Cry for help from gyms: let us work on health!

Frustration and despair are gaining the upper hand in the martial arts sector. Because of the corona crisis, the situation has become untenable. With the prospect now being offered, closure until 1 September, gyms face devastating losses. The VA (Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit, the Dutch martial arts regulator) and its allies are therefore sounding a cry for help to politicians: let us work on health!

From the outset, the martial arts world has been united in supporting the fight against corona. Hundreds of events were cancelled without complaint. Thousands of gyms were closed. The sector is well aware that it is not in a special position. Many other industries and sports are also suffering enormously under the situation. But the motto is: together we will get through this.

In its press conference of 6 May, the government offered many sectors a new prospect: reopening within a few days to a few weeks. Gyms, however, have to hold their breath until 1 September. That has caused a great deal of incomprehension. The fact that thirty people in a spacious gym is considered riskier than thirty people in a pub has provoked many angry reactions. Opening gyms under strict conditions can in fact contribute to people's health and resilience. Many people with chronic illnesses genuinely need the gym in order not to deteriorate.

Coordinated by the Vechtsportautoriteit, protocols have been drawn up to restart training in a responsible way. Throughout this process there was contact with the national sports umbrella organisation NOC*NSF and with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Ideas were gathered from dozens of gym owners. In a video conference with twelve of the most respected gym owners, the VA drew up rules. As a result, children and young people have been able to train outdoors again since last week. A protocol for starting up inside the gyms is also ready. Through NOC*NSF, the VA is lobbying policymakers for a responsible reopening. The date of 1 September mentioned yesterday is enormously frustrating.

This week, therefore, the VA will sound a cry for help to politicians in an open letter, together with other (contact) sports federations. “It is with considerable reluctance that we ask for your attention. You have an insane amount of important work to do and we are very much aware of that. But the situation has become untenable for us, and if we do not speak now, it may be too late.”

The letter stresses that gyms do not want a position of exception, but want to be included in the gradual adjustment to the new situation. That would give many of them the prospect of surviving this crisis. Without that prospect, there are fears of devastating losses among gyms. Commercial and non-commercial gyms, but also organisations that link sport to social and community work, will go under if they have to hold their breath for more than three more months.

“That would mean permanently losing important sports infrastructure that has been built up over decades. Gyms that brought Dutch athletes to the top of the world, that earned our country Olympic medals and worldwide fame. But which also fulfil a very important role in the lives of hundreds of thousands of ‘ordinary’ Dutch people. Which give them self-worth, self-control, personal development, friendships for life and better health. Decades of investment would be undone if we allow devastating losses to occur in the coming months.

Because we must not let our gyms be lost, the VA wants to sit down with the government as soon as possible, together with other sports federations and the fitness industry. The discussion must be about how we can, with the help of strong protocols, reopen our doors responsibly within a foreseeable period.

“Then we can not only contribute to keeping countless Dutch people healthy, but also get back on our feet as a sector and recover, in the spirit of our sports.”

In addition, the VA calls on the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Ministerie van Economische Zaken) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport) to organise a new round of support for sports entrepreneurs. This is needed to give them a better chance of surviving this crisis.

The VA is doing everything within its power to make the sector's voice heard in political circles in The Hague. In doing so, it is in close daily contact with representatives of the sector, such as the sports federations and gym owners, and with the sports umbrella organisation NOC*NSF, which represents the Dutch sports world in its dealings with the government.