An Edinburgh mum has hit out at Edinburgh Leisure after they announced they would be introducing a cap on the number of young people allowed in their gyms.
With multiple venues all over the city, teens aged (13-17) had previously been able to purchase a junior membership for £10.50 a month which gave them access to the gym and its facilities.
However, adult and junior members were informed last week that a new cap and booking system was being introduced for junior members, with only a certain number allowed in the venue at any one time.
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With some venues only offering five junior slots at prime times such as early evening, 44-year-old Alison Grant hit out at the new and 'unfair' system.
A keen member who visits multiple Edinburgh Leisure sites each week with her children, aged 13 and 15, Alison told Edinburgh Live that the new system was set to have a huge impact on their family.
She said: "We use a lot of the different venues depending on what sports my kids have on so we've been around most of them. Around three or four weeks ago I got an email sent out to adult members saying they were looking for feedback on how they could improve things surrounding the topic of junior's in the gym.
"Then last week I got another email to say they had made a decision to cap the amount of juniors in the gym at any one time, and that this would improve the overall experience for everyone. It's going to start on Monday and it's already caused anxiety with my kids already.
"The cap numbers are different at each venue and they change depending on the time of day, there's more availability during the day when they're at school.
"At one of the venues after school and in the evening on a Monday there's a cap of five juniors, I've got two kids who would have gone then so that's two slots and sometimes my daughter meets her friends there, so with so little slots it just won't enable that anymore.
"The membership means they should be able to use it whenever they want just like anyone else, it's a worry for them if they can't guarantee they'll be able to exercise both for their physical and mental health."
Claiming the decision was made based off of feedback from other adult members, and as a way to manage numbers, Alison said she had expressed her concerns to Edinburgh Leisure on their choice to introduce slots.
The mum-of-two-added: "Personally I have never had any issues with anyone younger in the gym, maybe occasionally they take a bit longer with equipment etc but that could be solved by staff explaining things and working with them on gym etiquette.
"You need to work with and educate young people not exclude them, I think they've totally missed how to ensure everyone is involved."
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Leisure said: "Our Junior Membership has been an enormous success, reflecting its range and value. The junior membership includes not only the gym and swimming but golf and climbing and we have also recently introduced a number of additional fitness classes specifically for our Junior Members.
"There are peaks in Junior Membership gym usage across our facilities and this has led to the introduction of a booking system for this membership group. By introducing bookings, we can continue to ensure all our members, including our Juniors, have an enjoyable Edinburgh Leisure gym experience and that we can continue to offer Junior Memberships at an affordable price point.
"The number of bookings available per facility are based on capacity of each venue, where our larger sites will be able to accommodate more members. These numbers will be continually monitored and extended where possible to ensure the best experience for all our members, which is our priority."
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