Happy Canada Surprise!

Yay, Happy Days are here again!

We celebrated our nation’s birthday with some very welcome surprises:
The deadly heat spell broke, returning us to proper West Coast coolness and the Stage 3 lifting of restrictions for gyms was far less conservative than expected.

Unfortunately the guidelines, as usual, are communicated in government double-speak that leaves everything open to interpretation such as: “Masks are not required indoors. Everyone over the age of 12 should wear masks indoors unless they are 14 days out from their second vaccination. You may not request proof of vaccination.” or “Fitness facilities can return to full capacity. Businesses should protect customer health by limiting occupancy to a degree that does not negatively impact the business.”

While it’s certainly not the clear direction we have hoped for all pandemic long, we’ll take it over Ontario’s authoritarian approach. We are left again to make the best decisions possible with the information available to us knowing we will not be able to please everyone. We understand some of you will consider our phase 3 interpretation too conservative while others will deride it as too risky. Oh well, here it goes. Effective immediately:

Group classes increased to 10 attendees
Open gyms increased to 8 attendees
Masks required for duty coaches
Masks optional for members
We will not continue using designated stations but request that you continue to observe 2 metres separation from other members during exercise
You may get equipment close to your station but please ask the coach for assistance if the equipment is across the gym

We understand that it will take practice learning new ways of navigating the space but we’ve had almost a year and a half experience adjusting to new patterns of behaviour so it will work out just fine. Please remember to be respectful of other members’ space as every person has different COVID comfort levels.

Resources:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restart
https://www.worksafebc.com/en/covid-19/bcs-four-step-restart
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restrictions#gyms

Training in the Heat
Even as COVID death rates plummet, the heat wave has stepped in to claim more than 100 lives locally in just a few days. Tuesday morning we awoke to police and paramedics responding to one such death across the street from us. Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are two very real threats to those of us daring a workout during extreme temperatures. Make sure to stay hydrated, wear light clothing, get frequent cold showers and dial down your training intensity on these very hot days. Even while the heat is claiming more lives than COVID gyms are not yet permitted to run fans. This seems mistaken prioritization on the part of the Health Authority under current circumstances. Make sure you are playing safe!

Canada Day
It is a super long weekend and BC is open for travel again. Empower will be open for everyone who wants to keep training and Zoom will be available for those who want to join in from vacation land but we will be cancelling classes with fewer than 3 people registered and a long weekend 8-hour cancellation will be in effect.

Personal Trainer Search
In the past few months Leon and I had to take a step back from our group class coaching so we could build gym revenue with higher volume personal training. This has worked to keep Empower profitable despite COVID restrictions. Our goal however, is to make ourselves more available for coaching group classes as well. To that end we are in the market for experienced personal trainers who can help build our revenue stream and free us up to be more involved in overseeing group classes. We are looking for experienced personal trainers who are a good fit for our community. We are accepting member referrals for consideration at this time.

General Manager Search
Auto has generously volunteered his small business consulting services as he steps into the role of temporary General Manager. In this capacity he will lend his expertise in helping systematize the back end of the business with the ultimate goal of handing off the bulk of administrative duties to an Assistant General Manager who will eventually advance to the role of Empower General Manager. This salaried position will free Leon and I to focus on our passion and expertise which is coaching and community building. We are very excited to move the business forward and are keen to start the search for our future GM. We are accepting member referrals for consideration at this time.

Award Ceremony Picnic TBA
With restrictions lifting we are keen to book our award ceremony for both the 2021 Empower COVID Games and the 2021 Spirit of the Open. As soon as the delivery date of our COVID Games prizes is confirmed we will announce the time and location of our award party.

Class Reservations Practices
Thank you for the great work you have done in June to honour your class reservations.
It remains important that you only book for classes you know you will attend and that you cancel 2 hours in advance for afternoon/evening classes and 8hours in advance for morning/weekend/holiday classes.

If you are waitlisted for a class please check inside the cancellation window to see if you got in or, remove yourself from the waitlist if you do not plan to attend. Not knowing you got in off the waitlist is not an acceptable reason for a missed reservation.

Friday Make Up Day