Some local gyms have experienced an increase in visits and membership requests since most students returned to contact learning at Stellenbosch University (SU) on 15 March.
This is according to representatives of three gyms in Stellenbosch: Maties Gymnasium (Maties Gym), Virgin Active Stellenbosch and Crossfit Eikestad.
“We [Maties gym] got about 1 500 to 1 800 new members in the last month or two,” said Francois Kotze, the manager of Maties Gym. Maties Gym currently has around 5 800 active memberships, according to Kotze.
The manager of Maties Gymnasium, Francois Kotze. Maties Gymnasium is located at the Coetzenburg Sport Campus. PHOTO: Inge du Plessis
The Virgin Active gym in Stellenbosch is one of the business’s student-based clubs, according to a statement by Nikki Cockcroft, the global chief marketing and technology officer at Virgin Active. During January and February – before the start of the academic year, – daily visits at Virgin Active’s student-based clubs were about 50% lower compared with its other clubs, said Cockcroft.
After the gradual return of students to campus, “student-centric clubs were listed in the top 10 performing clubs”, said Cockcroft.
Virgin Active Stellenbosch, one of the franchise’s top 10 performing clubs in March, is located in Eikestad Mall. PHOTO: Inge du Plessis
CrossFit gyms are more personal than larger commercial gyms, and do not have as many members, according to Ielsje Malan, co-owner of CrossFit Eikestad.
“[CrossFit Eikestad] had 138 members before lockdown, and about 32 members that remained loyal during lockdown,” said Malan.
Malan said CrossFit Eikestad also experienced an increase in members since the start of the year. “In January, our membership increased to about 60 members, and now with the return of the students we are at about 90 members.”
Liezl Viljoen (left) and Joubert Boshoff (right) are coaches at CrossFit Eikestad. The gym is located at Van der Stel Sports Club. PHOTO: Inge du Plessis
Adherence to Covid-19 restrictions
Due to Covid-19 regulations, gyms have a cap on the number of daily visitors, and members must book in advance for peak hour sessions, according to Kotze and the Virgin Active website.
“Legally we [Maties gym] can accommodate 2 000 members on a daily basis. Our booking services show around 1 600 bookings are being made per day,” said Kotze.
Kotze estimated that the Maties gym gets around 1 700 visits per day, as members are allowed to access the gym without a booking if the gym is not at full capacity. The maximum number of members that can be in the club at one time is 150 members, which is 50% of the club’s capacity, according to Kotze.
“We had about 33 000 visits in March. Taken on a daily average, it is still under our daily capacity, but it is busy, luckily,” said Kotze.
CrossFit Eikestad was able to open under level 3 lockdown restrictions, as Crossfit is a non-contact sport, according to Malan.
“We follow strict protocols and maintain a two-metre distance between athletes at all times,” said Malan.