We’re delighted that we’ve now been given a definite date for our clubs in England to reopen by the Government. It’s been a challenging time for us all but we’ve been preparing throughout lockdown to help our clubs introduce the necessary social distancing and cleanliness measures to keep our members safe and healthy.

With over 165 independently owned clubs across the UK and Ireland, we will ensure consistency across our network and with this in mind, we will continue to work closely with our clubs in England over the next fortnight to make sure they’re ready to welcome back members on 25th July. We will also patiently await the guidance from the Scottish and Welsh parliaments on a confirmed reopening date for our clubs in those countries.

While we aim to have all of our clubs open on that date, we will only allow individual clubs to open once we’re happy that they’re fully compliant with the Government’s guidelines. Our staff and guests’ health and safety is our number one priority and we will not take unnecessary risks by opening any clubs prematurely. Members should keep an eye on their local club’s channels in case of any delays to their reopening date.

When clubs are open, we appreciate it will take people a while to adapt to the ‘new normal’ but we can assure them we’ve done everything we can to make our clubs as safe and welcoming as possible. We also understand that not everyone will feel comfortable in returning to the gym right away, but we want to reassure them that we’re here and waiting for them whenever they’re ready.

It has been a difficult time for our club owners financially but today marks the start of the rebuilding process and a clear pathway to getting back on their feet again.

It’s also a positive day for the health and fitness industry as a whole and we’d like to commend the great work that UKactive has done in helping push this date through. As an industry, we all know the positive benefits that exercise can have in such a challenging time and it’s great that gyms and leisure centres can now open their doors again.

To ensure all our clubs are compliant with Government guidelines, members will notice the following changes when they return:

• All equipment has been strategically repositioned to adhere to social distancing guidelines
• An enhanced number of cleaning stations housing hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes for cleaning equipment throughout gyms
• Smaller class sizes and extended time between classes to allow thorough equipment cleaning
• Company-wide training delivered to all of our teams to ensure they’re prepared to return to work and are safely able to support our members and their goals
• Posters, stickers and signs throughout the club reminding members of the guidelines

With all our members having unique fobs to enter our clubs, it also means we have the capability to deploy a highly effective Track and Trace system should there be any COVID-19 cases in the local area. Clubs also have access to a Gym Reservation System which will allow members to pre-book their gym visits where the need to closely monitor capacity is required.