The government’s new health measures aimed at fitness clubs should not be a one-size fits all policy.
That from the owner of a Regina fitness studio who is frustrated at what has happened and what some are getting away with.
Tracy Read runs Readiness Fitness in the Warehouse District. She doesn’t like the fact that class sizes have been reduced to 8 saying her studio can accommodate much more than that safely.
“We used to have 3o to 40 people a class before the pandemic and now we have been mandated to eight.” Read said. ” We have been doing 15 since August 1 and we were doing it safely with no signs of COVID in our facility. What we were doing was working. To take another hit could potentially crush us which is something we obviously don’t want. We have the physical space to do 15 people with the proper distancing so why can’t we keep doing it. ”
Read feels the blanket-style stance that the government has placed over the fitness industry needs to be looked at with a formula created as to how many can be in a class with the size of the building being what is important. Read says while her 5000 square foot establishment is limited to eight per class so is everyone else including those that are 1000 feet in size which is wrong.
What also is wrong is the fact she says some fitness studios are “circumventing the rules”.
“Some are offering boxing classes which is something I haven’t done since March because you can’t people two or three meters apart, yet people are utilizing that as a way to keep their class size to 20 saying it is a contact sport while myself and others are reduced to eight. These facilities that are bending the rules and finding loopholes is something that the government needs to clamp down on.”
Read says she has spoken to her MLA and the Business Response Team saying it isn’t just about small business, it is about mental and physical health as well. She says her clients not being able to come to the studio physically hurts them mentally because people want to leave their houses and interact with one another and now with class sizes being cut, it is hurting people who can’t do that.”
