OUR COMMITMENT

to keep everyone safe and healthy

We would like to address some of the questions we have been getting about how MEKS will deal with COVID-19.  We are committed to doing everything we can do to ensure that the gym is a safe and healthy place for all of our students and staff to enjoy gymnastics. 

As you see in our procedural video and in our previous e-mails, we are taking many steps to prevent the spread of the virus at the gym including:

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• Health screening every athlete upon entry

• Distancing during entry and exit, during warm ups and all stations, while waiting for bathrooms and at all other times in the gym

• Water fountain restricted to bottle filling only

• Sanitizing every surface between classes and frequently throughout the day

• Providing and requiring the use of hand sanitizer upon entry and between rotations

• Using separate chalk blocks for each athlete (team only)

• Reducing the number of gymnasts in the gym to well below mandated levels

• Limiting observers in the gym to one parent of a child under the age of 5

• Installing new cameras and software to allow remote viewing from your vehicle or your home

• Installing Plexiglas at the front desk as a protective barrier

• Requiring all coaches to wear face masks or face shields through June 14.

• Reducing class sizes and increasing coaches to ensure that athletes follow all of the distancing and safety policies

• Health screening our coaches and other employees before every shift

• Discontinuing the use of the locker rooms and cubbies, spacing out individual items, and limiting items that can be brought into the gym

• Eliminating snack time and the sale of snacks (Water and Gatorade still available at the front desk)

• When possible, keeping all doors to the outside open to allow for the flow of fresh air into the gym

• Changing AC filters weekly and increasing the flow of AC air throughout the gym

Our goal is to prevent the spread of the virus EVEN IF someone tests positive.  If we do have a student or employee who tests positive for COVID-19, we will follow these procedures:

Steps - For the infected student:

1. If a participant in any gym activities learns that s/he has tested positive for COVID-19, the participant or parent should notify their coach or a gym manager as soon as possible.

2.  MEKS will then contact the participant/parent to determine who they were in close contact with (within 6 feet), who used the same equipment, and who may have been exposed. 

3. The infected student must contact the gym before returning. The participant may return to the gym:

4. Once they have recovered (no fever or symptoms for 72 hours without medication and at least 7 days since symptoms first appeared)

   • OR once they have received a negative follow-up COVID-19 test.

   • OR if no symptoms, after 10 days since positive test with no subsequent symptoms.

Steps - For the gym:

1. MEKS will call or e-mail anyone potentially exposed. 

2. We will NOT identify the infected participant by name.

3. We will inform you that someone who has been physically present in the gym has tested positive for COVID-19, and you may have personally come into contact with this individual

Steps - For the exposed:

1. We ask that you not participate in activities at the gym for 14 calendar days. We also recommend you quarantine from all activities.

2. If the participant begins to experience symptoms while quarantined, please contact us as soon as possible.

3. You may want to reach out to your healthcare provider to see if there are any additional steps they recommend you take.

Please contact us with any other questions. More information is available about best practices and procedures at the Center for Disease Control's website. You can also see more local data and mandates at the Madison County Health Department's website.

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In good health,

Misty Carpenter, Jennifer Hollems, Monica Willhoite and Jennifer Timmons

Owners