North Sydney Council restricts outdoor fitness group activities

North Sydney Council is to restrict outdoor fitness group activities, including boot camps, in its parks and reserves.

Aggressive, intimidating or military-style squad training has been banned "given the potential to alienate other park users", according to Council report.

In addition, park structures such as benches and trees have been placed off limits while large equipment like bars, logs, tyres and heavy ropes are banned.

The maximum size of an exercise group has been reduced from Fitness Australia's recommended 18 to just 10, while trainers will be asked to wear high-visibility armbands to show they comply with the code otherwise they risk being moved on by rangers or banned from the area.

North Sydney joins several other Sydney councils and the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust in restricting outdoor fitness training with some councils introducing so-called 'Sweat Taxes' (licence fees on personal trainers) as a high as $2,200 per annum for use of parks and reserves.

Organisations including Fitness Australia and the Heart Foundation have previously expressed fears that some councils have approached the introduction of fees and charges for personal trainers and fitness groups in parks and reserves as exercises in revenue raising.

Confrontation on the issue seemed to have been averted last year when Fitness Australia joined with Sutherland Shire Council has joined with Fitness Australia to launch the Shire's policy for the use of public open space by commercial fitness groups and personal trainers.

The Council's policy, developed in tandem with Fitness Australia, has been seen as a common-sense and best practice example of how local authorities should approach the management of commercial fitness activities in public open space.

At that time, a spokesperson for Sutherland Shire Council told Australasian Leisure Management that "in response to the growing group and personal training industry, council has developed a policy for the use of public open space by commercial fitness groups and personal trainers.

"Due to this growth, a number of issues have arisen. Residents adjoining parks have been disturbed and noisy group training in residential areas has also generated complaints.

"The policy addresses equal access to public open space by all members of the community; the impact of the high level of use on parks and reserves and public liability concerns.

"The policy aims to ensure that training activities are delivered in a way that minimises the impact on surrounding residents and to enable the best use of public open space.

"It also provide(s) certainty for personal trainers by providing firm guidelines on how and when public open space can be used."

Sutherland Council's annual registration fee for outdoor personal trainers cost just $110 to encourage registration and compliance with the code of conduct.

In April 2010, Fitness Australia released a position statement , the 'Provision of Fitness Training Services in Public Areas', to assist consultation with authorities on the issue and to raise awareness regarding of the potentially negative impact that high 'sweat taxes' would have on the health and fitness of Australians.

In a report on the North Sydney Council move in the Sydney Morning Herald this week, in which the newspaper reported that the Council had "declared war on military-style boot camps by banning them and a number of other outdoor fitness group activities in a new code of conduct", Fitness Australia were quoted as saying that fees were was helpful in discouraging "cowboys".

For more information on Fitness Australia's position statement on the Provision of Fitness Training Services in Public Areas contact Fitness Australia on 1300 211 311 or go to www.fitness.org.au ​

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