Saskatoon YMCA sets target to reopen on June 15 with 'very different environment'

For more almost three months the YMCA has been somewhat dormant in downtown Saskatoon.

The usual stream of people coming and going from the massive facility has slowed to a trickle, as just key groups of staff are on site. However, on June 15, the downtown fitness hub will be reopening its doors to the public following a closure that lasted 91 days as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dean Dodge, its CEO, said while the YMCA is ready to welcome back its members, the way the facility operates will be much different from how users remember.

"The YMCA, for over 100 years, we've been operating on building relationships and having social connections and now, we want you to come in, exercise and go home safely. So it will be a very, very different environment." 

Dodge said the organization has been working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, alongside its national federation in YMCA Canada to ensure the facility is opening safely. Gyms and fitness facilities are part of Phase 3 of Saskatchewan's reopening plan, which starts on June 8. 

He said members will be briefed on the changes in full as they register, but noted a reduction in fitness spaces open to the public, the removal of chairs from lounge areas and limits on the number of people inside the facility are just some of the steps the YMCA is taking to keep people safe. 

Members will also be subject to two sets of screening questions before they can use the facility. They will have to maintain physical distance and follow instructions given to them by on-site staff members, who will be monitoring fitness areas. However, Dodge noted members will be asked to do their part. 

"There is a lot of responsibility on individuals to make sure they're maintaining their space," said Dodge. "It's a ginormous building and we can't see everything all the time, so you really have to make sure you're being safe." 

Due to the fact many services at the YMCA were not being provided during the last three months, 140 staff lost their jobs, but Dodge said with the reopening, many of those people will be hired back in the coming weeks. 

"We are planning on bringing back as many staff as we can," he said, noting they will be getting an extra layer of training to ensure they feel comfortable and are prepared as they are returning to work. 

Those in the downtown business community are ready to welcome back those who use the YMCA and those who work there. Brent Penner, the executive director of Downtown Saskatoon — the Business Improvement District for the area — said the YMCA is an important facility.

"It provides a lot of different services to the community," he said. "And not just for people who live downtown or work downtown, but others in the surrounding areas of Riversdale and all over the city frankly, so it's a positive sign."

Penner said news that many staff at the facility will be rehired is welcome news, as facilities like the YMCA bring clients and staff downtown, which results in more customers for those running businesses in the area. 

"For those people on an individual level, that's critical," he said. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in lost jobs, reduced hours and shrinking revenue for small business owners, but as more businesses and facilities like the YMCA open up, customers and clients will follow.

"Certainly the businesses that do exist downtown, to a large extent, they do rely on people who work downtown," said Penner. "Whether it's popping in for a coffee, or at the Y, zipping over to Midtown to do some shopping, all of that is part of the circular flow of how the economy works." 

Penner said the downtown is already starting to get busier as businesses reopen and more people allow their employees to return to work. 

"That's key to so many small business people who are also just getting back to their stores and business in the last couple of weeks as well." 

To ensure those who want to use the facility are able to do so, the organization is also reducing its membership numbers and increasing the amount of memberships it's subsidizing, as it understands more people may need the help as a result of the pandemic. 

For Cynthia Block, the councillor for Ward 6 where the YMCA is located, the organization has a special place in her heart, as its board was the first she was a member of. She says that experience started her on a lifelong path of volunteering. 

Block said the fact the YMCA is offering support to those who can't afford a membership is really a symbol of what the organization has come to stand for. 

"I think it's amazing and I'm really happy to hear that, but it's also not surprising," she said. 

"The YMCA has always been there for people, whether you can afford to be there or not. It's simply part of the culture of the YMCA to ensure this is a safe place. A place of caring, a place of well-being, if you will, and they have always risen to that challenge." 

Block noted however, while people are encouraged to their part by visiting their favourite shops or restaurants in the downtown in the coming days and weeks to support local business, they need to do so "as carefully and safely as possible."