by andrew cohen - athletic business · by andrew cohen heavy use, moisture — and especially...

www.athleticbusiness.com September 2002 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 79

L O C K E R R O O M S

By Andrew Cohen

HEAVY USE, MOISTURE — AND ESPECIALLY VANDALS

— CAN FRUSTRATE FACILITY

OWNERS HOPING TO GET

HIGH PERFORMANCE OUT OF

THEIR LOCKERS.

L O C K E R R O O M S


By Andrew Cohen

HEAVY USE, MOISTURE — AND ESPECIALLY VANDALS

— CAN FRUSTRATE FACILITY

OWNERS HOPING TO GET

HIGH PERFORMANCE OUT OF

THEIR LOCKERS.

are metal — strong, solid, secure. Except that the best lockers are plastic, whichare impervious to the moisture common in locker rooms. But then, of course, the finest locker roomsalmost invariably feature lockers made of wood, which are aesthetically pleasing, both visually andaurally.

The same goes for lock mechanisms. The best method of securing lockers is to require users to pro-vide their own combination locks, as it shifts an administrative burden away from overworked staff

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AB SEPT-lockers 8/13/02 9:43 AM Page 79

members. Then again, providing locks,whether opened with combinations, keys,cards or coins, gives facility ownersanother source of needed revenue.

The best lockers and locker systems? Itreally depends on the person doing thebuying, the particulars of a specific facil-ity’s design and the level of oversight inlocker areas — among other factors, suchas budget. The best low-priced lockersmight be perfect for one kind of facilityand unacceptable to another.

These simple truths were on our collec-tive mind this spring as we set about

trying to gauge AB readers’ satisfactionwith their locker systems. An informalsurvey, sent via e-mail to a random sam-ple of high school, college recreation, pub-lic recreation/YMCA and health clubprofessionals, garnered a response ratethat might suggest widespread indiffer-ence to lockers in general. However, those

who did respond had much to say abouttheir lockers’ ability to withstand almostconstant abuse.

Metal lockers were the clear market-share leader, making up 75 percent of thesample. Laminate lockers were next (14percent), followed by wood (8 percent),plastic (2 percent) and phenolic (1 per-cent). Not surprisingly, metal dominatedall categories except health clubs, wherelaminate led with 46 percent, followed bymetal (29 percent) and wood (25 percent).

On the whole, respondents are satisfiedwith their lockers’ performance. With theexception of three subcategories (metal inscratch resistance and noise-reductionquality, and wood in scratch resistance),all locker materials rated fairly well, andconsistently so. (The other categoriesrated were moisture resistance, maintain-ability and longevity.)

Still, 41 percent of respondents said theywould change their lockers if they could,and 24 percent said they’d like to changetheir locking system. Their locker troublesrun the gamut, from problems with mois-ture (take your pick: rust or delamination)to sizing issues (some complained thattheir lockers do not take into account thehuge gym bags patrons tend to carry thesedays). Metal lockers, the industry’s biggestseller, lagged in four of five categories (see“Good Lock,” p. 83), but no locker typeescaped criticism of some kind.

80 ATHLETIC BUSINESS September 2002 www.athleticbusiness.comCIRCLE 78 ON REPLY CARD

Most respondents blamed problems not so much on lockermaterials or locking systems,

but on the impact of vandalism inthe locker room.

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What really became clear was thatmost respondents — a notable exceptionbeing those with laminate lockers in high-humidity areas — blamed problems notso much on locker materials or lockingsystems, but on the impact of vandalismin the locker room. Every kind of locker, itseems, is vulnerable to thieves.

The locker theft problem is wide-spread. Scan recent police reports andnewspaper accounts, and you’ll find inci-dents occurring week after week in com-munity after community:

• June 21, Pelham Manor, N.Y. Personalpapers are stolen from a man’s locker atthe Omni Health and Fitness Complex.

• June 13, Irvine, Calif. Two diamondrings are stolen from a locker at the Sport-ing Club.

• June 7, Orlando, Fla. Gold and dia-mond jewelry, a calculator and a watchare stolen from a gym locker during dancetryouts at Deltona High School.

• May 30, Fairfax, Va. Two wallets arestolen from lockers at two different gyms.

• May 23, Providence, R.I. A student ischarged in a string of 11 thefts (netting

$508) from Smithfield High School lockers.• May 21, Warrenville, Ill. Four separate

thefts from lockers at a fitness center netthieves more than $780 in cash, a watch, abracelet and several credit cards.

• May 18, Annapolis, Md. A $6,000 watchis stolen from a locker at Gold’s Gym.

Larger-scale criminal activity alsoappears to be on the rise at every type offacility. The Brooklyn (N.Y.) South policeprecinct reported in June that 65 theftshad taken place in health clubs (most atBally Total Fitness clubs) within the previ-ous 18 months. In May, the Poway, Calif.,Unified School District announced a newemphasis on surveillance after a year inwhich 230 separate acts of locker vandal-ism and theft occurred, causing $133,350in vandalism damage alone. And in April,in the Boston area, a seven-person theftring was finally cracked by the state’sSecret Service Financial Organized CrimeTask Force. The thieves, a group offriends, typically used one-day passes toget into upscale health clubs, where theystole credit cards from lockers and pur-chased hundreds of thousands of dollarsworth of merchandise that was thentraded for cash or drugs. One of the sus-pects assaulted two undercover policeofficers who caught him breaking intolockers.

Locker break-ins are of two generaltypes: Those in which the locker is

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There hasn’t been a technologicalbreakthrough in lockers that

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AB SEPT-lockers 8/15/02 2:10 PM Page 82

forcibly opened and damaged, leaving nodoubt that a crime has occurred, andthose in which light-fingered thieves care-fully open lockers and remove valuables.Sometimes very carefully: What made thethieves in the Boston ring so hard toapprehend was their selectivity. Manyhealth-club users would find just onecredit card or a couple of bills missing —leaving some doubting whether their lossoccurred at the club.

Michael Davanzo, athletic administra-tor for Medina (Ohio) City Schools, sayshis district experienced the more violentbrand of theft — repeatedly.

“We had metal half-lockers that had dia-mond-shaped vents on the front that werelarge enough for fingers to fit through,”says Davanzo. “The way they weredesigned, students were able to bend thebottoms out and steal stuff with the pad-locks still on the lockers. We ended uphaving to put wood on the bottoms of allthe lockers to cover all the holes — andnow we’re getting new lockers.”

As Davanzo notes, his locker problemshaven’t been limited to that particulardesign. He previously had tall lockerswhose lock mechanism consists of threecatches inside a handle that the userslides upward to open. Students had twostandard methods of breaking in: Repeat-edly yank upward on the handle (lockswould occasionally loosen up enough to

open), or place a small object at the bot-tom of the latch slot that prevents the bot-tom catch from latching (locker contentscould be removed through the gap). Butthe destruction of the half-lockers hurtparticularly, because they were the onesDavanzo had wanted all along and speci-fied at his first opportunity.

“The manufacturer’s rep who soldthem to me hung on them to show mehow strong they were,” he recalls. “I waskind of surprised when things turned outthe way they did.”

Ruth Olsen’s metal lockers suffered aslightly more subtle, but equally devastat-ing attack, one that took months ofsleuthing and retrofitting to understandand respond to. Olsen, director of intra-

murals and coordinator of the studentrecreation center at the University ofAlaska-Fairbanks, had a “tremendousproblem” with thieves who openedunused lockers and bent latching pins inthe locker doors. Returning after the lock-ers were in use, they would then give ayank and open the still-locked lockers.Unlike what occurred in Medina, Alaska-Fairbanks’ students would return to alocker that was still locked and seeminglyundisturbed, only to find their wallets,purses and jewelry gone.

Olsen first set up a sting to trap whatshe assumed was one smart and strongperpetrator. She posted a sign saying thatone of the locker rooms was temporarilyclosed for maintenance, and rigged a

www.athleticbusiness.com September 2002 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 83CIRCLE 85 ON REPLY CARD

Percentage of respondents rating their lockers“Very Good” or “Excellent” in:

Metal Others

Longevity......................................74 ........................73

Maintainability .............................70 ........................87

Moisture-resistance .....................59 ........................71

Scratch-resistance .......................54 ........................71

Noise-reduction quality ................12 ........................72

Percentage of respondents rating their lockers“Very Good” or “Excellent” in:

Metal Others

Longevity......................................74 ........................73

Maintainability .............................70 ........................87

Moisture-resistance .....................59 ........................71

Scratch-resistance .......................54 ........................71

Noise-reduction quality ................12 ........................72


silent alarm on a locker door, behindwhich was planted a wallet containingpermanent ink. Caught red-handed by awaiting officer, the suspect eventually fledthe courthouse at his arraignmentthrough an emergency door and was onthe lam for the next three months.

In the meantime, Olsen enlisted thehelp of the locker manufacturer to find asolution to the problem latches. The man-ufacturer sent replacement latch pins, aswell as small metal plates to cover them.Over the next several months, Olsen’sstaff replaced all the bent pins andinstalled the new pin guards, after which— with the suspect again in custody —the vandalism, and the thefts, continued.

“He wasn’t the only guy, apparently,”Olsen says. “It was a real fiasco.”

Of the pin guards, Olsen says, “It couldhave worked. It could have made it sothieves would really have to work to bendit. But what it actually did was give themsomething they could use as leverage tobend it even easier. The tab covered thepin so it was harder to get to, but it endedup being a piece that they could use totheir advantage.”

Olsen now has eight video cameras inthe rec center. She has not, but cagilyallows students to speculate that shemight have, installed cameras in the lockerrooms, too. She went to another lockermanufacturer, who sent her standardmetal clasps through which padlocks areattached, and Olsen’s staff welded oneonto each of the building’s 600 lockers. “Itlooks ugly,” she says, “but it’s secure.”

K now this: There hasn’t been a techno-logical breakthrough in lockers that

can’t be broken. And it doesn’t takethieves to create serious management has-sles — consider, for example, key locks of

the type found on many laminate lockers,which have none of the latching problemspreviously noted but are easily disabled(accidentally or not) by broken or lostkeys.

One specifier of lockers for a nationalchain of recreational facilities (who wouldprefer to remain nameless) says she’llstick to metal lockers, thank you.

“Locking mechanisms on typical lami-nate lockers can be sabotaged discreetlywith a bicycle wrench,” she says. “It’s easy

for a thief to loosen the bolts on the insideof the locker door. The latch-tab insidethe door remains in the down positionand does not engage the locker framewhen the member padlocks the door.When the member leaves, the thief casu-ally and effortlessly opens the door with-out touching the latch, removing thecontents without notice. The memberreturns to an empty locker and a padlockthat has not been tampered with.”

Bob Spears, vice president of facilitiesand property management for the YMCAof Greater Kansas City, can relate to thisspecifier’s experience. He has long battledthe laminate lockers in four of the 13 Yshe oversees — from regular use and fromthieves.

“There’s a metal hinge on these lockers’doors that has a spring clipped to it, andthe way it’s designed, if somebody slideshis or her bag or coat out, it can catch andspring the hinge out, disconnecting itentirely from the fitting,” Spears says.“Usually the user tells us, and we go fixthe door, or we walk through and see adoor hanging by one hinge that’s still con-nected. I’d say we’re putting doors backon 10 to 15 times a day.”

In addition, Spears says, some laminatelocker systems include gaps betweenrows of lockers — there to deal with mois-ture, laminate lockers’ biggest nemesis —that are just wide enough to allow thievesto reach through from the top locker andyank on the partitions, causing the parti-cle board to break. “We had a multitude ofthefts,” he says. “We tried to reinforcethem by putting in a third hinge right inthe middle, hoping it would give themadditional stability. But eventually we hadto go back and retrofit by adding woodpieces in between all the lockers so peo-ple couldn’t reach into the gaps.”

Spears is now considering a switch toplastic in some Ys, as funds allow. “Theyseem to be impervious to vandalism, atleast in the newer Ys where we’ve putthem in the teen locker rooms,” he says.“Kids cannot destroy them.”

Now if only there could be a system thatkept adults at bay. Even computerization,

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CIRCLE 82 ON REPLY CARD

“Plastic lockers seem to be impervious to vandalism. Kids

cannot destroy them.”

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once seen as a technological advance astep ahead of most thieves, is increasinglyseen as an expensive but iffy proposition.

Lockers in the recreation center at theUniversity of California at Berkeleycouldn’t be more simple. They’re whatcould be called the industry standard —metal lockers with combination locks thatare provided to users. In an attempt tostreamline the system of checking outcombination locks, the recreation depart-ment wrote a computer program similarto most equipment checkout programs.Students use their ID cards and commu-nity members are issued their own cards,and only people verified as having paidtheir dues are issued locks.

There have been some programglitches along the way; a recent probleminvolved a group of users whose cards forsome reason were not recognized by thesystem. Jessica Fisher, director of campusrec operations and guest services, man-aged to figure out that there was a com-mon link between all those who weredenied locks (they were all Pell Grantrecipients), but she hasn’t yet been able toconvince the system to give them locks.

“I have a feeling it has to do with theway that the grants are registered with theuniversity,” Fisher says. “Initially, thesestudents are showing up as registered, butbecause their fees haven’t actually beenpaid, they’re not being found on the “FeesPaid” list. It shows them as owing theschool money, so they can’t get their lock.These things pop up from time to time.Our programmer is working on it.”

By far the most troublesome situation,though, involved a student or studentswho learned to work the system to theiradvantage. Over a period of months,apparently, the perpetrators were issuedlocks and, using a Palm Pilot, recorded allthe combinations along with the locks’ ser-ial numbers. After they’d compiled hun-dreds of serial numbers, they were able togo through the locker room and openmost any locker at any time, pulling offscores of thefts without attracting notice.“It was baffling for awhile,” Fisher says.

To fight the serial-number thieves,Berkeley instituted a bar-code system.Placed over the locks’ serial numbers, thebar codes are printed on tamper-prooflabels that shred if a user attempts toremove them.

The Berkeley thefts point out a weak-ness that probably affects hundreds ofrecreational facilities. As Alaska-Fairbanks’Olsen notes, most rec centers have lost-and-found boxes into which are thrown anumber of combination locks everysemester. “Usually, I write down all theserial numbers and take them to Ace Hard-ware, and Ace sends the list to MasterLock, and Master Lock sends me the com-binations back,” Olsen says. “I can reusethe locks, which is great, but it just showshow incredibly easy it is to get someone’scombination.” �




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AB SEPT-lockers 8/16/02 12:57 PM Page 85

by andrew cohen - athletic business · by andrew cohen heavy use, moisture — and especially...

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