Leisure facilities re-open doors

Aleesha Amani and Samantha Wilkie from Bay Venues checking Greerton Hall before re-opening it for public use at Level 2.

Hydroslides and saunas, hot pools and halls, community, action and recreation centres – they can all re-open under Alert Level 2, says Bay Venues CEO Justine Brennan. But there are changes.

'Bay Venues is here to enrich the lives of the Tauranga community, so we are very excited to be re-opening all our facilities in Alert Level 2,” says Justine.

'There will be some programme and operational changes to comply with Level 2 guidelines, but it's great to be opening the doors and welcoming Tauranga residents back into our facilities – safely!”

Under Alert Level 2 Tauranga public venues and programmes can re-open with strict health and safety practices in place, including capacity and group limits, as well as contact tracing to record who is coming into the venues and when.

Bay Venues will be re-opening facilities in stages so that they can closely monitor the new procedures that have been put in place to keep staff and customers safe.

Venues and programmes that have re-opened include Baywave Early Childhood Centre, Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, Arataki Community Centre and Baywave TECT Aquatic & Leisure Centre. Birthday parties and Friday Fun Nights at Baywave won't be re-starting in Level 2. The Mount Hot Pools, BayStation, Greerton Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Adams Academy, Otumoetai Pool and BaySwim have all re-opened. BaySwim memberships were cancelled when the facilities closed, but bookings can now resume at Baywave and Greerton.

Papamoa Community Centre and the Papamoa Sport & Rec Centre are open for Play Time only and the kitchens will not be available. Other facilities such as community halls, the Mt Sports Centre, Aquinas Action Centre and Merivale Action Centre will also have their kitchens unavailable.

Before re-opening each facility, a thorough clean was performed, followed by the application of an anti-microbial fog to provide long-lasting protection. This sterilising product remains active on all surfaces for up to three months.

Once open, facilities will undergo regular commercial cleans. High-touch point areas such as door handles and shared equipment will be disinfected throughout the day and between use. In family changing rooms anti-bacterial wipes will be provided for use on surfaces before and after changing.

There are markings on the floor in areas where congregation occurs such as reception and changing rooms, to indicate one metre spacing. In wet areas the markings may appear on benches or on the wall.

To manage visitor numbers, adhere to physical distancing rules and to keep within the current 100-capacity limit, Bay Venues have implemented session times for regular users, regular programmes and the general public. Users are required to bring a mobile phone to scan a unique QR code which takes them to a website to enter contact details by way of a ‘check-in' for contact tracing.

'We have a huge part to play in helping Tauranga residents return to their daily routines,” says Justine. 'We are doing this as well as we can while adhering to the guidelines; we appreciate our customers' patience as we transition to our new ‘normal'.”

The limits will be revised by the Government on Monday, May 25.

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