All campus-affiliated gyms, including Ping Recreational facility, were reopened on Aug. 24, in time for the fall semester.
“(When we reopen) we are looking at doing an A-B schedule, so having a staff work for one week and then a different amount of staff work the next week and rotate that to minimize the amount of exposure with each other,” Rose Minton, a senior studying exercise physiology as well as a personal trainer, supervisor, membership specialist and group fitness instructor at Ping, said.
As previously stated by OU, students will be coming to campus in the way of a phased return, which will limit face-to-face contact and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Similarly to the previous Spring Semester, Ping will be offering virtual fitness courses and well-being webinars for interested and motivated students.
However, this does give other local gyms an opportunity to offer their services to students and locals alike. Athens Yoga, located at 77 1/2 E. State St., plans to reopen in September, having been closed since March.
“We are limiting our class size and we are keeping a large window between classes to limit traffic. We are asking students to bring their own mats and props, and masks will be optional for people to bring and use.”—Jennifer Mainelli, co-owner of Athens Yoga
“We are limiting our class size and we are keeping a large window between classes to limit traffic,” Jennifer Mainelli, co-owner of Athens Yoga, said in an email. “We are asking students to bring their own mats and props, and masks will be optional for people to bring and use.”
Similarly, Athens Community Center, located at 710 E. State St., is also in the process of reopening to the general public and is already open for members.
“The City for Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation Department is following all state and local recommended guidelines and mandated policies,” Terri Moore, director of the Arts, Parks and Recreations department, said in an email. “Equipment is staged appropriately to allow users to maintain 6 ft. social distancing...enforcing face covering mandate to those who are not actively exercising that are in our building, and screening for wellness.”
The center is now offering special hours for immunocompromised and senior members.
CORRECTION APPENDED: a previous version of this article stated ping recreation was closed, but the facility opened on Aug. 24. The article has been updated to reflect pings reopening.