Everyone here at Stow Fitness Center is happy to answer any of your questions. Just call, email or ask us when you're at the club. But for answers to some common questions, just click on any topic below to learn more. Please keep in mind that these policies may differ from those at other Stow Fitness locations.
Q. Can I suspend (freeze) my membership?
Yes, you can. Stow Fitness Center has a flexible and easy freeze policy. You can freeze your membership for medical or non-medical reasons. Nonmedical and nonstudent freezes are $10 a month. Medical freezes and student freezes are $5 a month. All freezes must be submitted with a start and end date. Medical freezes can start the day that you ask for it if accompanied by a doctor's note. You can bring the note in or have it faxed to the club. Non-medical freezes are a maximum of 3 months per year. They do not have to be consecutive but must be in 30 day blocks. College and high school students are exempt from the three-month maximum rule. **PLEASE NOTE: ANY FROZEN ACCOUNT THAT NEEDS TO BE CANCELED WILL BE BILLED THEIR FINAL MONTH AT THE FULL DUES AMOUNT** If you have any questions you can ask any fitness consultant. Click here for a printable copy of our Freeze Form.
Q. Can Stow Fitness Center bill purchases at the club directly to a membership account?
Yes, if you are a monthly dues member, you can authorize Stow Fitness Center to bill club expenditures like personal training, Childwatch cards, Juice Bar drinks, water, etc. to your monthly electronic payment. We have a very simple In House Charge Account form that you can fill out. The Member Service Desk Staff can help you with this. It typically takes less than 2 minutes to complete the form and to get you started.
Q. I have a new billing account. What do I do?
Simple. We have a form that you can fill out with your new information that you can get at the Member Service Desk, or you can call it in and we'll take care of it. In order to get your billing changed for that months charges, we recommend getting the information to us by the 10th of the month. Most times, this will be sufficient to get the changes into the database in time.
Q. What is the minimum age to join Stow Fitness Center?
Our minimum joining age is 10. Any member under the age of 15 must be at the club with a parent or guardian or an adult specified by a parent. Children ages 10-11 are limited to cardio and non-weight bearing classes. Weight resistance training for 10-11 year old children is strongly discouraged. Children ages 12-13 must first go through a discounted 10 session personal training program prior to them being allowed to use the club without professional guidance. This program is designed to get them off to a safe start and to ensure that their activities at Stow Fitness Center are in line with their age and physical development. Any member under the age of 18 must have a parental consent form signed prior to their membership becoming active. Any member under the age of 18, who is using someone else's account for their dues must have that person either sign the membership agreement or give us a letter stating that it is ok to have dues taken from their account.
Q. Does Stow Fitness Center give discounts for health insurance?
Your insurer may tell you they give discounts on gym memberships. These can be very misleading claims. What many of the HMOs really mean is that some clubs give discounts because of the insurance that you have but the insurer does not provide the discount, the club does. We do not do that. We feel strongly that it's unfair to the club and it's unfair to those who have other insurance carriers. What we do is provide the data needed for employers and carriers who provide a health club rebate directly to the member. As an example, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts gives $150 a year to its subscribers for health club membership. Fallon Community Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim have similar incentives. You can request receipts for your reimbursement at the Member Service Desk.
Q. Does Stow Fitness Center offer student memberships?
We have many students members at Stow Fitness Center, and in Stow, we have made an effort to accommodate their schedules. We understand that college students are not in the area for much of the year and high school students are involved in activities that make it virtually impossible for them to use the club for long periods of time. As a result, students may freeze their membership for as many months as they need. We still require a 30 day notice and a $5.00/month service charge, however. We have two types of students members: full-time and seasonal.
- Full members pay monthly or pre-paid dues and stay on our member roles. They lock in their rate and freeze when they are not going to be using the club. They also get to use the club for $8.00 a day if they are home for the weekend or simply want to use it once or twice during a break. This is by far the most cost effective way to have a membership.
- Seasonal members are those college or boarding school students that purchase short term memberships at Christmas and during the summer. This requires no maintenance of their memberships but eliminates them from the low cost day fees the rest of the year. In the long run this is more expensive. Maximum age to use this discount is 23. Students over 25 are assumed to be part-time, and this program is intended for full-time students and primarily undergrad students.
Q. How do I activate a pass?
In order to use a free pass it must first be "activated". The process is simple. A guest comes into the club, a Fitness Consultant will then show him or her around the club and go over membership opportunities and incentives. If a guest comes into the club when there is no consultant available, we will typically let you work out that day, but you will not get the pass for the remainder of the time without seeing a consultant or without speaking to one on the phone. You only get to use a pass once. Former members or past guests are not eligible to use guest passes. If a potential guest applies for a pass on-line, we will either call or e-mail to set up an appointment to activate the pass.
Q. Can I bring guests from out of town to Stow Fitness Center?
Guests are welcome at Stow Fitness Center. Our day fee is $18.00 and we do extend discounts to guests who are members of an IHRSA facility. Punch cards are available for $16 per visit with a minimum of five visit purchase. We require all non-members to have some form of photo ID for security reasons. We keep the ID at the front desk while the person is using the facility and return it when he or she leaves.
Q. How do I cancel my membership?
Unfortunately there may come a time when you have to cancel your membership. We have a simple and straightforward policy. Cancellations may be done at the club or through the US Mail. We do not accept fax or e-mail cancellations. See the cancellation policy for details. Click here for a printable copy of our cancellation policy.