COVID-19 GYM CLOSURE
Thou Shalt Not Covid Thy Neighbor’s Life
(a small slice of pun humor in the face of bad news)
UpTown Climbing has made the difficult decision to temporarily close its doors for at least the next two weeks. We do not take this decision lightly. It will impact us as a business. It will impact our staff. It will impact you, the climbing community that we have grown and love so much. But with the most recent Guidance from the CDC regarding gatherings of 50 or more, we are not comfortable remaining open. And even though you can make the decision not to come to the gym, our staff cannot. So that decision is being made for them. The time-frame for closure is subject to change as developments unfold but, for now, we have to do what we think is in the best interest of the health of our community.
As you already know, UpTown recently stepped up our sanitation procedures around the gym, there remains the fact that we simply cannot reasonably disinfect our climbing walls and holds. Nor can we use chemicals on our ropes or harnesses. Add to that the fact that people may be contagious without being symptomatic and that the virus remains on surfaces for some period of time, the gym becomes a transmission vector that we don’t wish to be. We are doing our part to prevent the spread of the virus and keep from inundating our local hospitals, as happened in Seattle. We want to be ahead of the curve.
We understand the disappointment and frustration you may be feeling. We opened this gym because we are passionate about climbing and believe in the real value that indoor climbing experiences bring to you and the rest of our community. But now is the time to protect that community from the spreading pandemic. Stopping it will demand effort and sacrifice from all of us. As you consider alternatives to your usual climbing session at UpTown, please opt for social distancing, as recommended by our national agencies. Together, we can make an impact.
The impact on the ground:
Group bookings, including parties, are asked to reschedule but will receive a refund if requested.
Kids programs are cancelled. Club members and Team members will be credited towards April.
Our April 4th ThrowDown competition is cancelled. USA Climbing has “Un-Sanctioned” all competitions, nationally. So we cannot host the previously sanctioned event. ALL current registrants will receive a full refund.
April Spring Break Camps are to be determined but most likely cancelled.
Members:
Prepaid members will have at least two weeks added to their memberships, even if we reopen earlier than planned. It is easy to manage in our gym software.
EFT members, please continue to support us. We are grateful for not seeing a big increase in freezes or terminations compared to other climbing gyms nationally. We are working with our software vendor to find a reasonable solution to make you whole. It’s not as easy in our system as for prepaid members. A HUGE THANK YOU to the folks who have reached out to say they would like to support by continuing to pay dues regardless.
We hope our frozen members are not impacted but will endeavor to refund one month of freeze fees.
Staff: we will continue to pay all of our full-time staff but will have to cut part-time staff for now.
We would not be here without you, our climbing community. We hope you understand our decision and we look forward to seeing back on the walls soon. In the meantime, go for a walk or a jog, do some crunches and pushups, definitely some pull-ups, and above all, stay healthy.
