glasgow £35
Cambridge £35
When I emailed the student union president about it he said he was looking into it, but nothing ever came out of it.
I wouldn't mind if it was relative to the cost of living. Northern Ireland has the lowest wages in the UK or Ireland (60% lower than the republic's minimum wage for under 21s), yet the PEC has the highest charges. It doesn't make sense.
The Cambridge gym is shite, though, and is subsidised quite heavily by each College. There's no pool and the selection of machines are non-existent.
Think relatiely though. Before the extension it was £50 for a year all in, what is it now for the same (or at least nine months)? Four times that? Are the facilities four times better? Inflation has not been that much.
In regards to clubs being effected by the high prices...I'm not entirely sure this is relevant, but I know parents of hurlers who have had to fork out over 200quid for their son's kit etc. Does QUB not have a fund which is meant to support clubs and societies?
Also, the government runs campaigns about health and fitness etc... So why isnt the facility free for all current students? Or if not free, then at least reasonably priced to the point of students and others lauding the value of it?
I do like some of the lads who worj there though, they're genuinelys passionate and helpful to users (gym users not drug users which that sort of alluded to!).
The prices at the PEC have dramatically effected sporting clubs that use the venue as a training facility. Some clubs including martial arts clubs have had their memberships drop off drastically and may even be closed due to increased costs imposed by the PEC.
Its not even as if the PEC are making a profit anymore, renovations were undertaken without any real planning as to the increased cost to membership they would necessitate. That and some frankly piss poor management at the PEC have resulted in a situation where students would like to attend the PEC (a university facility) but cannot afford to.
I think it should be free. Why do we have to pay for EVERYTHING? At the same time though, I hear lads in my class complaining about paying for books. Hello? You're at university. I'd say the same fellas wouldn't mind spending a few shillings on a round of pints. It's all about priorities.
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The PEC at QUB has spectacularly let down the students studying here, as said by Niamh, the only ones who can afford it nowadays are the lawyers and estate agents of South Belfast as it has effectively priced itself out of all student budgets. I'm sure since the building work took place over 3 years ago most if not all the money has been recouped by the Queens Sports body/brand.
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