NZ
NEWS
News and views from the New Zealand fitness industry.
ExercizeNZ guides government on post-COVID reopening
New Zealand is now at Level 1 for its COVID-19 response,
which means gyms and exercise providers can be open,
with almost no restrictions. Contact tracing is now
only ‘recommended’ by government, and the now well
established CV-19 hygiene recommendations (sneezing
into elbow etc) and ‘stay at home if unwell’ remain the
main rule for all businesses.
While New Zealand is held up by many as a model for
others to follow, from a gym industry perspective there were major challenges
throughout lockdown and reopening. A good deal of this stemmed from the
vacuum of information from government regarding the rules for the various
levels, often until the day before, and sometimes the day of, any changes. As one
government liaison told us ‘We are building the plane as we are flying it’, which
made planning ahead extremely challenging.
Businesses need certainty, so ExerciseNZ took what some regarded as an
unusual step of developing industry guidelines for reopening before the government
released theirs. As the lead time for development of a comprehensive framework
is many weeks, even with this fast-tracked, it meant we had to be 100% sure that
our framework was not only going to meet the (then as yet undisclosed) needs of
government, but also that it was safe, evidence-based, and met the needs of the
exercise industry. The good news is, this worked. Having a framework before the
government had developed one meant the industry got significant positive media
exposure at a time that everyone was asking for clarity. Moreover, we were invited
to present the framework to Parliament’s CV-19 committee. At that submission
we again went against the trend, and instead of asking for money and exceptions,
focused on the effect that gyms being closed would have on the immediate mental
health and long-term physical health of the three-quarters of a million Kiwis that
exercised pre-pandemic. We presented evidence of how to keep people safe (our
framework), provided statistics on the major impact on Kiwis’ wellness if exercise
providers were to fail, and backed it up with information on the budgetary impact
for taxpayers if fewer people are active.
We went above and beyond government guidelines in our framework, and
as a result proved that our industry could take the lead on what is safe. Multiple
government departments and agencies now look at our framework as the model
to follow. By doing this, we were able to provide certainty to our industry on what
to expect, how to plan, and above all, the new rules of operating.
The process wasn’t easy and we faced many challenges, including one
government agency saying gyms and classes had a maximum of 10 attendees
when level 2 started and that the 100-maximum applied to large facilities, even
though this wasn’t the case. We knew that the 10 limit would cripple gyms when
they opened, so went back to our framework, engaged with the government
safety agency (WorkSafe) and through countless hours
of Zoom meetings, phone calls and emails to everyone
from the Minister of Health to expert virologists and
protocol designers, were successful in having the
restrictions clarified as not applying to our industry.
We were prepared to fight for our industry, but by
doing our homework and front-footing the issues with
both the media and the government, we found that we
didn’t need to battle them: instead, they turned to us
for guidance.
The challenges related to COVID-19 are far from
over for our industry. Throughout the lockdown we
have been providing tools and guidelines for everything
from membership contracts and employment issues,
to consumer research. Right now, we are planning for
future potential challenges: what happens if we go back
into some sort of lockdown, and how can we position
our industry as safe? We are also very aware that the
full economic effects of the economic downturn are yet
to be felt and that there may be further facility closures
(at the time of writing it is less than 1% of the industry).
So, what have we learnt from all of this? We need
to be confident that what we advocate is right, and
supported by science and statistics. We need to let the
government and the media know that as an industry,
safety is our priority. We also need to communicate
clearly to the entire exercise industry. Finally, we support
gyms, studios, recreation centres, PTs, yoga teachers,
group fitness instructors and gym floor staff. Be very
clear: we are here for you – we will get through this.
Richard Beddie
CEO, ExerciseNZ
[email protected]
NETWORK WINTER 2020 | 69