Gym owner angry about fresh delay
A CARMARTHENSHIRE gym boss has hit out as First Minister Mark Drakeford has been accused by the Welsh leisure industry of “inconsistencies” and “misrepresentation”.
The backlash comes after Mr Drakeford revealed that gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres will not be opening any
Wales.
A little over two weeks ago, Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Government’s Mental Health, Wellbeing, and Welsh Language Minister, insisted gyms and fitness centres would be among the first businesses considered for re-opening when the easing of restrictions began.
But, striking a very different tone, Mr Drakeford said on Friday that he time soon in can’t entertain the prospect of reopening gyms at the next scheduled lockdown review on March 12, citing new advice from the government’s Technical Advisory Group that claims gyms are potentially vulnerable to the Kent variant of the virus.
Realistically, it is likely to be Easter before they are open again.
“Since Eluned Morgan has pointed to the mental health advantage of peo
ple being able to use gyms, we’ve now had this further advice from our Technical Advisory Group,” said Mr Drakeford.
“Their anxiety is that the Kent variant, which is so much more transmissible and so much more infectious than the original form of coronavirus, may make gyms particularly vulnerable to being places where the virus is spread.
“So I don’t anticipate that we will see gyms reopening – certainly not in the next three weeks.”
The “new” evidence he referred to has not been published publicly, and ukactive, the body representing the leisure industry in the ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government, insist they have not been shown it.
A previous report from the Technical Advisory Group’s environmental science subgroup did identify “key risks” associated with gyms, leisure centres and dance or exercise classes.
This included “potential for a super-spreading event, infection through aerosol transmission, and infection through direct contact with contaminated surfaces and equipment”.
Ukactive, a not-forprofit industry association promoting the interests of commercial fitness gyms and community leisure centres, maintains that document was based on outdated evidence and did not properly take into account the mitigation measures which have been put in place over the past year.
Now, in a stronglyworded statement, Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “Unfortunately, we need to address the inconsistent statements made by the Welsh First Minister regarding the safety of gyms, pools and leisure centres.
“Ukactive helped develop the guidance for the reopening of gyms, pools and leisure centres with the Welsh Government, and this was informed by a range of scientific and technical experts, including SAGE and TAG.
“Our sector is an open book and these measures have proved to be effective, making the sector ‘Covid-secure’ once it reopened.
Up to December 20, among facilities sharing data, there had been over 1.8 million visits since reopening in Wales, with a case rate of just 2.06 cases per 100,000 visits.
“We have received no new scientific evidence or rationale behind the statements made by the First Minister.
“These are particularly troubling and inconsistent given that he has referred to concerns over the ‘Kent variant’ linked to gyms, yet there are no proposed changes to social distancing or wider restrictions to the population as a whole.
“Furthermore, there has been no published evidence that the new variant, while more transmissible, travels further, remains suspended longer, or is present in greater quantities in expired air compared with the original Covid-19 variant.
“If the First Minister’s proposals were consistent with the concerns regarding the Kent variant, then sectors which require close human contact would pose the greater risk, and not sectors where social distancing is fully integrated.
“We urge all leaders to make evidence-based statements about the cleanliness and safety of gyms and leisure centres, and we ask the First Minister and the Welsh Government
to address inconsistencies.
“We will work with the Welsh Government to address these inconsistencies and have offered the sector’s full scientific and technical expertise to avoid these unnecessary misrepresentations of a sector that is essential for the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the people of Wales.”
While members remain locked out of their gyms, the impact on the smaller, more independent businesses is becoming very real and the frustration was evident in owners of smaller Welsh gyms canvassed after Friday’s announcement.
Dai Watkins, owner of The Gym Shed in Llandovery, formed a group of his peers and presented a letter to the Welsh Government last year, highlighting the evidence from ukactive.
He added: “There’s not been one cluster outbreak in a gym across Europe that I’m aware of. We’ve not had a single case in my gym.
“I know some of the more urban gyms have had a few but the track and trace system that all the gyms are using means that there have been no cluster outbreaks.
“There is no foundation for this at all. I really don’t understand what’s going on.”
Another source of frustration is the perceived lack of flexibility being shown by the government and the one-size-fits-all approach being adopted.
Mr Watkins’s gym has equipment adequately spaced out in a large agricultural-type building.
Because of its relatively small membership compared to the commercial gyms – like Puregym and DW – gym owners like Mr Watkins feel they are able to enforce Covid-19 measures
these with greater ease.
Yet they are viewed through the same lens as the national chains.
“I could quite easily run my business even if we limited it to two people in the building at £7.50 an hour,” said Mr Watkins.
“That’s me making £15 an hour and I could make a living out of that if it was busy eight hours a day.
“We’d be looking at something like £900 a week and I can survive on that. I wouldn’t need government handouts and it would be perfectly safe to operate.
“But there’s no at all.
“Some gyms don’t have the space for that so their numbers would be smaller.
“But somebody from the council could go to each gym and pick a number that they deem reasonable. All we have to do then is get the guys to book in.”
For now, though, all gym owners can do is hang on and continue to ride out the most turbulent of storms.
But there are fears over what businesses will look like by the time gyms are eventually allowed to reopen.
And the implications of all this go beyond the financial.
The links between exercise and mental wellbeing have been heavily documented throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Going to a gym and exercising provides a sense of community and endorphin release that its members cherish and, in the eyes of some, that aspect is being lost in the debate.
So what does the future hold for Welsh fitness facilities?
The immediate future looks bleak, but there are hopes of happier times in the summer. flexibility
A BEFRIENDING support group in Carmarthen is looking for a new base for its food distribution service.
Awaydays, which has run in the town for 17 years and helps people get together regularly and offers emotional and mental wellbeing support, has made an appeal for help in continuing feeding people weekly.
Currently it has a room at the Quay Centre every Saturday thanks to the building’s owners Carmarthenshire Water Safety Partnership (CWSP).
However, CWSP has said it needs to use the space for its work from April. Executive chairman of Awaydays Alan Bowen said he understands the needs of CWSP and is urging anyone to come forward and help find a new home for the food service to relocate to.
“It’s not a food parcel service as such,” he said. “We have a range of food laid out which we collect throughout the week and people can take what they want.
“I have a space for storing the food throughout the week at the Quay Centre too but would need somewhere new to store it from April, as well as the space for people Awaydays supports to come and collect the food.”
Mr Bowen says the service is very much a lifeline for those who use it, and that some people who used to use it cannot do so anymore due to health issues so other members pick up food for them.
“Those who come find it very helpful, especially since the pandemic started,” he said. “There’s more call for it than ever. Ideally what I need is a space in the town centre on a Saturday morning and early afternoon to enable Awaydays to keep this service going.
“There would also be a need for somewhere to store the food.”
As well as Awaydays, Mr Bowen also runs the offshoot group Awaydays Coastcare. This is made up of the more adventurous group members who travel to destinations and do a beach clean or litter pick.