NETWORK WINTER 2020 | Page 69

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