CAZA BJJ’s Coronavirus Response

THIS POST NOW SUPERSEDED BY: https://cazabjj.com.au/blog/news/covid-19-related-temporary-gym-closure

In this blog post, we will cover CAZA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s approach towards to current Coronavirus situation and how it will affect our classes and your membership status.

We will cover:

• Issues of immediate, critical importance
• Membership status, fees, pausing and cancellation
• Our risk prevention measures
• Taking responsibility and your health

As you know, the situation remains fluid. Therefore, we will reassess our response each day to ensure we are implementing the official Australian Department of Health guidelines.

Information for our decision-making process will be sourced from the www.health.gov.au website.

Critical issues

Please note that the following are of critical importance and we seek your active assistance in helping us minimise risk.

1. If you come into contact with a confirmed case or Coronavirus (COVID-19), please inform us immediately.
2. If you have any illness whatsoever, do not come into the gym. Do not send anyone in on your behalf either.
3. If you breach any of CAZA’s standard hygiene rules you will be told to leave immediately. There will be no exceptions and zero tolerance for breaches.

Our risk prevention measures

We are taking additional steps to minimise the risk of any virus surviving in the gym. These include:

• Cleaning the mats twice per day with hospital grade bleach and boiling water.
• Spraying all surfaces including door handles, benches, fridges and changing areas several times per day.
• No longer using air conditioning. Windows and doors will be left open during all training sessions.
• Banning travelling BJJ students (drop-ins) from training with us while the risk remains.
• Banning trial lessons for locals who have travelled internationally or who have been quarantined in the past two months.

Remember, we are strictly enforcing every standard hygiene and cleanliness rule. Rules apply to parents and children who aren’t training too.

Membership status, fees, pausing and cancellation

Unless we are legally required to close the gym or an explicit recommendation to close gyms is made by the Department of Health, CAZA will remain open and regular classes will run as per usual. Therefore, fees remain payable on the regular schedule.

Please talk to us if you are experiencing financial difficulty.

Take responsibility for your health and approach to risk

Should you feel the need to take a more strict approach towards self-quarantine and social isolation, we fully understand. You are responsible for your health and the health of your family. Consider the risk to any business associates or clients too.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is about as high risk as any sport can be with regard to exposure to illness present in others. You need to decide for yourself if you feel safe enough to train while the Coronavirus risk exists.

According to the Department of Health, those most at risk of serious infection are:

• People with compromised immune systems (such as people who have cancer).
• Elderly people.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (as they have higher rates of chronic illness).
• People with chronic medical conditions. That includes Asthma.
• People in group residential settings.

Make the decision that is right for you.

Thank you for understanding!

We would like to thank you for your understanding during this extraordinary time. The BJJ community worldwide is struggling to deal with this situation as it is a serious risk to the very survival of gyms. That said, members’ health is paramount.

There is the possibility that we will be forced to close at some point. Should that be the case we hope that a few members can continue to support us during that time.

We have certainly received some very positive feedback from members who would like to continue paying their membership regardless of the gym closing. That is incredibly generous and we are grateful for that level of support.

We understand that people may experience financial strain as a result of employment loss and may need to pause their membership. However, if the gym has to close temporarily it still needs to pay overheads such as rent, electricity, insurance and so-on (unless the government legislates to suspend these costs). If those that can afford to can keep paying their memberships, it would help the club survive. But please, don’t put yourself into any financial hardship.

Should all this come to pass, we will have a special free seminar for members who support us through the time that we are forced to close. The seminar will include a BBQ for those members to further demonstrate our gratitude.

Please keep an eye on the CAZA Facebook page and the CAZA Instagram for more updates going forward.

See you soon!

Last update: March 22nd 2020, 4:59 pm