To the men of F3 Fort Collins: As many of you have no doubt heard, Larimer County (the county that includes Fort Collins, Loveland, etc.) will be moving to a “Red Level” effective Tuesday, November 24th at 5 PM, due to concerns related to COVID-19. The official media announcement can be found here. With this in mind, and in the interest of keeping PAX safe, I feel it is incumbent upon me as Nant’an to set a foundation for how we can address these issues and their effect on our workouts, gatherings, and F3 Fort Collins in general.
Let me start by saying: we will weather this storm. The mission to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men, for the invigoration of Male Community Leadership is as much needed today as it was six months ago; and will be just as much needed six months from now. Nothing changes regarding our mission, and regardless of the level of severity with these restrictions (which each man will need to come to terms with in his own way), F3 (as a Starfish Organization) cannot and will not die. Covid-19 will pass. Restrictions will pass. The mission remains.
As YHC sees it, there are two main areas where the current restrictions can/will impact our operations, and I’m going to address them as such. First, some boilerplate:
- If you feel sick, stay home. #FOMO is no excuse for getting the other PAX sick, potentially with a life-threatening illness that may not affect the men you directly workout with, but could impact another man’s loved ones, etc.
- If you’ve been exposed to someone who is positive for COVID-19 notify the site Q(s) of your most recent work immediately. In this event, the Site Q(s) and YHC will have a discussion on how we can address and notify specific parties of this information.
- Additionally, according to these CDC guidelines, you are required to self-isolate for fourteen days, even if you show no symptoms.
- If you are diagnosed as having COVID-19, please notify the site Q(s) of your most recent workout immediately. You are also required (per the CDC guidelines linked above) to self-quarantine for fourteen days.
While the bullet points above have been best practices for the better part of 2020, I think it is important to continue to stress these base fundamentals to ensure a clear and articulated standard has been set.
Apart from the basic items listed above, I’m going to elaborate on a few additional points regarding our workouts that bear repeating:
- No coupon sharing. YHC will be the first to admit that he broke these guidelines recently. Keep your own coupon/sandbag/water jug to yourself. If you can’t handle it, don’t bring it.
- Maintain adequate distance. When the Q calls for a “circle up”, there are no guidelines that state that circle has to have a man bunched shoulder-to-shoulder with another. Keep some distance.
- Facemasks remain optional. The outdoors still remains an ideal location for workouts given the availability of fresh air, and capabilities of distancing. If a PAX within our community still does not feel safe with these guardrails and opts to wear a facemask, he will still be welcomed to workout with us. No shame or repudiation will be pushed on the man who opts for safety while also embracing community. F3’s second core principle (“Open to all men”) still holds true, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with that man’s choices. At the same time, facemasks remain optional for now.
With all of this being said, its time to turn attention to the current restrictions being levied within the greater Fort Collins area, and the two items mentioned previously.
- From the media link provided, there appears to be no direct call out to outdoor physical fitness groups. Likewise, the Larimer County Website COVID-19 portal (here) does not specifically call out outdoor workouts. One could argue that F3 falls under all the “Personal Services”, “Outdoor Recreation”, or “Gyms” category, resulting in ambiguous direction regarding how many can gather. To provide clarity and articulation on this, YHC is making the decision to enforce the “no more than ten” rule for workouts. In the event more than 10 PAX attend a workout, the Q should select a secondary (tertiary, quaternary, etc.) Q to lead the subsequent groups (with each group including no more than 10 PAX). Nothing changes from our current operations on this point, but there will be a renewed diligence to ensure this restriction is adhered. F3 Fort Collins shouldn’t attempt to operate in a “lone-wolf” mode against the local and state authorities. We need to set the standard of “Caution, not fear” related to COVID-19; and whether we agree with the restrictions or not is irrelevant.
- From the LC COVID-19 Portal, the restrictions for Restaurants with outdoor dining to limit their seating only to groups from a single household. This proves problematic when considering events such as Coffeeteria, where multiple PAX from multiple households gather (even outdoors) to share coffee and fellowship. In an effort to hold to these restrictions, all explicit coffeeteria events held after workouts will currently be on hold. With that being said, this only limits the PAX in their ability to gather indoors at a location or at the outdoor seating areas of locations.
These are definitely trying times; and what is (in some ways) second-nature for many of us (gathering to workout, meeting for coffee after in fellowship) may be pushed to the test as we work toward accelerating in our Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. It’s an honor and privilege to serve you all. If you have any questions about these points, please do not hesitate to email or call. We will overcome this. Covid-19 will pass. Restrictions will pass. The mission remains.
Circuit – out.