WATERBURY COMMUNITY FITNESS – COMPREHENSIVE MEMBER LIABILITY WAIVER, RELEASE OF CLAIMS, ASSUMPTION OF ALL RISK, AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
IMPORTANT NOTICE: THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT. READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE SIGNING. BY SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT, YOU ARE FOREVER WAIVING AND SURRENDERING CERTAIN SUBSTANTIAL LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO SUE WATERBURY COMMUNITY FITNESS LLC, ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS.
In consideration for being permitted to enter the premises, utilize the equipment, access the facility during unstaffed hours, and/or participate in any fitness programs, classes, or personal training at Waterbury Community Fitness LLC (located in Waterbury, Vermont), I, the undersigned member, hereby knowingly, voluntarily, and expressly agree to the following terms and conditions:
1. Express and Absolute Assumption of Risk (24-Hour & Entirely Unsupervised Access)
- Unsupervised and Unstaffed Facility: I explicitly acknowledge and understand that the Gym operates as a 24-hour keyless access facility and is completely unstaffed, unmonitored, and unsupervised during various hours of the day and night.
- Absence of Emergency Personnel: I acknowledge that no employees, managers, medical staff, first-aid personnel, or security guards will be on-site or monitoring the facility when I exercise. I am choosing to enter and use the facility entirely at my own risk, knowing that if I suffer a medical emergency, injury, or accident, there will be no one there to assist me or call for emergency services.
- Inherent Dangers of Fitness Activities: I recognize that using commercial fitness equipment—including but not limited to free weights, dumbbells, barbells, selectorized weight machines, cables, treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, functional fitness rigs, resistance bands, and stretching areas—carries severe, inherent, and unavoidable risks of serious physical injury.
- Scope of Injuries: These risks include, but are not limited to: muscle strains, tears, sprains, broken bones, joint dislocations, concussions, cardiovascular failure, heart attacks, strokes, dehydration, heat exhaustion, rhabdomyolysis, paralysis, or even catastrophic injury and death. I fully accept and assume all such risks, both known and unknown, associated with my presence at the Gym.
2. Absolute Medical Disclaimer, Non-Doctor Status, & Pre-Existing Conditions
- No Medical Credentials: I explicitly acknowledge and agree that the owners, managers, employees, personal trainers, and independent contractors of the Gym are fitness professionals or administrators only, and are not licensed medical doctors, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, or healthcare providers.
- Advice Not Valid for Diagnosis: Any guidance, instruction, fitness advice, workout programming, verbal suggestions, or nutritional ideas provided by Gym staff or digital platforms do not constitute medical advice, medical diagnosis, or medical treatment.
- Representation of Physical Fitness: I affirm, represent, and warrant that I am in excellent physical condition, possess no undisclosed medical impairments, injuries, or illnesses, and have no medical history that would prevent me from exercising safely.
- Sole Responsibility for Medical Clearance: I acknowledge that it is my sole and absolute responsibility to consult with a licensed physician and obtain full medical clearance before beginning any exercise regimen, lifting heavy weights, or using this facility. I assume all liability for exercising with any known or unknown pre-existing medical conditions.
3. Comprehensive, Total Release of Liability and Covenant Not to Sue
- Full Waiver of Claims: To the maximum extent permitted by the laws of the State of Vermont, I hereby release, waive, forever discharge, and covenant not to sue Waterbury Community Fitness LLC, its members, managers, parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, volunteers, independent contractors, and agents (collectively referred to as the "Released Parties") from any and all claims, demands, damages, lawsuits, causes of action, or liabilities of every kind and nature.
- Applicability to Negligence: This comprehensive release applies directly to personal injury, property damage, property theft, or wrongful death occurring within the interior facility, on the exterior property, sidewalks, entryways, or in the parking lot.
- Equipment and Facility Conditions: This waiver applies regardless of whether the injury or damage is caused by the ordinary negligence of the Released Parties, equipment failure, equipment malfunction, poor facility maintenance, structural defects, slippery floors, or the actions, omissions, or misconduct of other unsupervised members or third parties.
4. Total Defense, Hold Harmless, and Indemnification Agreement
- Duty to Indemnify: I agree to fully indemnify, defend (with counsel acceptable to the Gym), and hold harmless the Released Parties from any and all claims, lawsuits, losses, liabilities, demands, judgments, costs, and expenses—including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees and expert witness fees—arising out of or resulting from my presence at the facility, my use of the equipment, or my breach of any provision of this agreement.
- Third-Party Claims by Family: This duty to indemnify and hold harmless specifically extends to any claims brought against the Gym by my family members, heirs, executors, administrators, or assignees in the event of my injury or death.
5. Proper Equipment Usage & Duty to Report Hazards
- Safe Operation: I agree that I will inspect all equipment prior to use and will operate all gym equipment safely, properly, and strictly in accordance with instructional placards and industry standards. I will not attempt to use any machine or weight that I do not know how to operate safely.
- Reporting Defects: If I observe any broken equipment, structural damage, hazardous floor conditions (such as spills or leaks), or unsafe behavior by others, I agree to cease my workout immediately, stay away from the hazard, and immediately report the condition to Gym management via the designated contact channels.
6. Strict Key Credentials Security, Tailgating Prohibition, and Penalties
- Personal Access Credentials: I agree that my 24-hour access key fob, barcode, smartphone app, or digital credentials are strictly personal to me and may never be shared, loaned, or transferred to any other human being.
- Zero-Tolerance Tailgating Policy: I explicitly agree that I will not allow any other individual—whether a member or non-member—to enter the facility behind me or alongside me using my access credentials.
- Financial and Legal Penalties for Breaching Access: I understand that bringing an unauthorized person or guest into the gym ("tailgating") without management’s express written consent will result in the immediate and permanent termination of my membership without a refund. Furthermore, I agree to assume full, unlimited financial and legal liability for any injury, death, or property damage caused to or by that unauthorized person.
7. Severability, Entire Agreement, and Governing Law
- Vermont Law and Venue: This contract shall be governed by, interpreted, and enforced strictly in accordance with the laws of the State of Vermont. I agree that any legal action, lawsuit, or arbitration arising from this agreement must be filed exclusively in the state or federal courts covering Washington County, Vermont.
- Severability of Terms: I agree that this waiver is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by Vermont law. If any specific clause, sentence, or section of this agreement is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that specific part shall be severed, and the remaining portions of this document shall continue in full, absolute legal force and effect.
- Entire Agreement: This written document constitutes the entire agreement between me and the Gym regarding liability and assumption of risk, superseding any verbal promises, advertisements, or statements made by Gym staff.
BY SIGNING BELOW, I CERTIFY AND AFFIRM THAT I AM AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE, THAT I HAVE READ THIS ENTIRE THREE-PAGE DOCUMENT, THAT I FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS SIGNIFICANT LEGAL TERMS, AND THAT I AM VOLUNTARILY GIVING UP SUBSTANTIAL LEGAL RIGHTS AND MY RIGHT TO SUE.
- Member Printed Name: ___________________________
- Member Signature: ___________________________
- Date: ___________________________
