KOCHI: Among the many sectors that bore the brunt of the Covid -19 pandemic, the sports and fitness industry features prominently. The sector which has gained a loyal following over the past few years, thanks to the abundant information available online on fitness regimes and its advantages, has been dealt a huge blow.
While several trainers and gym instructors have shifted their base online, virtual classes are not an option for swimming academies. Mandatory social distancing and frequent disinfecting are not viable options, thereby sounding the death knell for the sport. While there is no concrete evidence on the spread of the virus via water, contamination via bodily fluids in pools has not been ruled out.Post the back-to-back floods, swimming institutes in the city had seen an increase in enrolment by both students and adults. However, this year, summer camps, an annual jackpot for swimming institutes, were cancelled owing to the lockdown.
“Besides summer camps, we also train and certify aviation students as swimming skills are mandatory. This time, we had to cancel them along with summer sessions. Our instructors would also conduct swimming classes in a few apartments at Marine Drive. Depending on the community and club, we would receive around 400 students for swimming classes during the summer. All such activities came to a halt by the third week of March,” said Firoz Jaffar, Kochi-based AquaPro Swimming Academy owner and chief instructor.Firoz, who is also India’s operational manager at DiveTech Underwater Services, added that underwater leisure and tourism activities have also been completely banned.
Effects of flood
The mindset and awareness of parents had improved after the floods. “More children and adults, especially women, began coming forward to learn the sport. As of now, we have no evidence of the virus being waterborne. But we’re unsure whether it will thrive in chlorinated water. Water in swimming pools is changed only once in a couple of months -- filtration is done regularly,” he said.
SAS Nawaz, secretary of the Regional Sports Centre in Kadavanthra, echoed the same. “Covid protocols are challenging to be followed in swimming pools. Even if the Centre notifies and permits the opening of swimming pools, students and adults will continue to have a psychological block. As for other sports at RSC, we had resumed badminton, cricket and table tennis for a few days but had to halt the same from Monday owing to the area near the institute becoming a containment zone,” said Nawaz.
Closure of swimming pools can hamper those who have taken up the sport professionally. “This alters the ability and capacity of both, the trainer and the student. Stamina and physical competitive skills will dwindle over time and these will require a while to be revived. A few countries have resumed swimming pools ensuring more chlorination and maintaining social distancing with tracks and fewer swimmers. If permitted, the same can be done here,” said Suresh Menon, chief instructor, Life Aquatic Centre and Gym.