WAG Post season meets and Coronavirus

[Deleted member 14190]

Operation lose big belly in full swing this week... Lots of running in the rain in my plans.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Gotta say, it's getting harder and harder to discuss the pandemic and its implications without it getting political.

Here are some issues I see looming:

1) Most gyms are small mom and pop operations; they can't afford to close for weeks at a time, even if it's the right thing to do.

2) There is a direct financial incentive AGAINST hourly wage workers (ie, most coaches) staying home sick. There are dire ramifications to hourly wage workers (like most coaches) missing weeks of work. Literally every coach has at some point in their careers come in to work sick.

(A UBI would neatly address both of these issues)

3) As a species that lives in societies, we cannot effectively protect ourselves from sickness as individuals; it is something we must do as a society. One person getting sick increases the threat to the entire collective. Thus, a society in which not everybody has access to healthcare is inherently at greater risk. We are as safe as our least-cared-for people.
Most hourly wage workers can't afford treatment even if they get sick.

(Universal healthcare with no cost at point of service would neatly address this)

4) In the purely hypothetical scenario where we have intelligent, forward-thinking leaders who could effectively handle a crisis, they would end up looking like they overreacted and wasted a bunch of time and money.
That hypothetical scenario would be far preferable to the one we are seeing play out right now. The entire team charged with protecting us held a press conference where they repeatedly shook hands and put all their hands on the exact same spot on a podium -- all after one of them who has likely been exposed said he has not yet been tested.

(Reminder to the site staff: I'm not staff anymore, I have no authority, and if you feel this post is out of line you are 100% free to call me out, delete my post, or issue me a warning)

 

[rjb123]

Operation lose big belly in full swing this week... Lots of running in the rain in my plans.

OMG- My level 10 DD just made me do "running exercises" for ten minutes in our driveway plus "jump rope" exercises. I thought I was going to DIE! HA HA! I never realized how freaking LONG our driveway was until today!

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

The more I read the reports from Europe and Asia, the more I am certain that closing the gyms is really something that has to be done. The people in the thick of it are telling is it has to be done. Our gym owner keeps saying how our gym is probably cleaner than most people's houses, and that's true, but viruses don't care how clean your space is. That's not their primary method of spread. This idea so many seem to have that we can all still gather as much as we want and hand sanitizer will keep us healthy is really troubling to me. Or that "kids aren't getting it." Yes they are! They just don't have symptoms so they unknowingly pass it on to every person they cross!

Yesterday the girls played a game that required them to be literally right on top of each other, 3-4 at a time holding each other tighly so as not to fall off of something, faces inches away from each other, holding hands. It didn't seem to occur to anyone that all the bleach wipes in the world aren't going to prevent virus transmission when this is happening. Or when a girl wipes her nose and does bars and is immediately followed by another girl. The gym is going to be a giant vector of disease spread. Ugh.

 

[superflipgirl]

Not even talking gymnastics here....but after, say, two or three weeks (which seems to be the majority of the time off taken by schools/gyms/other sports, etc) if this doesn’t slow the speed of confirmed cases, then what? The other issue is that for many districts, they are cramming the kids into childcare situations. So there honestly is a higher risk of contamination because there will be more kids together than in a classroom setting. I am scratching my head at this logic, because it seems to defeat the purpose of schools closing.

I've thought about that too--I intern in an elementary school with many students who don't have childcare outside of school! I'm really hoping, that even if it doesn't slow the speed of cases, then SOMETHING will be discovered/uncovered in the next few weeks that can aide a decision being made regarding what to do. Like hopefully someone will get a better idea of how it spreads/specific precautions that can be taken, or research will actually come to that conclusion that closing schools might actually be worse, so they'll reopen them with extra precautions!

 

[KSLaura]

How many gyms are still open? Ours is open..I’m still coaching and the kids have practice. Weird since I’m working from home for my other job and the kids are out of school. Several gyms in our state are now closed though.

 

[Freddy's Fred]

How many gyms are still open? Ours is open..I’m still coaching and the kids have practice. Weird since I’m working from home for my other job and the kids are out of school. Several gyms in our state are now closed though.

States that haven't totally shut down will do so within the week. WV has zero cases of Coronavirus and they have closed all their schools. I think we shut down everything that we can -- and that definitely includes all gyms -- so that we can get back to normal by summer.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

States that haven't totally shut down will do so within the week. WV has zero cases of Coronavirus and they have closed all their schools. I think we shut down everything that we can -- and that definitely includes all gyms -- so that we can get back to normal by summer.

I hope so. I don't trust our city/state government to do it. I hope they also have plans to help the small businesses that will go under if they do.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I don't know if there is a "back to normal." Even if the virus itself is gone within a month or two (which I doubt it will be), we'll still be left with a global economy and society which has been brought to its knees, and we'll have the knowledge that it could happen again. This isn't something we'll immediately bounce back from; when this is all over, we'll be waking up to a very different world from the one we live in now.

And this is me being optimistic. As bad as this is, it could have been a lot worse, and I'll be terrified if this DOESN'T change the way society operates. We're actually quite lucky this happened with a coronavirus variant; it could have been a variant on polio, bubonic plague, or smallpox.

EDIT: it is also entirely plausible that this will end up being a recurring disease, like the seasonal flu or the common cold.

 

[amiandjim]

All local schools closed. Gym announced yesterday they are shutting down for a week and then will reassess. I expect we're out for the duration.

On today's to-do list: order Insanity Max. My daughter's home, and she's been working out four nights a week in college. I expect Planet Fitness is not going to last past mid-week at this point.

Love Max 30!!!!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Our schools are not closed and our gym is still open.

 

[LJL07]

Our schools are not closed and our gym is still open.

There are cases in your state, so I would be pretty surprised if they don't do something.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Up to 19 now, with one being a teenager

 

[skschlag]

How many gyms are still open? Ours is open..I’m still coaching and the kids have practice. Weird since I’m working from home for my other job and the kids are out of school. Several gyms in our state are now closed though.

OUr gym is closed, and I think they plan to follow the school districts. As hard as this is, I believe they all need to close. IT does no good to keep kids out of school, make people work from home, and then have everyone meet up at gym. It only takes 1 case, and this virus can be contagious with no symptoms. As much as I hate it, it seems to be the best course of action right now.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Australia update - We don’t have the same situation here yet, that you guys are experiencing in the the USA, but we are all watching it unfold internationally and it’s scary.

From Monday they will ban all non essential gatherings of 500 people or more. Schools and gyms are all still open at this point. Everyone seems to be divided into two camps, those who are worried and choosing to stop everything anyway, and those who are feeling like everything is being blown out of proportion.

Most other sports and activities have stopped, but they are not for profit, run by volunteer associations. Many people are pulling out, but gymnastics clubs are private businesses with commercial rent to pay and many coaches who will have zero source of income if we close our doors.

To say I am worried is an understatement.

 

[Empowered]

I actually haven’t heard of many gym closures in CA.

CSC in NorCal, multiple locations, all closed for at least 3 weeks. My daughter is a team coach there.

Schools in Santa Clara Co. are out for 3 weeks, our district is 4 weeks because spring break falls after the closure ends.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

CSC in NorCal, multiple locations, all closed for at least 3 weeks. My daughter is a team coach there.

Schools in Santa Clara Co. are out for 3 weeks, our district is 4 weeks because spring break falls after the closure ends.

I used to work at CSC, and in fact was just yesterday talking with two of the managers. Sounds like a tough situation, though CSC is more able to survive the financial hit than most gyms are.

 

[FlippinPrincess]

How many gyms are still open? Ours is open..I’m still coaching and the kids have practice. Weird since I’m working from home for my other job and the kids are out of school. Several gyms in our state are now closed though.

Our gym is closed, they are following the school policy (all schools in our state are closed.) No other gym in our area has closed. Our gym is small and I'm really worried about whether they can survive this huge financial hit. They have always put the health and welfare of the kids first, and it's heartbreaking to think there is a possibility they might not make it through this.

 

[KSLaura]

Australia update - We don’t have the same situation here yet, that you guys are experiencing in the the USA, but we are all watching it unfold internationally and it’s scary.

From Monday they will ban all non essential gatherings of 500 people or more. Schools and gyms are all still open at this point. Everyone seems to be divided into two camps, those who are worried and choosing to stop everything anyway, and those who are feeling like everything is being blown out of proportion.

Most other sports and activities have stopped, but they are not for profit, run by volunteer associations. Many people are pulling out, but gymnastics clubs are private businesses with commercial rent to pay and many coaches who will have zero source of income if we close our doors.

To say I am worried is an understatement.

This is what I’m worried about. Gym owners can’t close if they have to pay rent. And what about coaches? No work means no money for bills... Colorado schools are already closed.

 

[KSLaura]

OUr gym is closed, and I think they plan to follow the school districts. As hard as this is, I believe they all need to close. IT does no good to keep kids out of school, make people work from home, and then have everyone meet up at gym. It only takes 1 case, and this virus can be contagious with no symptoms. As much as I hate it, it seems to be the best course of action right now.

I don’t think small businesses will close unless they are forced to or provide financial incentive.