To Our Valued Acadia Athletics Complex Members:
As we continue to navigate these uncertain times, we wanted to provide you with an update about the reopening of the Acadia Athletics Complex at this time.
The University and all its operations are involved in a tremendous amount of planning to ensure we return to campus as safe as possible this fall. As a University operation, the Acadia Athletics Complex will be reopening through a phased-in process.
Why phasing?
Our primary objectives are:
- to ensure campus & complex are fully operational in September,
- to protect the people in our complex, and
- to integrate campus and community activities successfully and safely.
Phasing ensures these objectives are met and that our return to operation is as smooth and as safe as possible. By phasing, we can carefully review and assess new protocols as we reopen parts of the complex to make sure our operations meet all appropriate health and safety measures.
As well, phasing aligns with Acadia's "Return to Campus" plans for the fall term. The University's mandate is to continue to have employees work from home until necessary to return to campus, as well as to limit public access to campus as part of safety preparations for the fall.
What does the phasing timeline look like?
Phase one will begin in July with the reopening of privately-owned businesses within the complex, which will include the Acadia Sports Therapy Clinic and Acadia Performance training (outdoor only). Following this, outdoor camps will begin in late July and August. As part of the safety measures, all these groups will work with registered users with clear instructor/client ratios. We will begin phasing in indoor activities more in conjunction with the return of our students. These activities adhere to the University's "Return to Campus" protocols.
Why are indoor facilities opening later?
Unlike privately-owned and community fitness and sport facilities, the Acadia Athletics Complex is part of a University operation. The University's mandate is to continue to have employees work from home until necessary to return to campus, as well as to limit public access to campus as part of safety preparations for the fall. It was determined we do not have the staff complement available and could not compromise campus safety with a full-summer opening of the Athletics Complex. Instead, we are focusing first on outdoor activities (which carry minimal risk) and working towards safely opening indoor operations.
Again, for those users who have facility memberships that have been suspended as of March 16th, when our Box Office reopens, we will be offering an extension to your facility membership for the time missed during the closure. There will be an increased fee structure beginning in September, however, this will not affect those who received extensions to their membership for time missed during the closure. For those users looking to pick up items from lockers, Richard Johnson (richard.johnson@acadiau.ca) is the designated contact.
When facility operations and programming resumes, we will also rely on our members to follow all communicated health and hygiene procedures to ensure we keep the Acadia Athletics Complex safe for all users. We also want to prepare members to anticipate changes to our service delivery, which will be communicated as we get closer to our phase-in dates.
Thank you all for your continued support and understanding during this time. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Acadia Athletics Complex in the near future. As most Universities move their campus delivery online and maintain campus closures, Acadia's goal is to have students back on campus this fall, and in line with that, our goal is to welcome both our students and our community members back to the Acadia Athletics Complex.
Sincerely,
Kevin Dickie
Executive Director
Athletics and Community Events