The increasing number of people leaving the Island in 2010 has had a big impact on gym membership numbers, according to gym owners and managers across Bermuda.But most say that their existing client base still holds health and fitness as one of the top priorities and they have been offering special deals and promotions to attract new business.The Olympic Club, The Athletic Club, The Court House Squash and Wellness Club, SeaView Health Ultimate Fitness Club and 24-Hour Fitness all spoke to The Royal Gazette about the challenges they have faced during one of the toughest years yet and their expectations for 2011.Scott Stallard, owner of The Olympic Club, said that business had remained steady over the past 12 months compared to 2009, due mainly to the $110 and $120 per month membership fees - the cheapest on the Island.“If people are going to lose out, they are not going to lose out on their physical health,” he said.He said that despite ever rising expenses and a significant outflux of members at the end of their six-month work permits in the last four to five months, they had been replaced by new enrollees.Mr Stallard also believes that the market is going to become more competitive with the big gyms stepping up their marketing drives, but was upbeat about his own gym’s prospects with a better than expected November and he is predicting a strong January in terms of membership renewals and new members.“Health is high on most people’s priority list,” he said. “My prediction is that whatever the economy does in general in 2011, I don’t anticipate our business being depressed.“People are always going to need food and a hospital, and health and fitness are another one of those things that you have got to have.”The Olympic Club will be waiving its $150 initiation fee during January in a bid to help people saving after Christmas and to benefit current members through the upgrade of facilities and equipment, said Mr Stallard.Kym Herron Scott, owner, president and managing director of The Athletic Club, said that 2010 had been a much better year than the previous one, driven by the launch of several new fitness initiatives targetting a completely different market, including its Zumba programme in January, which led to the addition of another course and three classes quarterly.“I think that people are just not willing to give up on their health,” she said.She has also seen an upturn in the amount of companies who had put their corporate wellness programmes on hold during 2009 to the economic downturn, but were coming back because they realised the benefits of having healthier and happier employees, while reducing health care costs.The Athletic Club, which has another gym in Turks and Caicos, will hold its second annual ‘I Lost It at the Club’ - an eight-week weight loss programme co-ordinated by the International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association - on Monday January 10 and the Fit to Be Tried Open House on January 8 between 9am and 3pm, featuring free workouts, sampler classes, nutritional advice, information on wellness programmes in the workplace, discounts on memberships, prizes and giveaways.“The New Year is a time for a fresh start; for some club members, that means vamping up an existing fitness programme, and for others it’s an opportunity to start taking control of their health for the first time,” said Ms Herron Scott.Sue Pell, manager of The Court House Squash and Wellness Club, said that her gym had been fully subscribed throughout the year and had a waiting list of off-peak members of about five to six weeks queueing up for full membership.She said that the gym was operating two membership structures in order to have a maintainable level of members so that nobody was waiting to use weights or equipment and was thinking about re-running a promotion offering a month’s free membership to members who introduced a new member, which was initially held in September, in the New Year.The club has also seen a big growth in its squash membership with a doubling in the number of players over the first year in business, but Ms Pell added that she had also noticed an increase in the number of people leaving the Island with 90 percent of gym membership cancellations citing that as their reason.“I think the fact that were are open 24/7, we have state-of-the-art equipment and squash courts all within a new, contemporary and modern setting is our key selling point,” she said.Charmaine Pickett, manager of SeaView Health Ultimate Fitness Club, said that business had been slow during the last year and the gym had lost a few clients as a result of the expiration of work permits.But she was hopeful that memberships would pick up next year and as an incentive the gym will be waiving the initiation fee of $100 for new clients for the month of January.“We have a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere here where everyone makes everyone else feel welcome and we are all here to achieve our goal of getting fit and healthy,” she said.Mike Jeffrey, owner of 24-Hour Fitness, said that business was down 15 percent on past years, again due to the impact of the recession and people leaving, as well a rise in the number of commercial properties with built-in gyms adding to the competition.However, he also sees some signs for optimism, and hopes that the current 10 percent discount on six-month and one-year memberships will help to pull in more members.“The last two months have actually not been bad,” he said. “I am hopeful that people will start coming back.”