Sports centre in Horsham will open doors again this weekend

The indoor gym facilities, swimming pool and some other indoor facilities and classes are all set to resume.

It follows on from the reopening of the outdoor gym, tennis courts and some other outdoor facilities, classes and sessions earlier this month.

Staff have been working hard preparing for this moment for the past few weeks, ensuring that the government guidelines are followed to make BCS as safe as possible for its members, staff and visitors.

BCS is a sports charity and is situated in the grounds of Christ’s Hospital School, a mile and a half south west of Horsham.

As well as being open to the public, it provides outstanding sports facilities for the pupils of Christ’s Hospital School.

Originally established in 1552 by royal charter, Christs Hospital has been educating children with potential for more than 500 years. It is the single biggest giver of bursurial education in the UK, with 75 per cent of pupils receiving assistance.

The commercial manager at BCS, Mike Abbott, said: “The challenges facing Bluecoat Sports, like many other businesses are huge.

“However, the Covid-19 pandemic has proved just how much people value their health and BCS is determined to get back up and running as quickly as possible.

“The aim, under the new guidelines and rules, is to provide the safest and very best possible service and facilities for our members to enable them to restart and maintain their fitness programmes.

“For example, we have spaced each piece of fitness equipment out, in accordance with current social distancing guidance, with the same being applied to all fitness classes and swimming sessions.”

James Maclean, the chairman of Bluecoat Sports, said: “The Bluecoat Sports management team have done a great job in preparing the centre for reopening.

“Like most things that were part of everyday life, fitness sessions are going to be a little different for the coming months.

“Member visits will need to be more structured and organised from now on but we are looking forward to welcoming existing and new members back and will be doing everything possible to make their new fitness experiences as good as possible.”

For the foreseeable future, fitness classes and sessions and visits to the gym and the pool must be planned and booked online in advance.

There will be a maximum of 40 people per gym session, and after every 60-minute session each area will be thoroughly cleaned by the staff.

There will be plenty of instructions for members in the centre and there will be separate entrances and exits with clear markings on the floor to indicate walking directions and social distancing guidelines.

BCS staff have undergone training to help to prepare them to make the new BCS experience as safe and as beneficial as possible.