In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth, CrossFit Calgary honours and acknowledges Moh’kinsstis, and the traditional Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. Finally, we acknowledge all Nations – Indigenous and non – who live, work and play on this land, and who honour and celebrate this territory.

This sacred gathering place provides us with an opportunity to engage in and demonstrate leadership on reconciliation. Thank you for your enthusiasm and commitment to join our crew on the lands of Treaty 7 territory.

Following the tragic and shocking discovery of the remains of 215 children found at the former location of a Kamloops residential school, we would like to share how we as citizens can support our indigenous communities and learn more about Canada’s history.

The following are some links and ways we can do that:

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Long before the horrifying discovery in Kamloops, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called upon the Canadian government to provide funding to locate the children who died in residential schools. This call to action was published in 2015.

Read the calls to action here.

Native Land

A good place to start educating yourself is finding out more about the land we now call Canada. There is an app that non-Indigenous Canadians can use to see whose territorial land they are on. They can use the interactive map to look up territoria, languages and treaties. Find out more about where you live here.

Indigenous Canada

The University of Alberta offers a free online 12-module course on Indigenous history and contemporary issues. The University says thousands of people enrolled when Canadian actor Dan Levy participated in 2020. The popular course, launched in 2017, is available online. Students can register here.

WHERE TO DONATE

Many Indigenous organizations that help residential school survivors could benefit from more donations. If you have the means to donate, here are a few to consider:

Indian Residential School Survivors Society

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society is a British Columbia-based organization that has been providing services to residential school survivors for over 20 years. It started out by helping residential school survivors navigate the court systems and has since expanded to help descendants of residential school survivors and engaging in community education for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. You can donate here.

A helpline for residential school survivors can be reached at: 1-866-925-4419.

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation provides educational resources for Canadians to learn more about residential schools across the country. Donate here.

Legacy of Hope Foundation

The Legacy of Hope Foundation works to educate people on residential schools and the Sixties Scoop and the intergenerational impact that these traumatic events had on Indigenous people. You can find ways to donate here.

Orange Shirt Society

Orange Shirt Society is a B.C.-based group that aims to educate people on intergenerational impacts of residential schools. It offers resources for teachers for Orange Shirt Day, held every year on Sept. 30. Donate here.

Reconciliation Canada

Reconciliation Canada works to educate people about Indigenous life and history to teach non-Indigenous people about reconciliation and strengthening relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. You can donate here.

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society aims to provide quality education to First Nations youth and families. It aims to promote the rights of First Nations children and families. You can donate here.

Canadian Roots Exchange

The Canadian Roots Exchange is a youth-led organization that aims to empower young Canadians to stand in solidarity with Indigenous people. Donate here. https://canadianroots.ca/monetary-donations/

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is an Ottawa-based organization aiming to improve the health and well-being of Inuit. Donate here.

Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund

The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund works to provide education on the history of Indigenous people and the legacy of residential schools. Donate here.

Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society

The Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society works with residential school survivors and provides outreach and cultural support. They also provide a toll free line that Indigenous people in crisis or needing support can call at 1-888-403-3123. Donate here.

We, at CrossFit Calgary have the health and well being of our members in mind at all times, especially now during the COVID pandemic. We are so happy and proud to be re-opened and want to ensure that we remain open to be able to serve our community in the areas of health and fitness.

As such, we have initiated a number of procedures and safety measures issued by AHS to keep everyone healthy and happy while they WOD with us. Below is a description of those procedures and measures:

Class registration –  We have reduced class times and maximum number of participants to in adherence to the current AHS restrictions. As such, we will need you to reserve you class spot online before attending by logging into your account with us. Using your email address as your username and by creating a password you can reserve a spot in your choice of class up to 30 minutes before the class start time. If you can no longer attend a class we kindly ask that you cancel your spot so someone else may take it. You can cancel up to 1 hour before class start time. We strongly encourage our members to attend the same class times throughout the weeks to adhere to the “cohort” model.

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/mainclass

Masks–

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 City of Calgary mayor, Nenshi announced the city would be mandating the use of personal masks in all indoor public spaces as of August 1. There are some exemptions to this bylaw which includes those who are engaged in fitness. Participants engaging in fitness are not required to wear masks as they’re a health risk in this setting. Starting Saturday, August 1, every person entering the gym will need to have a mask on up until the point of starting the warm up. Masks can then be taken off but kept within each participant’s bubble during the workout. Once the WOD is done, the mask must again be put on. Then equipment sanitizing and placement back in their proper storage can be completed. Coaches will have masks on for the duration of the class except for during the technical instruction and demonstration phase. Once the workout commences, coaches will put their masks back on to walk about and offer corrections and coaching cues.

Arriving –

Firstly, if you have any symptoms or are feeling unwell, please stay home. Here is a link to the guidelines on symptoms. https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-testing-in-alberta.aspx

We will need you to arrive no earlier than 10 minutes prior to class start times.

Personal Cubbies –

Please place all bags and personal belongings in the cubbies provided and use the coat rack for coats/sweaters, etc. We want to keep the floor space free from clutter as this poses a tripping/collision risk.

Sanitizing Equipment –

We have antiviral spray bottles and cloths available to spray down each piece of equipment after use. Please take a bottle and a cloth with you as you enter the lobby and place the used cloth in the soiled laundry bin after use. Spray bottles should be wiped down before returning to it’s home.

Accessories/Amenities –

Please bring any accessories you wish to use such as chalk. If you have them, we encourage you to bring your own skipping rope, bands, lacrosse balls, etc. wherever possible. It limits the amount of contact. We cannot have any chalk bins on the floor so if you’d like to use it, please bring your own. We’re sorry to report that AHS does not allow shower use at this time. You’ll have to come ready to WOD and shower back at home. We also will have no note pads or pens available for use. Again, make sure to stock your gym bag if you want to keep score of your WOD.

Please be assured that all touchable surfaces (especially the bathrooms) will be sanitized before each class.

If you have attended a class and develop symptoms please immediately self isolate and get a test. Please notify us via email of any symptoms and when you receive your results so that we may take precautionary measures.

Here is the link to the mandated measures for gyms and fitness facilities issued by Alberta Health Services.

https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/covid-19-relaunch-sports-physical-activity-and-recreation.pdf

Based on information delivered from the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) we, at CrossFit Calgary hold the following beliefs and policies regarding the current Coronavirus outbreak:

The population most at risk are:

• It is not expected that most people will develop serious illness. The disease most seriously affects adults and older adults. Starting at 60, there is an increased risk of death and the risk increases with age. The highest risk of serious illness and death is in people older than 80.
• People with serious underlying health conditions also are more likely to develop serious outcomes, including death.

Recommendations for those at highest risk (population described above) are:

• Ensure supplies are on hand, like routine medications for blood pressure and  diabetes.
• Have enough household items and groceries to be prepared to stay at home for a period.
• Avoid crowds, especially poorly ventilated spaces.
• Avoid non-essential plane trips.

What this means for the CrossFit Calgary community? The following are CrossFit Calgary’s policies to protect our community against the COVID-19 virus:

• Wipe down any and all surfaces touched with the disinfectant cleaners that are provided at the two cleaning stations on the gym floor after use.
• Wash your hands before and after classes.
• Use the hand sanitizer dispensers during classes.
• Sneeze or cough into your sleeve.

Should you have the following symptoms we are asking that you stay home until the symptoms resolve:

• fever
• persistent cough or sneezing
• sore throat

Protecting our community is paramount to us and part of that is keeping up with accurate, up to date and factual information.  The CDC website is just the resource to provide such information and we encourage all of our members to use it as their main source of knowledge on COVID-19. You can also visit their Instagram page at @cdcgov where Dr. Nancy Messonnier gave a briefing on March 9 with the latest updates.

CrossFit Margins is intended for those that have felt marginalized by the fitness world; too old, too weak, too unfit, or any other limiting categorization that kept us from reaching our health and wellness goals.

With CrossFit Margins, we intend to break those barriers and prove that while CrossFit may not be for everyone, it is for ANYONE!

CrossFit Margins – Seniors is a 8 week program offered Mondays and Thursdays from 11am-noon starting Tuesday, October 15 to December 10. As part of this introductory and limited time offering, CrossFit Calgary members can nominate a senior who wants to break the margins of fitness and would benefit from such a program to take part for FREE. Nominations must be made by email before September 30.

Nominations will then be sent an intake form containing some pertinent information and requesting health and background information. 8 candidates will be chosen to be a part of the program.

Help us keep from people being put “in a box” and instead let’s find them “in THE box” Crew!

Katherine Hogan qualified for the Youth Olympics in bobsled being held in Lillehammer, Norway from Feb.11-21! Katherine was away competing from November 25 to December 18 where she spent the first week in Igls Austria and then she went on to Lillehammer for the final two weeks. Overall in the competition she placed 5th, 7th, 12th, 14th, and finished 10th in the world rankings! Incredibly this was after she had 2 pretty serious knee injuries requiring surgery. Coach Laura stated that she kept coming to class and working on getting her legs strong and under the careful guidance of her CFC Teens coaches was eventually able to do squatting and jumping again. She later suffered a concussion and after recovering she continued to work hard in class. Coach Laura calls her “a very hard worker and very dedicated to whatever she sets her mind to. She is always very positive and helpful with all the other teens as well. I have actually never seen her in a bad mood or slacking off in class”. Way to go Katherine! We wish you all the best in Lillehammer!!