COCHRANE— Joining forces with hundreds of other fitness facilities across the province, Arashi-Do Martial Arts has vowed to open up in opposition to public health orders that are putting a strangle hold on the business.
The announcement was made on Arashi-Do’s Facebook on Wednesday (Jan. 27).
Part owner of Arashi-Do Cochrane, Mark Paffrath said, they joined forces with gyms across Alberta in a push to reopen.
Arashi-Do has 19 schools across Alberta, with about 2,500 members.
“There were a couple of different factors. One was the livelihood of the gym owners have been shut down completely. We weren’t in any position to be able to pay our bills,” she said. “We’re fortunate that our membership helped us out through the tough times and were still supporting us … We also saw that, more importantly, we saw a lot of stress on people without having this outlet of physical activity.”
Paffrath said the important role that physical activity plays in the lives of so many Albertans was “completely missed” by the province’s politicians.
“By staying in shape, by exercising and getting your heart rate up, I think, or so they’ve been telling us, is something that keeps us well and out of the healthcare system,” he said. “It’s the old saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, well, an hour of exercise a day keeps you out of the hospital.”
Paffrath noted that while the gym was operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arashi-Do Martial Arts has not seen a single case of the virus spread.
“We have had zero cases. In 19 schools with roughly 2,500 members in the five months that we were allowed to operate during COVID we had zero cases,” he said.
Paffrath said the reason for the announcement that they would open was to push the government to pay closer attention to the businesses like his and other gyms who have been struggling during the pandemic.
He said he did not want to run afoul of the law, but wanted to see a more sensible approach by the government.
“All of us are law-abiding citizens, you know, we’re not crazy people, but they weren’t moving fast enough, which is typical of government. If you see cases going up again, I would hope that they’ve learned from their experiences that where the cases are going up you put the restrictions in, like they did originally,” Paffrath said.
On Friday (Jan. 29), Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, at a press conference, announced that gyms will be allowed to reopen under strict guidelines.
As of Monday (Feb. 8) one-on-one training sessions at indoor facilities will be permitted by appointment only. Individual workouts without a trainer are not permitted.
During the one-on-one sessions, athletes are not permitted to interact with each other, trainers must wear a mask and a distance of three metres must be maintained between student and instructor during high intensity workouts.
Those restrictions are expected to ease further when the province hits the benchmark of 450 hospitalizations.
