Richmond Olympic Oval

I’ve been a member of the Richmond Oval for several years. I’m of two minds about this place, but my overall recommendation is: Stay Away.
Compared to other gyms in the Lower Mainland (in particular the ubiquitous Steve Nash Fitness World, which sets a very low bar), the Oval is a better facility. It has a lot of strength-​training equipment and free weights, separate personal training and high-​performance gyms, a half dozen basketball courts, two full hockey rinks, climbing wall, indoor track, etc etc … far more than any other facility in the area. All of this was put in place years ago as part of the post-​Olympics Community Legacy Program; the building was largely paid for by government.
Moreover, the training staff, and the front-​line staff in general, are all pleasant, professional and highly qualified in their jobs. I feel sorry for them, actually; they’re good people working in a very difficult situation.
Having described its strengths, the Oval does have several very big problems which can be summarized by three words: Hubris, Neglect and Immaturity.
First, there’s the ROX museum and gift shop, a monument to hubris. Over the past two years, literally MILLIONS of dollars (reportedly over $ 6 million) have been poured into building an Olympic museum on the gym training floor, taking away a significant amount of space that had been dedicated to workout facilities. At the same time, most of the lobby was turned into a large gift shop. Neither sees any meaningful visitor traffic. They’ve been open for months and are terrible money-​losers, just as every member knew they would be when they were first announced.
The existence of the museum is annoying to members because they see tremendous resources, and management attention, squandered on this ill-​conceived project while the core business of the facility is neglected.
While millions have been spent on this boondoggle, over half of the lockers in the men’s locker room are broken (the key locks break) and most have been broken since I joined the Oval four years ago. I expect a similar situation exists in the women’s locker room. More seem to get broken every week. Nothing constructive is done about this (they did recently install a few new lockers on a test basis, after years of complaints. The ones they chose are highly impractical for reasons I won’t go into here but that I have explained to management.) Replacing all of the lockers with much better ones would cost a small fraction of what was spent on the museum and gift shop. It doesn’t get done.
Speaking of lockers, some months ago some small «gym bag» lockers were put on the gym floor. They installed 24 of these, and I’m told they spent over $ 43,000, or just under $ 2,000 per cubby-​hole locker … a box with a door and an electronic combination lock. Like the museum, this seems to be a very ineffective use of limited funds, much of that provided by taxpayers.
One wonders where all of that money actually goes.
Finally, there is the immaturity, reflected in the overwhelming number of adolescents and teens who have overtaken the building. In particular I refer to teenagers driving the $ 100,000+ cars bearing «Novice driver» stickers that fill the gym’s parking lot, spoiled rich kids who exhibit many of the churlish, self-​entitled behaviours for which that crowd has become notorious in the region. On a typical evening they represent about 80% of the people there.
I like kids, generally speaking, but these kids do not exhibit the maturity and responsibility that is needed for them to use the gym without adult supervision. They set fires in lockers (this has happened multiple times), routinely leave trash such as food waste and used bloody bandages laying around as if their maid would pick up after them, use lockers as trashcans for the above, roam through the facility in gangs, monopolizing benches and equipment for extended periods while they chatter and message on their cellphones, never replace their weights (they evidently assume there are servants to do that), scoff at efforts to enforce any kind of gym etiquette and make the experience uncomfortable for everyone else.
Many of the «adult» members have already left. Most of the others complain bitterly about what this place has become. There have even been incidents of violence, including a knife being pulled by a teenager. The Oval has come to resemble a high school gym without the gym teacher.
Not enough room here to describe all of the problems! For more details, please see my review on Facebook:

I mean the facilities there are really good and the coach for the classes are professional. But the staffs there are really not professional. It is my very first time to oval. The staff asked me how often I will go there, I said I am not sure after this month I will still go there. And I asked how about the parking fee? she said «EVERYONE NEEDS TO PAY» so I didn’t get any information about long-​term membership which is free parking, free cancelation. I was told by my friends this. I am not the one cannot pay the parking and 20 dollars more for a short-​term membership. But I have the right to know all the options. And they still called me and said it was all my fault that I didn’t read the agreement and signed it. I mean WTF. well… I don’t have anything to say any more. THE HIGH PRICE THE BAD SERVICE. NOT FAIR.

i feel like the only person who isn’t a fan of this place, lol.
i don’t think it’s a particularly nice place to be. it can be challenging to get too if you’re new to the area, and staff i’ve encountered are absolutely no help whatsoever. i asked one woman where to get a pass for an event i was shooting and she stared at me like i was an alien. you’re at the front desk, you should know these things or be able to find out if need be.
i’ve been here a few times (mostly for photography reasons) but i usually feel very uncomfortable in there. when it first opened i thought of working out there, but i really couldn’t afford it. it’s a huge money grab, i feel. if i wanted too, i could easily go play basketball at a school for free. something about this place doesn’t sit well with me.

I like this place. its clean and staff here are friendly. Came here to climb the wall. Had a great time. They change the climbing wall quite frequently. Love it.
Also went upstairs to hit the gym. Very fully equipped gym.
You can go on living social to pick up a day pass for $ 8 or two people for $ 14. This is an awesome ongoing deal. Rental is extra. But you can basically enjoy your day with the amount of things you can do here.
Definitely coming back. Thumbs up here.

Drop in is pretty expensive if you only want to do one sport but definitely worth it if you want to do multiple things. Rates are available on their website and vary based on age (e.g. $ 11.50 for 25 years old and $ 16 if over 25 years old). It is a beautiful facility with space for badminton, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and rock climbing. They also have a ice rink, batting/​golf cage and a gym area with a variety of equipments.
If you’re here to play badminton, they don’t require you to wear white soled shoes on their court. They do badminton racquet rentals and sell birdies for $ 2.50 each (might be cheaper to buy a tube of birdies prior to heading in). Otherwise, basketball and table tennis paddles are all rentable for free at the facility.

Too expensive for me, not going to give it a bad review because I’m not a seasoned gym guy. For the size of the place you’d think they’d have some basic gymnastic equipment there or at least a standalone pullup bar. I’m not too keen on why there is such a drastic price change for those over 26.

Exorbitant membership rates. They rope you into a year contract and penalize you if you try to leave. Is that the only reason they have customers coming in? Or perhaps it’s the status of simply being able to afford it and being seen at the Oval.
Tried it out for one session, and I have to say that the atmosphere was strangely stiffling. It was like being in an HD Nike commercial with a bunch of people «casually» standing around in unnatural poses to show off their gymrat physiques. Most of them weren’t even working out, just leaning on machines sipping goddamn juice as they discreetly flex their arms in the process, hips and chests not-​so-​subtly thrusted out, and legs bent in that affected blogger stance.
Look, how much difference is there between gym machines really? Why pay their ridiculous rates out of your nose to parade around in Lululemons without breaking a sweat?

Overpriced membership. Big hardwood floor basketball courts, and ice rink, but needs a swimming pool.

Locker rooms are clean + free lockers which is great. I love how YYoga is now located here as well. It can get pretty busy here, so I so recommend to go during «odd» hours just to avoid the crowd. Staffs are also very friendly and helpful!

I’m an annual member here. I’m here 3 – 4 times in the evenings.
It’s almost like my second home.
Annual membership fees aren’t cheap but it’s well worth the price.
What you get with your membership:
–free lockers
–free parking
–free drop-​in classes
–free rock climbing (equipment rental is extra)
–free batting cage session (Tues only)
–free public skating
The equipment and machines are top notch. It can get quite busy on weekday evenings, especially on days when there’s an event.
If possible, it’s best to come during off peak times (i.e. weekend mornings).
From time to time, they have a monthly «challenge» promo. If you come for X number of times during a certain period you get
free oval schwag. Awesome eh?

Did a drop in TRX factor class at the Richmond Oval. Great session. Instructor was really keen on making sure everyone knew what to do and how to do it safety. she was good at making sure the beginners knew how to adjust their straps and showed 3 different positions (one for beginners, the regular way and then an extra hard way if you want to really work it). So far, have done a few classes at Urban Fitness. as I said in my previous review. just not the place for me. not really keen on the «type» of bootcamp TRX they offer there. a bit militant…
Heard that Yyoga is going to soon be offering TRX at their south granville location. as that’s close to my hood, can’t wait to try it out there. already love their yoga sessions and pilates classes. just such a great chill and encouraging environment.
ok. time to take a shower. great class and I would recommend the TRX factor class at the Richmond oval to anyone. all ages. they even had some seniors there ! love it.
only bad is you have to pay for parking. and its a bit further from home. but definitely worth it if you want to learn how to do TRX safely.

Paid parking everywhere. Lockers take coins only.

*From the perspective of an American tourist*
«Oh yeah I go to this gym called the Oval to work out,» my friend told me indifferently.
WAIT WHAT?! This is an Olympic gym?! Wow amazing. My friend downplayed this place like crazy. For $ 50/​month membership, it’s not too shabby. It was ~$ 15 for a guest day pass and the facilities including the lockers are unlimited use for the day. (Fun Fact: If you register your guest online beforehand like a week prior, you can get them in for free!)
I came for the ice skating on a Friday night. I should’ve come earlier because the ice was all nasty already. I had hoped they would Zamboni’d the ice but they didn’t until it closed :(The ice skating rink is quite big and they actually have two (? or more) rinks for hockey and that was really neat. My friend gave me a quick tour of the facilities afterwards and they even have a those indoor archery/​baseball cages! Tons of basketball courts for all those Richmond folks and I’m thoroughly jealous.
Maybe I haven’t been to that many gyms, but this gym was so clean and pretty. This gym really gives you a sense of grandeur and it sucks we don’t have a gym like this back home. If this place had a pool… I’m moving to Richmond… just to work out here.

Great facilities! I came here to ice skate. It was so clean and spacious. The oval has been transformed into a gym after the 2010 games, and I hear they have an eclectic selection of glasses members can partake.

I’ve played hockey here a few times and I like it, the rink I think is olympic size and is really wide… lots of skating, also lot’s of room behind the net which I like. This rink from the dressing rooms to the ice itself is very hot for some reason, maybe the lights in the rink, dunno but I don’t mind cuz you sweat more and the beer always tastes better after the game. They also have a gym and basketball courts and other stuff, can’t really comment on that since I“ve only played in the rink. The only downside is it’s a little difficult to find if you haven’t been here before and the pay parking.

The Olympic Oval is a beautiful facility with a strong emphasis on community sports. The fitness equipment is great from an ergonomic standpoint and I enjoy having my own tv screen. The washrooms are clean and there are more than enough free lockers in the changing room.
I have tried a few of their fitness classes including yogalates and zumba and found the instructors to be really nice. The population is mixed with young and old with different skill levels. The environment is not pretentious at all but rather fun and relaxed. This is a contrast to the yoga-​fanatics that I am used to in Downtown Vancouver.
You do need to pay for parking if you do not have a longer term membership. It is $ 1 per hour or $ 10 for the day.
If you are planning on taking a class, you need to get a token at the front desk. I think they just use it to keep track of people.
Do be aware of the cancellation policies if you are considering a longer term membership. They have increased their cancellation fees recently and a few friends were not aware.

I play and do some volunteer work here.
Reasons to visit: the building is immense and beautiful. The staff are nice, fit and easy going.
There are some drawbacks…
Put aside the fact that you have to pay for parking. It’s a gated system where you line up getting in and out. When it’s busy or when everyone is leaving at the end of the night — TRAFFIC JAM.
It used to be just a drive in parking lot where you purchase a ticket after you park, what was wrong with that? If they don’t pay, give em a ticket.
Also it’s flat out pricey to play here. Hockey fees are well above average and the single elevator to get up to the rinks… suck. The hockey changing rooms are squishy at best.
Nice place to play court sports (vball, basketball, badmintin, etc), but my last place for ice hockey.

If you’re a member. you get unlimited drop ins. which is WONDERFUL! All the facilities and equipment is NEW!
Downsides:
— Not many changing rooms :(Only washrooms. so no benches, which makes changing. quite difficult. Especially when the sinks are all soaked with water.
— Parking is $ 1 an hour. (which isn’t too bad, if you’re comparing it to DT Vancouver, after olympic price jack). but if you’re already paying for membership to use their gym and facilities. why make us pay again for parking :(Money Stealing machine i tell you.
— Volleyball player? They don’t have net dividers. So if you backwall your hit/​serve. get ready to serve it into the back of someones head, or run for it!
Please also remember that the Ovals main purpose was to host the Winter Olympics Ice Skating Event. Thus, its a no brainer that it has an open ice skating rink. AND FOR THAT. YOU SHOULD Dress warmly: P Its super collllllddd! You might want to dress in layers :) And take extra time to warm up those delicate muscles of yours.
But yes. the Oval. is TRES SPECTACULAR! :)

You have to pay for parking now?
sheesh.
No wonder I only came once and that’s it.
There’s no apeal to this place at the moment, I’ll wait till they finally figure things out here.

This is a magnificent building.
The style is very clean and modern with tall ceilings and of course oval in shape. They have facilities for everything there. Volleyball, hockey, basketball, batminton, track/​running, ice skating and a fitness center upstairs that overlook the whole 2^nd floor where all the action is going on. I’m sure there may be more sports, but that’s all I happen to notice while I was watching some friends play volleyball. I even saw some rooms for birthday parties as well. What a great idea to keep your kids active and tire them out for bed time.
The only downside are the price $ 11.50 for drop in and the parking ($ 1 per hour). The drop in is a little pricey, but it’s expected to run such a new and beautiful facility. The parking style is old school because basically you have to park your car and walk all the way to the parking meter to buy your ticket. After purchasing your ticket, you have to walk all the way back to your car, which isn’t a problem unless it’s a super busy day and you have to park really far. Other than these factors, this place is gorgeous.