A TENNANT Creek woman keen to start her fitness journey has been left sorely disappointed with the town’s so-called Fitness and Wellness Centre.

Mary Kingham-Bradley joined the gym about a month ago to start her goal of losing weight and getting fit, but discovered it was stocked with one working treadmill.

Adding to her disappointment, the Centre’s range of cardio equipment is also severely limited, with just one spin bike and two rowing machines. This lack of variety has only added to Mary’s frustration and hindered her fitness journey. 

Mary has sent multiple emails to the Barkly Regional Council (BRC), which manages the Centre, asking when the machines would be fixed, but she received a response when her last email recently. 

In her final email, Mary said she must take the matter to the local Member for Barkly and the Tennant Times. 

Finally, she received a phone call from a manager offering a refund of her $45 monthly membership fee. 

Mary believes that having cardio equipment in the gym is essential, and it is not an unreasonable request. 

“With only one working treadmill, many gym-goers miss out on warming up before working out on other equipment, which poses a risk of injury,” she said.

“My goal is to run five kilometres in under half an hour, and a treadmill helps me map distance and times to work on that goal.”

Mary says the Council’s management needs to improve its service delivery to Tennant Creek, and her complaints to management have been ignored. 

“The Fitness and Wellness Centre would be a great service if it was working properly and was fitted with the correct equipment,” said Mary.

The Tennant Times contacted Barkly Regional Council’s Official Manager Peter Holt and Acting CEO Jeff MacLeod for comment regarding the Centre, but no response was received at the time of publication.