A mother has claimed that two Jets Fitness gyms in Waikato instructed minors to lie about their age to gain 24-hour memberships. Photo/123rf
An all-access pass allows members to access the gym 24/7. However, you must be 16 years old to qualify.
The mother told her son to never bench press without someone to monitor him and to never use large weights when a staff member wasn’t there in case something went wrong.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have the foresight to tell their kids that,” she says.
She later heard that more of her son’s friends at the same gym were also being coached to lie about their ages.
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The boy’s mother then recently registered with another Jets Fitness franchise in Hamilton, namely Jets Hamilton The Base, and told the receptionist what happened to her son at Jets Te Awamutu. .
“When I mentioned this to her last week, she said, ‘Oh yeah, we do that all the time.'”
A Waikato mother told the Herald there must be supervision at the gym to ensure safety.
The Jetts NZ website states that you must be over 14 years old to become a member and you must provide proof of age when signing up.
Access is limited to “during staff working hours only,” it continued. You must be 16 years of age or older to access each gym 24/7.
“[This is]a major safety concern for these youth…Benchpressing heavy weights without supervision can easily result in death or serious injury,” the mother said.
“The concern is that children could be injured by the equipment when there are no parents or other adults in the gym at that time.
“If you have 14-year-old kids with egos thinking they can lift more than they’re capable of, that can be very dangerous.”
Both gyms are staffed Monday through Thursday from 12:00pm to 2:30pm and 3:00pm to 6:00pm. It will be unmanned on Fridays and Sundays, but will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.
The Herald asked both gyms for comment on the allegations, but Jets Te Awamutu denied knowledge of the incident, while Jets Hamilton The Base manager said: “I’m actually taking responsibility for that and trying to right my mistakes.”
The manager did not say why he instructed the minor to lie about his age and declined to comment further.
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In a statement to the Herald, Jets NZ said it was “aware of an incident” of allowing members 24/7 access to its facilities, which “does not comply with our internal policies and procedures. ” he said.
“The Jets NZ team prides itself on maintaining the highest standards and an investigation has been launched to ensure we continue to meet those goals in the future,” the statement said.
The Jets declined to comment on the individual employees involved.
The mother said she expressed her concerns to Jett, but there was no real interest or awareness until she said she contacted the Herald.
“They tried to contact me only after I told them I had contacted the Herald. At that time I said, ‘Well, I’ve clearly mentioned it several times before, but now I don’t have time. I thought, ‘No.’
When she voiced her concerns on Facebook, another mother said her family had experienced the same thing.
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“We experienced this with one of our children. He was asked to lie about his age. When we looked into it, we found out that the terms and conditions also state that minors must be accompanied by a parent when signing the contract. there was.
“But some people I know have been told to lie so they don’t need a parent present. Then they sign up to pay for a minimum one-year contract. They weren’t impressed.” It was written in the comments.
Benjamin Plummer is a breaking news reporter based in Oakland. He has been working at the Herald since 2022.
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