Kettering Recreation Complex — Attraction in Kettering

The place itself isn't bad. The staff aren't bad. The biggest problem I have is the exorbant prices they have for everything. You'd think a rec center subsidized by kettering taxes would actually be affordable for residents, but most of the services offered are incredibly expensive, with very weird/limited hours to boot. Ice skating is almost double the weekday rate at Riverscape if you are not living in kettering (if you do live in kettering, you still have to pay $6.50, which isn't terrible but still worse than Riverscape, with very restrictive hours that are ALL over the place). Getting a pass for the gym excludes you from using the pool facilities or anything else, which makes no sense. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't actually MORE expensive to get an annual gym pass at KRC than it would be to go to some of the local gym businesses. Gyms which, by the way, are open 24/7, and include more amenities than what the KRC gym pass offers. Don't think about bringing a friend who is out of town either, as they'll be paying an expensive cost for a day pass (that only applies to the gym).

The facilities aren't terrible, but the hours are all over the place and usually not working in my favor, and yet its more expensive to use everything here than anything in dayton metro parks, local businesses, cincinatti, etc, all of which have just as good (if not better) facilities, much better hours, and any kind of pass you get is either cheap or all-inclusive if it isn't cheap. KRC has none of that. And I'm a resident of kettering, paying the taxes to keep this place going, yet still having to pay more than for-profit businesses or places out-of-town!

The only stand out redeeming factor of KRC is the waterpark. But lets be honest here, the only ones benefitting from this are going to be the under 10 years of age demographic. And the waterpark isn't anything huge, but it's still nice to have considering its just a rec center. But I'd rather pay prices that are half as what they are for residents than have a small waterpark which can only be open for 1/3rd of the time in a year, and only be used by...

October 2025

Had the unfortunate experience of assisting a woman during a medical emergency. I literally begged the lifeguards to help for 10+ mins. By the 15 min mark there was still no lifeguard entering the water. Other staff members were alerted too and they also stood around inactive as we tried to keep the woman alert on the ledge of the pool. The first patron helping her saw that no one would be coming to assist us and luckily was physically able to pick up the woman and get her out of the water. Each of the three lifeguards were holding some sort of lifesaving equipment and didn’t offer it to either the gentleman or I to make the rescue easier. Whatever written policy or protocol used in medical emergencies was completely disregarded. It was callous and almost alternate universe, As if they wanted the woman to die in front of us. Very sad scene to walk away from.

The gentleman who got her out the water vomited as he left the area and even that medical issue was too much for the staff to handle because a 3rd patron sanitized and cleaned the area as Kettering Rec staff continued to look on. No one talked to him so the EMT’s walked away with an incomplete account of what may have happened to this woman.

Kettering Rec has a very well attended summer camp where the children swim or visit the on site water park at least once a week. If your children attend it would be wise to opt out of any water activity. Poorly trained staff unwilling or unable to assist someone in a medical emergency+ hundreds of kids= avoidable drownings

Additionally, I’d estimate more than half of the patrons are 55+ and up. Defibrillators and a trained staff would make all...

Grew up using this facility for years, learned how to swim in this pool and then transitioned into using the fitness room. My experience in the fitness room has been great. People who work out there are like family. People have got your back there regardless of what the situation is. People are approachable there for the most part. If you are wanting help, people won't bite there. If they do bite, I am sure that they do have some personal problems within them that they need to figure out themselves, which is rare in this type of community. This gym is really a gym and also a great place to develop new friendships and maintain old relationships. This facility has been close to my heart since I was a kid and still continues to be. This place is a great place to start if you want to join a gym and the membership is worth it. There is no contract or anything you get locked into. If you feel dissatisfied, the staff are willing to help you with that. I feel there is no reason to feel dissatisfied...