By Camille Aubin
[email protected]
Towards the development of a much bigger gym, the Valley Fitness Center (VFC), a non-profit health and fitness facility, is seeking community support.
A brand new gym is on the horizon; there are plans and great hopes to build a health and fitness facility for the valley community. “We’re working with the district of Invermere (DOI) to secure a piece of land to make it happen. They [DOI] want to see us succeed,” said Teresa Rogal, manager of the VFC, to the Pioneer. “We’re a non-profit; this is for our community. We run a great business, and we own the building that we’re in, so we’re sitting in a good place to start this.”
The overcrowded facility for the past couple of years demonstrates the center’s popularity, and hence the need for more space. The new project will be a 15,000 square foot fitness center with a weight room that will be 2.5 times bigger than the current one. “Our town deserves a bigger fitness center for sure. It will include an oversized ground-floor studio so that it can double as a basketball court. The ground floor is really important because we have a lot of seniors that come to our center. And right now, they have to walk up two flights of stairs to get to our studio,” explained Rogal. “The access for seniors and for anyone with mobility issues to come and enjoy the class will be incredible.”
In addition to a mezzanine where stretches and cardio will be happening, the project will also include a climbing wall and a smoothie bar. “While you’re up on the mezzanine on your cardio equipment, you’ll overlook the climbing wall, watching people climb up. It will be pretty cool,” expressed Rogal with excitement.
Rogal describes the facility as a place where everyone can feel welcome and included. “It’s a wonderful facility where anyone in the community can go in at any time, at any age, any demographic. You can go in and feel so welcome. It’s wonderful to see a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old and a 30-year-old and all the way up to 50 and 80-years-old all working out alongside each other out there. It’s true community. People go to connect, and they love it. So we need to expand for our expanding community,” said Rogal.
The project is estimated to cost five million dollars. “Once we secure the land, we can work on grants applications,” explained Rogal. “The members of the community are also welcome to donate to the VFC.”
“We certainly want to try and help them, but we have to figure out where it’s going to go, what land we’ve got available to us,” expressed mayor Al Miller. “So in our efforts going forward, we’re going to do a land inventor, and figure out what’s the best solution is because certainly, we want to make the right choice and make sure that we plan this for the future.”
It’s time for the VFC to get the word out and meet the community! The VFC will host an old-fashioned car wash on Saturday, Aug. 14, at its facility starting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Raffle tickets will be available, as well as gourmet hot dogs, to help raise funds for the new facility. Visit http://www.valleyfitnesscentre.ca/ for more information.
