The Yakima Athletic Club was built in 1978, originally named The Racquet Club. It offered 8 racquetball courts, and 4 tennis courts, plenty of viewing and lounge areas, men’s and women’s locker rooms, and a front desk area with a snack bar. The club was designed to be just that, a racquet club. The original concept and club was the brainchild of Earl Pratt and Max Vincent.

With the 1980s and the fitness boom, the owners decided to move forward and take the club to the next level. Earl took on full ownership and brought his son Steve Pratt into the business. Eventually, son Mike Pratt also came into the business and the club became a family owned, locally owned health and fitness business in Yakima.

In 1986, the name was changed to the Yakima Athletic Club and the facility has experienced several renovations and expansions to provide facilities for the ever growing programs. In 1998, a second fitness facility was built in Terrace Heights to achieve the goal of giving more people access to top notch fitness facilities in Yakima. At this point, Steve and Mike Pratt took over ownership of the business, especially in the day-to-day operations. They bought into the Gold’s Gym franchise for the new Terrace Heights facility. Gold’s Gym, at the time, was a viable brand and provided instant name recognition; with the confidence gained in operating the Yakima Athletic Club, Mike and Steve knew it was a winning match.

Feeling the limitations of the franchising agreement, Steve and Mike Pratt took the next step in early 2006 and changed the name for the Terrace Heights facility (Gold’s Gym) to YAC Fitness. With the same progressive staff and ownership, the change enables further growth in the East Yakima's premier fitness center, in facilities, programming, and services.

The Yakima Athletic Club is a member of the IDEA Health and Fitness Association,Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, and the Yakima Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Employment Opportunities at YAC

Visit our Employment Opportunities page to find out about current openings for:

Personal Trainers
Group Fitness Instructors
Service positions

Key Staff

The Yakima Valley Racquet Club, Inc. d/b/a Yakima Athletic Club and YAC Fitness employs and trains highly qualified individuals. While most of our fitness staff hold 4-yr college degrees related to health and fitness, we also require a minimum nationally-accredited certification appropriate for each department. These include American Council on Exercise, American Federation of Fitness Association, and Aquatic Exercise Association. We invest and train our fitness staff with the nationally-accredited National Academy of Sports Medicine, dotFit Weight management systems, and Les Mills Group Fitness systems. We also require American Red Cross certifications for our lifeguards and swim instructors. We require background checks for all staff working directly with our youth.

Meet the Personal Trainers at the Yakima Athletic Club and YAC Fitness.

YAC Staff Certifications

Giving Back

In-Kind Donations of Yakima Athletic Club and YAC Fitness Gift Memberships

We have been a proactive partner within the community with a goal to positively impact the quality of life for our members and employees who live and work in the Yakima County.   Since 1978, Yakima Athletic Club (and 1998 for YAC Fitness) we have shared our good fortune by giving back through financial support to select charities and through the donation of in-kind gift memberships to a wide variety of groups for fundraising events, such as raffles or silent auctions.  Over the past 30 years, Yakima Athletic Club and YAC Fitness have contributed in kind or financial support of nearly a half-million dollars in support of our community.

For more information, please visit our Giving Back page.