By Nancy Brumback, Contributing Writer
Marlborough??”The Wayside Racquet & Swim Club has lowered and simplified its basic membership fees, making it easier to tailor a membership to the customer's needs.
General Manager Darren McLaughlin explained that Wayside has instituted a basic membership that covers all the club's facilities.
“We used to have higher monthly dues and lower activity fees, and now it's just the reverse,” he said, with the lower membership and increases in the fees for some activities such as tennis and racquetball court time and selected classes. The new fee schedule went into effect Sept. 1.
With a 12-month contract, plus a $25 enrollment fee, adult members will now pay $49 a month, a fee that covers all facilities – sauna, steam room, whirlpool, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fitness equipment, and group exercise classes. It also provides access to the tennis and racquetball courts, which do have an additional hourly fee.
If members prepay their 12-month contract, the fee drops to $495 for the year.
Couples pay the same rate for each adult, and families can add children to their membership contract at the time they join, with kids under 3 free. Children from 3 to 15 are $17 a month, or $185 if prepaid for the year, while children 16 to 24 are $27 per month or $295 prepaid for a year.
Seniors will pay $44 monthly for the 12-month contract or $445 if they prepay for the year.
If a customer wants to try out the facility before committing or needs only a short-term option, there's a monthly membership of $72 ($35 for children any age) available, also with the $25 enrollment feel.
“This new fee structure greatly simplifies our membership options, but still offers flexibility for those who need it,” McLaughlin said. “The variety of facilities available for the basic membership fee is unmatched in this area.”
Wayside's popular group exercise classes, which include zumba, yoga, pilates, barbell power, spinning and water fitness, nearly 70 different classes for adults, are included in the base membership, and McLaughlin noted the water fitness classes have been “extremely popular.”
Also popular are the recently added “functional training” machines in the club's fitness room. These machines help strengthen core muscles as groups that work together in everyday activities such as bending, twisting and lifting, rather than working individual muscles alone.
Swimming and fitness classes are available for children at different age and ability levels, as well as for adults and seniors.
Wayside's extensive tennis program for adults and kids includes both group and private lessons. Those looking for a purely social game can sign up for mixed play, round robins, and early bird, weeknight and weekend groups.
The club also fields teams in many competitive programs, including USTA junior teams in the 14-and-under and 18-and-under age groups, and adult teams in the Central Massachusetts Indoor Tennis League and the Dorothy Bruno Hills (DBH) Tennis League.
Options for league and tournament play are also available for racquetball players.
Wayside sponsors its own recreational swim team for children 5 to 18, which participates in swim meets in the Metrowest area during the winter season.
The Wayside club has been in business since 1979, and this past year has resurfaced its racquetball courts and completely redone the floor in the aerobics room.
“We encourage people to come and tour the facility,” McLaughlin said. “We want you to see what we have to offer.”
To find out more about programs and the revised fee schedule at Wayside Racquet & Swim Club, check the club's website, www.wayside.net, ?or call the membership office at 508-481-1797 to arrange a visit. The club is located at 80 Broadmeadow St. in Marlborough.
