THIS IS A PETITION TO REQUEST THAT COURT 1 AT LA FITNESS DULLES BE RETURNED TO A PERMANENT CHALLENGE COURT.

Request of petition:  The signers of this petition request that court 1 at LA Fitness Dulles be returned to a permanent challenge court.  To facilitate this return, the signers request that:  1) Appropriate signage be placed indicating that court 1 is a challenge court despite any reservations made thereon; 2) The LA Fitness app which currently makes racquetball courts 1-5 reservable be modified so that only courts 2-5 may be reserved.

The signage may also include language explaining that a challenge court is an inclusive court and that the “reservers” are invited to play on the challenge court along with whoever else wishes to play racquetball on the court.

Background:  A challenge racquetball court is a racquetball court which is open for use by any racquetball player.  Any player may wait his/her turn and play on the challenge court, by challenging the winner of any pending game.  This is in contrast to a reservable court which may be controlled by the player who has made a reservation.  Since its opening, LA fitness has operated court 1 as a challenge court and courts 2-5 as reservable courts.

Reason for petition: Recently, an online LA Fitness app has been created which, as an unintended consequence, allows customers to reserve challenge court 1, thereby restricting others from using the court.  LA Fitness management policy has been to uphold the reservations made on court 1, so as not to disappoint the reservers, who may not be aware that court 1 has been designated as a challenge court.  However, this policy has alienated the many players who regularly play on the challenge court and show up expecting to be able to do so, as they have in the past.

Benefits of a challenge court: i) Allows single players to play without reserving a court, thereby decreasing the number of reservations which are made. ii) Allows players to meet one another, rather than only playing with folks they already know. iii) Allows out-of-towners to more easily find a willing partner. iv) Allows regular reservers to test their skills in a more competitive environment. v) Allows reservers to continue to play after their reservation expires.