Elizabeth Fitzgerald- Assignment 1

I chose to research Bally Total Fitness. This agency is a worldwide club that anyone can become a member of if they want to. Bally Total Fitness offers a wide variety of workout equipment, programs, and personal training. Any age group is allowed and encourages to join. The intent is for people that want to get or stay in shape and be healthy. Bally Total Fitness is a great place for anyone that wants to take part in this type of leisure.



Bally Total Fitness is a unique place for working out which has given it its fame today. It has divided up into different smaller franchises across the country. There are more than 30 of these franchises today. The Lions Manufacturing Company founded Bally Total Fitness in 1931, changing its name to Bally Manufacturing. Bally Manufacturing purchased different kinds of clubs and the whole thing took off. Now the headquarters of Bally are in Chicago, Illinois.



Bally Total Fitness offers many different employment opportunities. Opportunities range from working as a receptionist at the front desk to being a personal trainer working one on one with the members. More jobs include life guarding at certain locations and the sales of equipment. One way to get your foot in the door at Bally Total Fitness is to attend to many career fairs and employment events held at a number of locations across the country. At certain locations there is even specific training that Bally offers to its future employees.



In 2007, Bally Total Fitness declared bankruptcy. They were over 700 million dollars in debt. To me this shows that today more and more people are doing their leisure on their own in their homes and on their own. With the economy not in good shape people are less willing to pay to be a member of a certain organization and would rather save their money and do leisure themselves. However, Bally is still trying to climb out of their debt. One thing they might plan on doing is breaking down into smaller organizations in hopes of relieving their debt.



This organizations definition of leisure is one of exercise and working out. People that are interested in feeling better and relaxing by being active would enjoy the leisure activities at Bally Total Fitness. Bally allows people to workout when they want to and how they want. They are about attaining goals, staying healthy, and staying in shape with physical activity.

I enjoyed my experience with Bally Total Fitness. The people there were friendly and helpful. However, I do not think I would like to make a career there. It just seems too up and down for me. Especially with its declaration of bankruptcy, I would not feel confident in holding and enjoying a job at this agency. The pros of working there would be the people you work with believe in the same leisure as you, you would get to practice leisure and work out for free, and you would be able to help others enjoy their leisure. This agency is a private membership organization, but it is not very exclusive. Anyone can join even though the target audience would most likely be young single adults. Another barrier to this agency is the membership fee. Not everyone is able to pay to work out an organization like Bally.

Steve Boersma - ARC (Activites and Recreation Center)

[Main entrance on 2nd and Peabody]
I recently visited the Activities and Recreation Center to gain a better understanding of how Campus Recreation is utilized at the University of Illinois. By taking a look at the many different programs that the ARC has to offer, one can see exactly how influential recreation can be in an individual’s life. During my visit, I was able to gain a stronger idea of how campus recreation functions and the purposes it has to serve the campus.

[Basketball courts]
The ARC, formerly known as the IMPE, opened in 1971 and was originally the Intramural-Physical Education Building. After shutting down in 2005 for repair, the building opened again in 2008 as what we all know as the “ARC.” It is located on 2nd and Peabody, and serves the campus for both its recreation and activity needs.

[Weight room located in the basement]
The ARC offers several job opportunities for interested individuals. You are required to attend an information session, submit an application along with a resume with cover letter, and complete an interview. Job options at the ARC include event and facility management, group fitness, intramural activities, personal trainers, or certified lifegaurd.


[sunbathers at the outdoor pool]
The Activities and Recreation Center is doing very well. The Arc tends get very busy at night, however many individuals do not have to wait to use machines so they remain quite happy and satisfied. On warmer days many people use the pools to swim or sunbathe. Intramurals are an additional activity that students become very excited to participate in, and are a big part of campus recreation.

[Rock wall]
The ARC’s name, Activities and Recreation Center, provides us with the main benefit that it strives to achieve, campus and community improvement. An employee of the ARC defined its leisure as an opportunity to supply the campus with activities that can refresh someone’s mind or body after a long day of school or work. This holds true through the many programs that are offered to the students.


[The cardio/weight area on the upper level overlooks the main entrance]
Campus Recreation is one of the ten major categories of service providers that make up the leisure –service delivery system. It includes intramural athletics or sports clubs, social activities, trip-and-travel programs, performing arts groups, entertainment, lounges, film series, and many other forms of recreation on university campuses. Campus recreation provides individuals with both positive and negative aspects when it comes to having a job. For example, a student can have the luxury of earning money while at the same time working on a quality education. You do not have to worry as much as to whether or not you think you will be able to make it through the school year, because you can work your way through the school year earning money. However, if you are working and earning money then you are not working on your education. Therefore, you might begin to have difficulty with classes and grades can suffer. An additional positive to holding a job in the campus recreation field is that you work with people the majority of the time and you develop leadership skills that are valuable in life, while having fun at the same time.

Illinois Ice Arena

This past week I explore the Illinois Ice Arena to develop a better understanding of its history, employment, and its impact of recreation and leisure on the community. The staff was very friendly and willing to help me in my exploration. I learned some interesting facts about the facility and increased my knowledge of how a sport management organization functions and provides to the public.

The Illinois Ice Arena was built in 1932 from contributions by private donors through the University of Illinois. The arena was built much larger than it is today for the sport of speed skating. It was shortened in the 1970s to support ice hockey, however its size is larger than an Olympic sized. Teams from out of town would joke about the size of the ice and it developed the nickname “the pond.”

Today the arena offers several staff opportunities for students. A facility assistant fulfills jobs such as cashier, concessions, skate check, cleaning, etc. The customer service assistant manages the staff and office. The Zamboni driver maintains the ice. There are also opportunities for non-students, for example event manager who organizes and handles public skates and ice sports.

Currently, the ice arena is for the most part stable. It has developed a few niches in recent years. Skate rentals now include hockey skates, making skaters more pleased with their rental preference. The café has also experienced some changes. In addition to typical concession items, it provides items such as Pop-Tarts, Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sandwiches, and delicious hot chocolate.

An employee of the Illinois Ice Arena defined its leisure as a gateway to provide the community with many opportunities for ice related sports. It offers leagues to a wide range of ages (youth, college, senior). In addition to playing ice related sports, the venue provides public skates and entertainment.

My experience at the Illinois Ice Arena was very rewarding. As a student, I believe that this facility provides a great opportunity to gain experience in a sport management organization. If one is truly passionate about the ice and enjoys the working in the facility, it could be very enjoyable to work at the arena as an adult; however, I feel that there are limited promotions. The employee I spoke with said that there hasn’t been much change at the ice arena. There has been minimal growth in the past 40 years, due to finances or management. I think this has a good representation on the future of the agency. The Illinois Ice Arena delivers great opportunities for ice related recreation for all ages by providing to the university, with over 40,000 students and faculty, and to the communities of surrounding areas.