25/07/2020
Please take a second to help your local gyms.
Morning Folks,
Some of you may have seen this article this morning’s Daily Record. It may be Davie that is pictured but make no mistake, this not just about NLG, this issue is affecting 1000s of small indy gyms across Scotland as well bigger commercial gyms. Us wee ones especially, don’t have a board or a council to speak up on our behalf and as a result we are being left behind by the Scottish Government.
Current lockdown measures mean that in theory we can travel to other parts of the world (eg. Italy, Spain) train and in some cases spar with strangers, then return to Scotland sans quarantine but we cannot train in a socially distant manner here in our own country, in our own small community gyms. Here we can track and trace. Here we can boost our own economy. Here we can support our own communities.
During this time we can also attend other indoor industries such as pubs etc, where we can socially distance at a reduced 1m. Whilst, we are happy for other businesses out there to be open, this move in itself does go initial narrative of taking the stress off the NHS. It is well documented that that there is a strong correlation between A&E admissions and one too many drinks.
This industry has supported lockdown and truly backed the government’s decision to slow the country to allow for the slow of COVID. We have closed our doors, lot of us before the official lockdown, we have made extensive changes to our business models and extensive physical changes to our units to ensure we are a safe & compliant space to reopen to.
When we reopen, we know that our services will be greatly reduced (for us personally no grappling/sparring etc) We know that our expenses are going up & our income going down yet we have pushed on to find ways to accommodate the greater public’s health. We have invited the FM to our gyms, we have written to our MPs and MSPs yet we are not being heard.
We have been told to remain closed with no indication as to when we will even be considered to reopen. We have not been offered additional financial support (loans excluded) and whilst we are absolutely grateful for the initial one off grant, that was offered to all qualifying small businesses , it is not elastic. There has still been rent, bills to pay & for the vast majority of this industry, expensive renovation & remodelling works required to allow us to reopen. For many of us, our members are the ones propping us up, it’s not on them. We are at 20 weeks of closure and we have no idea how much longer it will last. We then have an infinite amount of time where we will be operating on reduced services, which has its on set of ramifications.
We NEED clarity.
As a final note, and I can only speak for us here at NLG personally, we are 100% behind the pledge to ease shielding and get kids back to routine. We agree, that is a top priority. We are not asking to ‘skip the queue’. We are asking for support, an explanation behind the theory of pubs and international travel being safer, communication and guidelines.
Please help this industry by sharing our stories, all of our stories, as far and wide as possible. Sign the petitions. Lobby your MPs & MSPs.
Gyms are a sanctuary for many, esp community based gyms. Contrary to popular belief most people do not come to us to learn how to fight, they often come to us because they are fighting something much much bigger in their lives, training is the by product of that coping mechanism.
