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Worried that the fate of the bars will pass
Following the government’s decision on Wednesday to limit the opening hours of bars, cafes and restaurants, despite the fact that a memorandum was signed a few days before that all security requirements will be met, representatives of the sports clubs whose activities are growing as COVID-19 continues to be. severely unrestricted.
Aurimas Mačiukas, president of the Lithuanian Association of Health Clubs, said that the situation with sports clubs was similar to that of bars, as representatives of sports clubs also signed the memorandum a week ago, but added that fate of the bars would not happen with the sports clubs until what greater restrictions will not be taken.
According to the representative, the memorandum signed with the National Center for Public Health (NVSC) did not change any essential safety rules for many sports clubs, as such a strict procedure had been followed for a good six months.
As said, sports clubs are now, as before, constantly disinfected, ventilated, traffic flows are distributed, group coaches have limited contacts, and at least 5 square meters should be allocated for one person in a group training session. . zone.
“It’s also the order in which you wear the mask until you get to the gym, and it used to be right before entering the gym,” he added.
According to A. Mačiukas, due to the pandemic, sports clubs today receive significantly fewer visitors. Some of the people, they said, are scared and overall attendance is 20 to 30 percent. lower than usual.
When asked if he knows of sports clubs that are closed today due to less traffic, a larger player said, there are none, but when it comes to smaller sports, there may be.
They are ready for a possible closure, accumulating a reserve
Commenting on the current situation of sports clubs, Mantas Badikonis, head of operations of the Gym Plus sports club network, assured that the general mood in society is pessimistic, it is increasingly difficult to attract new customers and traffic clubs in this network are around 15%. lower compared to 2019.
“We hope that we are not as good as bars and cafes, and that we can operate safely,” he added.
Overall, M. Badikon estimated that the sports clubs had not been in operation since March, even before the quarantine was announced, and had closed for a total of 69 days.
“If this scenario were to happen again, it would be very bad. It would be bad for both clients <...>, both by the company.
If our operations are completely suspended, we, as a restaurant, do not deliver the food to the customer to go. If we are stopped, we lose exactly 100 percent. Your income. As with the entire quarantine, we saw a round zero in our income for exactly 69 days. That would be bad in this situation. Of course, we are preparing for that and we are really saving that money and indulging in a black day, as we did before the first quarantine, ”said the operations manager of the sports club network.
He clarified that the company today is ready for all scenarios, including those in case it is ordered to close again.
“We are ready for all plans to close the clubs, suspend the client’s account, if necessary, so that the money is not counted, etc., so that we can react quickly,” he said.
Stops group swimming workouts
Marketing director of “Impuls” Donata Visockait manager – Laurinčikienė also said that currently in all sports clubs in this network personal trainers must wear masks during their entire stay at the sports club, coaches and reception staff must measure the temperature at the beginning of each workday. safe distances between them, as well as disinfected rooms, exercise machines and even 6 sticks are equipped with automatic temperature measurement stations.
It’s true that, despite what he said, the sports club network is cracking down on even tougher measures.
“In accordance with the latest recommendations from the Government on the restriction of non-formal education for students, from October 26 to November 8. we will stop group swimming training and training of sports academies for children through the network. Downtime will cost your customers nothing. Personal training in the pool can continue, ensuring your safety, “said the spokeswoman, convinced that such drastic decisions by the government, which had been taken in the spring, would not have to be taken this time and sports clubs would not have to be temporarily closed.
“Various restrictions, of course, make business difficult, but for the moment, the most important thing is to ensure the safety of sports in clubs and to maintain existing clubs. At the moment, the responsible authorities are looking for common solutions, talking and discussing how to guarantee a safe active movement.
Without a doubt, disruption is essential for any sector of activity. We are one of the most affected by the pandemic. Sports clubs were closed first, even before the general quarantine. At that time, we had to react very quickly: stop the activities of the sports clubs, and during that period we suspended memberships free of charge for all visitors.
During the quarantine, the income of the clubs was zero, the clients began to return to the clubs in the summer, but this fall, the worries of the clients about the pandemic prevent an increase of the income, as was usual during the sports season active, and additional restrictions exacerbate the situation.
Until now, the activities in the municipalities where we work are not restricted, and if the cities where the clubs in the network operate are subject to local quarantine, we will continue to operate, guaranteeing safety and taking into account the requirements. We are ready to take all the actions recommended by the Government, ”commented D. Visockaitė – Laurinčikienė.
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