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JBSA News
NEWS | July 24, 2015

JBSA fitness centers now offer 24-hour access

Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

An Air Force Services Transformation Initiative providing Airmen with 24/7 access to installation fitness centers has come to Joint Base San Antonio.

Fitness Access After Hours began May 18 at JBSA-Lackland’s Chaparral Fitness Center and May 20 at JBSA-Randolph’s Rambler Fitness Center and is scheduled to start by Aug. 15 at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston’s Jimmy Brought Fitness Center.

The program, which allows unsupervised access to fitness centers after normal operating hours, was tested at six installations in 2013 before it was rolled out throughout the Air Force.

“It’s a great idea,” Marlin Richardson, Rambler Fitness Center fitness and sports manager, said. “It lets Airmen have 24/7 access to the facility so they can be ready and fit to fight.”

The program is open to all common access card holders and other Department of Defense ID card holders such as retirees and dependents.

Richardson said the Rambler Fitness Center started registering CAC holders for Fitness Access After Hours May 7, but the program did not begin until May 20.

Other DOD ID card holders began using the program this week, he said. They are issued proxy cards that provide them after-hours access to the fitness center.

Richardson said patrons who register at one of JBSA’s fitness centers may participate in Fitness Access After Hours at the other JBSA facilities, but they must register at each one they plan to visit and get their CAC and proxy cards swiped.

The registration process at each fitness center involves signing a statement of understanding and compliance with the program’s rules, which includes an assumption of risk of injury and waiver of claims, he said.

The rules cover items such as standards of conduct and discipline, the prohibition of  CAC and swipe card sharing, areas open and closed for use, the availability of emergency phones and what actions to take in the event of severe weather or a power outage. In addition, active-duty members are held responsible for the conduct of their dependents.

Patrons are also required to indicate their familiarity with how to safely use all fitness equipment during unmanned hours, Richardson said.

“If they aren’t familiar with the equipment, we have to set up an orientation session so they know how to use the equipment,” he said.

They are also briefed on the location of the emergency phone, first aid kit and automated external defibrillator, Richardson said.

Personal safety and the protection of the fitness centers’ equipment and other property are important components of the statement of understanding.

“There’s always a risk involved for theft, damage to property and assaults, but we haven’t had any issue that we know of,” Richardson said. “There are cameras throughout the facility.”

The statement of understanding emphasizes that actions such as theft, intentional damage to government property, sexual assault and inappropriate sexual behavior will not be tolerated and patrons engaging in such conduct are subject to measures that include revocation of privileges and discipline under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or civilian law.

Doug Price, Jimmy Brought Fitness Center fitness and sports manager, said the content of statements of understanding across JBSA is “basically the same.”

“Each location will differ slightly based on identifying fitness center areas that are restricted from public access after-hours,” he said. “For example, the Jimmy Brought Fitness Center indoor pool will have restricted access.”

Although a primary goal of the program is to accommodate Airmen who work unusual hours and may not be able to visit fitness centers during regular operating hours, it also benefits Airmen, civilian employees and retirees who wish to work out earlier in the day or avoid using the facilities during busy times of the day.

“The biggest benefit I see is fitness center access for shift workers who cannot make it in during regular business hours or for folks like myself who are early risers and prefer to kick-start their mornings with a workout before the normal opening time of 5 a.m.,” Price said.

Richardson said most people who have been using the Rambler Fitness Center since Fitness Access After Hours was implemented come between 3 and 5 a.m.

“We average maybe four or five patrons from midnight to 3 a.m. and 65 between 3 and 5,” he said.

Richardson also said heaviest usage after hours comes on weekdays rather than weekends.

The opposite is true at the Chaparral Fitness Center, Brett Cannon, Chaparral Fitness Center operations manager, said.

“Weekends are much higher due to us being closed longer overnight on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night,” he said.

Normal operating hours at the JBSA fitness centers are 5 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. holidays at the Jimmy Brought FC; 4:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends and holidays at the Chaparral FC; and 5 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends and holidays at the Rambler FC.

The Kelly Fitness Center, which is staffed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, also offers Fitness Access After Hours.