New safety procedures in place to safeguard members

By Chris Sinclair

The Northwestern Connecticut YMCA, comprising branches in Torrington, Winsted and Canaan, has joined other businesses and nonprofits over the last several weeks in beginning their slow and gingerly march toward reopening amid the pandemic. The Canaan branch, to which many Norfolk residents belong, will be the final branch in the region to open, on Aug. 10.

Gyms, by their very nature, pose many unique hurdles in the present Covid-19 environment. Given that fact, the management and staff at the Canaan YMCA, as well as at YMCAs across the country, have done everything in their power to ensure that reopening takes into account every conceivable precaution.

Greg Brisco, CEO of the Northwestern Connecticut YMCA region, says that a consistent piece of advice he received throughout the process was to “not race just to be open—to go slow, and when you open, be sure.” CEOs of various YMCAs in the region as well as across the country have been regularly meeting via Zoom since gyms were initially compelled to close in March. Brisco says that the guidance he has received from other CEOs has been invaluable, as he has gotten real-time feedback from branches across the country who have already reopened, offering what has worked, what hasn’t and what can be improved. As the Canaan branch gets set to open fairly late in the process, they have benefited greatly from this constant refinement of procedures and practices.

The new safety measures to which members will have to acclimate over the coming weeks begin even before entering the facility. To ensure that the capacity limits newly devised for each branch are never reached, the YMCA has begun using a site called MotionVibe, on which members can create an account and then sign up for a time slot in the portion of the facility they plan to use. For example, if a person wanted to get a swim in before heading to work, they would log in to their MotionVibe account, navigate to the Canaan YMCA and sign up for a pool slot at 7 a.m. Regulations do not allow for locker rooms to be open at present, and so swimmers are asked to arrive wearing their suits if possible.

Upon arriving at the facility, Canaan members will walk through a newly built entryway, currently under construction, bypassing the lobby of the Geer assisted living facility. The YMCA had long planned to construct a separate entrance for itself as part of an eventual expansion, but current circumstances have hastened the project.

At the front desk, members will go through the now ubiquitous temperature check and answer a brief series of screening questions. Masks are required at all times in and around the facility, except when a member is actively working out or swimming. Greg Brisco and the YMCA management considered it important that members have the option to take their masks off while they are exerting themselves, and to that end made the decision to sacrifice overall capacity in favor of greater distance between members in the facility—12 feet to be precise—which affords people the option of pulling their mask down while they work out.

Ventilation systems have also been adjusted so that internal air is not recirculated; rather, inside air exhausts outside and fresh air is pulled in. The weight room and cardio areas have been broken up into small sections called pods, each of which is 12 feet from every other and designed to be used by one person at a time. While moving between pods or about the facility, members are required to have their masks on. All staff wear masks at all times. Each member will receive their own spray bottle and cloth for wiping down equipment throughout their visit to limit points of contact on communal spray bottles.

The gym landscape, like so many other business landscapes, offers a quite a different view these days. It is the hope of the Canaan YMCA and its staff that by taking their time, doing their research, listening, asking questions and then thoughtfully acting on the best information at their disposal, they can create a gym environment in which people feel safe, comfortable and hopefully not too sore as they work their way back into their old routines.