Leagues at Life Time Fitness in Minnesota
November 10, 2008

Table Tennis in the Gym at Life Time Fitness Club

By Mitchell Seidenfeld

Table Tennis leagues are up-and-running at two Life Time Fitness clubs in Minnesota. Between the two clubs, one in Fridley, MN and one in Bloomington, MN, there are a total of seven leagues, over 140 participants, and 25 Butterfly tables. There are two Community Leagues (for players USATT rated under 900), two Competition Leagues (for players USATT rated 900-1400), two Elite Leagues (for players USATT rated 1400-1800), and one Super League (for the state’s best players USATT rated 1800 and above). There are more than fourteen active leagues in Minnesota, but the leagues held at the Life Time Fitness clubs serve as an especially effective engine for building the sport of table tennis in Minnesota.

Clubs are so clean and safe makes it much easier to attract and retain women and children to the sport.

Because of its visibility in these Life Time Fitness clubs, table tennis is seen, not as a parlor game but, in the same light as tennis, racquetball, and squash. These two clubs are beautiful. The list of first-class amenities includes, well, everything. Thousands of Life Time Fitness members are exposed to sport of table tennis every day. Children as young as five and adults well into their eighties participate in a variety of table tennis programs that have spun off as a result of these successful leagues. The fact that these clubs are so clean and safe makes it much easier to attract and retain women and children to the sport.

Upstairs at Life Time Fitness Club

Table Tennis at Life Time Fitness Club

Just like every other sport or activity at Life Time Fitness, table tennis has had to earn its place. When it was added to the first club in 1994, table tennis was thought to be strictly “value-added” for club members. The club purchased five tables, put them up in an open space previously used for weight training, and hoped that members would enjoy some friendly games while waiting for others to shower and get dressed. Within a year, the club’s management saw that table tennis could be just like any other sport or fitness program. As members began to ask about leagues, junior programs, and private coaching, the club became more willing to add them to the schedule of programs. First, we organized Community leagues of about sixteen players, all of whom were members. Then we held a club championship with multiple events. After a couple years, many of the players who had received instruction and were practicing regularly began to express interest in leagues that were organized by playing level. A four-tiered league system became possible once non-members were allowed to participate in leagues by paying a higher registration fee. A member benefitted by getting to play a larger group of advanced-level players and the club was able to showcase its facilities and increase its membership.

Life Time Fitness Club's Activity Center/Pro Shop

Now, after fourteen years, table tennis continues to thrive at Life Time Fitness in Minnesota. The clubs have had four different owners: Northwest Athletic Clubs; Club Sports International; Wellbridge; and Life Time Fitness. Each ownership change presented its own set of challenges. Each new ownership group put table tennis through its own rigorous evaluation process. And each time, table tennis made the cut.

Life Time Fitness Club's Weight Room

To learn more about organizing leagues, click here to register as a potential League Director and access the League Toolbox.

Life Time Fitness Club's Aerobics Studio

Life Time Fitness Club's Life Cafe