average pool membership

$300/year for unlimited use of outdoor 50m pool (June-Sep) and indoor 25m pool (year round) in Hillsboro, OR (west of Portland). No coached workouts (doin' my own thang anyway...)

Yeah, my experience trying to find a place to simply shower after riding to work from Evanston was that the various health clubs wanted about $20/day. All I wanted to do was take a friggin' shower... This year though there's an LA Fitness at 1100 S. Canal, so I should be able to shower there then ride the short distance back to my office without too much underarm dampness. VB, do you work in the Loop? Maybe we can get together for lunch sometime and gossip about the other USMS folks. :D I do hope to make some time to try a workout in the quarry in Naperville this summer. Looks like fun. Any creatures in the water? Skip

Quarry swimming rocks! And it's free (except for the court costs and fines if you're caught). I went real quarry swimming once. Scary. Access was by underwater sandstone blocks overgrown with slippery pond scum, then - straight down into black depths. Couldn't see anything, not the old refrigerators and cars, dead cats, or abandoned equipment. :drown: (Or water snakes...) A fine thing to do once. :agree: VB

well, the Naperville quarry is a converted quarry, so not the real thing anymore. but it is pretty cheap... $3 after 5 pm. no critters, but you definitely can't see the bottom in the deep area. if I ran across a critter, I will admit that my wimpy little self would be done with the Naperville quarry. I'm seriously tempted to check out Barton Springs while in Austin. It sounds awesome.

Just reread a 3-month-old article from Chicago Tribune: Average monthly gym cost across U.S., including public facilities (therefore some = $0), is $35. Average private is $55. Didn't say anything about pools specifically, but as pools can be found across the spectrum, just fewer of them, probably similar. Hmm, I think I would bump that up a bit for average facility with pool. There are lots of one-room gyms that cost little. Article didn't say anything more, such as whether those figures reflected discounted rates for corporate memberships. Towel fee probably not included. FWIW. (Not waving but drowning) :drown:

Vivebene, WOW! I'm surprised there is such a difference between Chicago and Naperville. Our Fitness Center is $67 a month for the primary member (plus a $300ish joining fee). The Masters team is extra. However, in the summer, I swim here, one of my favorite places in the world. :) Membership is dirt cheap for residents, $42 for the summer if you register before May 10!

Vivebene, WOW! I'm surprised there is such a difference between Chicago and Naperville. Our Fitness Center is $67 a month for the primary member (plus a $300ish joining fee). The Masters team is extra. Yes, membership dues for downtown Chicago are really tilted against the individual. Many people who use them have group or corporate memberships, which brings down the monthly fee considerably. And they are almost all chains, so discretion is not possible. I used to swim at a condo pool that was $35 per month, then condo association, in form of one man, voted to close pool to outsiders, so off we went. Y's and Park District pools can be cheaper to free, depending on when one swims. E.g., for Park District, family swim is free, but adult lap is $15 for drop-in session. Chicago is so spread out that unless the facility is close to hand, one must travel simply hours by bus or train to and from. At Northwestern, a nonaffiliate can "donate" $1,000 annually, which allows one to pay the same hefty annual access fee paid by alums, plus a fee if you want coached instruction. Staggering. Lake Michigan is a few blocks away and free, if the bicycle cops don't get ya. At Northeastern Illinois, I hear the fee is simply $5 per drop-in, no memberships, no initiation fee, coach can come too and work with you. It's difficult to reach that pool (more hours on buses), and I have never been there. There are other little deals here and there. I could sign up with Chicago Masters and do uncoached swims 5-7 p.m. M-F for not much money, but those are limiting hours. Some private condo associations have unpublicized memberships. 3 excellent pools closed last year. One or 2 good ones are in high-rollers', invitation-only clubs.:blah: VB

For me to swim - $45/mo. But, to get that lower rate it really costs $200/mo on top of that since we get a good rate for having kids in the program. There's also the $95/mo Y dues, as a back-up pool, and the $75/mo for lessons for my younger one. Summer league pool is $600 plus league fees for three months of swimming. It's more than I care to really think about.

nyswimmer, I heard that Asphalt Green has olympic sized pool, but in fact most of the time (or all?) only 25 meter is open for lap swim? Could you confirm this? Also do they use chlorine or ozone for disinfection? Thanks. It's a 50 meter pool. It's open the full 50 meters for a couple of hours in the mornings, but most of the time it has a 25 yard course for lap swim and the rest of the pool is used for programs.. In the summer, it's also open to 50 two or three nights a week. I believe it was converted to an ozone/ultraviolet system during a recent renovation (that was the plan and judging by the odor it seems to have been implemented).

Annual pool dues of $225 in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake (near NASA). Additional $47/month at YMCA for weights and a back-up pool. The pool I swim at has a weight room but it is rather old equipment and poorly maintained.