Posted April 19, 2013 3:46 pm by healthclubnews

‘I don’t want to sit where some naked person has been’: Woman’s fury after finding out health club is used by naturists

Aline Belisario claims to have seen naked swimmers on a computer screen
When she tried to cancel her membership staff LA Fitness in Surrey insisted she couldn’t
Naturist Noah’s Ark swim and sauna club believe it is cleaner to swim naked than in swimming costumes

PUBLISHED: 14:24 EST, 18 April 2013 | UPDATED: 16:01 EST, 18 April 2013

A swimmer is battling to cancel her health club membership after she discovered the pool is used by naturists.

Mother-of-three Aline Belisario was shocked to discover the pool, spa and sauna are used for nude sessions on Saturday evenings.

But staff at LA Fitness, in Ewell, Surrey, have said she cannot cancel her membership because she has signed a contract.

Au naturel: Naturists from Noah’s Ark swim and sauna club who like to take a dip every Saturday night

Ms Belisario said: ‘I was shocked and angry that I wasn’t given this information when I joined the club.

‘I requested to cancel my membership as I would rather not sit on the same sauna or spa where a naked person has been sitting.’

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According to Ms Belisario several other people were also angry about the issue.

She said: ‘I don’t want to be judgemental of other people’s choices but I feel it is outrageous that the information wasn’t given to me before I joined.’

Ms Belisario claims to have seen several naked swimmers on a computer screen at around 4.15pm one Saturday last month after having a swim with her three children.

However naturist Noah’s Ark swim and sauna club, which has about 60 members, dismissed her reaction as ‘ridiculous’, because they believe it is cleaner to swim naked than in swimming costumes.

Staff at LA Fitness in Ewell say Ms Belisario is not allowed to cancel her contract

Malcolm Beakhust, press relations officer for the club, said: ‘It’s ridiculous because I doubt her swimming costume is as clean as people sitting on towels in the sauna or spa.

‘It’s ill-founded and without any logic.’

Mr Beakhust said members shower before and after the pool, their sessions are when the pool is closed and cameras would be for health and safety.

He said: ‘We have heard about places where people are horrified at naked people coming into the pool.

‘The fact is what do they think a swimming costume does? It’s a piece of cloth.’

The club was founded in 1977 at a private house in Chertsey and over the years developed into a swim club in Walton before moving to LA Fitness, Ewell, in 2005.

Throughout the summer, members regularly enjoy days out in the sun at naturist clubs in Sussex, Hampshire and elsewhere.

Mr Beakhust said: ‘It’s quite a selection of people from all walks of life.’

Speaking about swimming naked, he said: ‘It’s much more relaxing. You have nothing clinging around you.

‘It’s a more natural thing to do. Once you have had a go, you think what’s the point in putting clothes on to swim?’

A spokeswoman at LA Fitness said Ms Belisario could not have seen a naked image because CCTV monitors are out of public view behind reception and the pool is closed during naturist sessions.

She said: ‘While she might feel a little squeamish, there is physically no reason to feel so. She’s never going to be there to see or experience it.

‘We don’t sign our members up by strict questions about their personal life.’

She said nobody had ever complained about the naturists before. She added: ‘There’s probably more negative impact on pool water quality from make-up, hair products and general sweat that anything from naturists.’

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