Face Masks at the Club
Dear Member,
Ahead of the Club’s reopening tomorrow morning, I would like to clarify our requirements on wearing a mask or face covering while at the Club.
As part of our Phase I measures to create a safe environment for all Members and staff, we ask that all Members ages 3 and above wear a face covering from the moment they enter the facility.
You must keep your mask on at all times, except when eating, drinking, swimming, showering or partaking in an activity in which wearing a mask is deemed unsuitable or unnecessary. Please check the Keeping Your Club Safe webpagefor details.
This measure is in line with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.
With regards to the Fitness Center, this requirement is a crucial infection-prevention measure featured in the published guidelines of the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) of Japan. The guidelines are based on the advice of specialists appointed by the Office for New Coronavirus Infection Response, Cabinet Secretariat, and are mandatory for fitness centers to reopen in accordance with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s New Coronavirus Infectious Disease Control Experts’ Council’s “New Lifestyle” guidelines.
Medical experts have deemed exercising while wearing a mask to be safe, although people with underlying cardiovascular or respiratory conditions should take extra caution when exercising with a mask on. Since you are more likely to fatigue quicker while working out in a mask, the FIA advises people to monitor their condition while training and to reduce their exercise load where necessary.
With many reusable and training masks now available online and in stores, Members are encouraged to find a mask that is both comfortable for exercise and that meets FIA guidelines.
These are unprecedented times and we ask for your support and understanding as we navigate the coming weeks and months.
With the safety of Members and staff our priority, we look forward to welcoming you back to the Clubfrom tomorrow.
Representative Governor
Tokyo American Club
We get all these emails from one individual but nothing from the TAC Management.
Completely agreed with you on the craziness of wearing a mask around the club. ‘Overly cautious’ is going to keep members away for another month and wipe out the income for the club. Why is it that it seems many members are talking but Michael Alfant is running off to Lala Land?
Given the fact that other gyms in Tokyo do not require masks, it would seem no one got the memo. So far, there have been 4 fatalities due to Hypoxia in healthy adolescents while exercising with masks. As an avid gym-goer, to me exercising with a mask on corrupts the experience and is dangerous. While I appreciate the position TAC’s leadership is in, it seems that we are taking an overly conservative approach to guidelines (not laws) in a country that is known for making guidelines that are “Tatamae”, while fully expecting “Honne”. Very few masks on the street and in stores in Juban today.