continued From page 13 “I came in here Saturday morning and every piece of equipment that could be used due to spacing, was being used,” said Sallie Eikren, aquatics and wellness director at the Community Center. Both Bettcher and Eikren encourage people to enjoy the community center, but to also get outside when the weather allows and have fun on foot, ski or snowshoe. “We’re really looking to keep the community engaged, and not everybody is comfortable inside,” Bettcher said. So what was open at the Community Center, as of early January? The swimming pool was open, with some restrictions, but the sauna and whirlpool were closed. There was limited lane swimming, and the Sunfish swim club and high school dive team were using the pool, but there was no open swimming yet. The track, treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, weight machines and free weights were open, with spacing requirements. And the women-only workout room was open. But in-person exercise classes were not yet available — those were still being done remotely over Zoom. Personal trainers, however, were available. Youth basketball had restarted, but without the usual parent spectators for games. Pickleball was back, and “it was fun to hear the pickleballs hitting the floor again this morning,” Eikren said in early January. Racquetball was limited to two people per court. The Backyard play area for kids remained closed. “We’re missing our kids around here,” Bettcher said.
They want us to be open – to be open we need to keep our numbers down and wear masks. Kim Bettcher, DETROIT LAKES COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL CENTER
“They just change it up a little bit,” she said. Instead of jogging on a treadmill, maybe they intensely walk on an incline. “They change the intensity.” High school kids from Detroit Lakes, Lake Park and Frazee were using the community center again, and Bettcher and Eikren were impressed with how well they followed the mask mandate. “The kids have been great,” said Eikren. “The kids have been fantastic,” Bettcher added. “They appreciate the fact that they can be in here.” Although staff keeps an eye on things and enforces the state mandates, adults at the community center tend to police themselves, she added. “They want us to be open — to be open we need to keep our numbers down and wear masks.”
The Community Center touches a lot of lives, “from infants to 100-year-olds,” Bettcher said, “and we try to make sure we have something for everyone.”
Keeping a fitness center up and running in the time of COVID-19 requires a lot of patience, and the ability to troubleshoot, Bettcher said. “We haven’t had one executive order the same as another. That’s not a bad thing, but you have to make sure you’re staying on top of it.”
“From chair-based yoga to HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes,” added Eikren. Working out while wearing a mask can be a challenge, but people have been adjusting their workout routines to make it work, she said.
That’s why “pivot” became the word of the year amongst Community Center staff, she said. “We need to be able to pivot (with the changes). The whole staff did a good job trying to adjust.”
The CrossFit gym in Detroit Lakes, as set up in early January for COVID-19 restrictions. Submitted photo
14 | HEALTH BEAT