Covid-19 Updates & Gym Information

Tune in here for the latest on reopening updates and our response to Covid-19.

Effective Saturday, 4/9/22, we will no longer require proof of full vaccination from guests at any Sender One facility.

View the latest update (4/7/22).

IMPORTANT UPDATES

(Last Update: 4/7/2022)

On Saturday, 4/9/22, we will no longer be checking guests for proof of full vaccination at any Sender One location.

This change comes in light of the LA City Council vote to remove the mandate and the SAFEPASS LA Program (vaccination guidelines) no longer being required for businesses.

Some may be wary of these changes, while others may be thinking it has been overdue. Regardless, please be mindful and respectful of those around you. We encourage our guests to continue doing what feels most comfortable for them while climbing at our facilities.

Mask Policy Update

The State of California announced that it will be lifting the mask mandate for indoor spaces on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. This comes in the wake of the Omicron surge subsiding. We are making the following changes based on each County's policies:

Masks are highly recommended, but not required, for all guests at ALL Sender One locations in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Sender One staff working customer-facing roles will continue wearing masks while working. Guests who wish to continue wearing a mask are welcome to, and we greatly encourage anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask to do so.

Our decision to ease the mask policy in LA and Orange County is supported by how we have been navigating the changes throughout this pandemic, including the vaccine requirement at all Sender One locations. The choices we make take into consideration the health and safety of our staff and the community as a whole.

What Covid quarantine protocols is Sender One following?

We ask that anyone entering our facilities follows the current CDC guidelines which can be found here.

Health & Safety

In order to continue providing a second home and for our community to flourish into the future, we’ve heightened our hygiene standards and made changes to adapt to the “new normal” within the industry. The Sender One team has put together a new set of guidelines and safety measures. This includes: elevating our cleaning process, new check-in procedures, adopting healthier hygiene during your visit, and contact tracing in the event of a positive Covid case.
View our Covid-19 Safety Compliance Certificate provided by LA County's Public Health.

Plus, check out what some members have been saying about our reopening efforts!

Masks

Masks are highly recommended, but not required, for all guests at ALL Sender One locations in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Health Screenings

All members and guests must complete a quick self-assessment upon arrival.
If you are feeling sick or experiencing any Covid-19 related symptoms, please stay home and return 72 hours after you are feeling better.

Chalk

Chalk balls are allowed in the gym now and can be used for any type of climbing. Liquid chalk with 70% alcohol content or higher is not required but encouraged. Loose chalk is still prohibited.

CONTACT TRACING:

A statement from our GC/CSO/Co-Founder, Wesley Shih

If you’ve come to visit one of the gyms since our reopening, hopefully, you’ll have noticed that we devoted a great deal of time and resources to reduce the risk of novel coronavirus transmission as much as we reasonably can. We didn’t reopen until we thought we had done all that we were able. In many instances, we have been able to go beyond the recommendations of local health authorities. However, because Covid-19 can remain asymptomatic for a significant period of time when first contracted, we knew that no matter what steps we took (unless we remained completely shut down), we would discover that someone with Covid-19--staff or guest--would be in the gym with others. We decided that the ethical thing we want for our guests, and because it’s what we would want for ourselves, is to notify them when they have had exposure to an elevated risk. Thankfully, we are in a position to do something to act on this information. One way we have gone above the base level of local public health recommendations is contact tracing. It is one of the policies everyone agrees to cooperate with in order to climb at our gyms right now. By using check-in and check-out procedures combined with a reservation system, we are able to know who is in the gym, at what time, and with whom. This is why we ask for all of our guests’ patience, understanding, and help in being vigilant about checking in and out of their sessions.

Contact Tracing Procedure

When the inevitable happens, and we receive word that someone in the facility posed an elevated risk of transmission, i.e., was a carrier of the Covid-19 coronavirus, while in the gym with others:

We will examine our records to confirm the potentially elevated risk and, if possible, communicate with the guest directly to obtain additional information.
Once the elevated risk is confirmed, we will use our records to see who was in the gym at the same time as the guest or staff who had the elevated risk.
The gym manager of the affected facility will notify all guests via email who our records show was in the gym at the same time as the guest or staff with a confirmed elevated risk, as soon as reasonably possible.
The email will tell you the date of the session this occurred and any other information we are able to share.

At the same time, Sender One will evaluate the situation based on all the available information to see if additional steps (such as more cleaning, or even a 24-hr shutdown) are necessary for the facility itself. If you receive this email, we recommend you think back on your session and take the appropriate next steps you think are necessary for your health and peace of mind. After thinking it through, your next step might be to get a Covid-19 test of your own; or you may not need to do anything at all. We will NOT be sharing with you the identity of who had the elevated risk. This is the law, but we also believe it is the right thing to do. We want to make sure that everyone in our community feels comfortable knowing they can be ethical, i.e., share their Covid-19 status, without fear of reprisals or repercussions. Contact tracing only works to help reduce our risks and give us peace of mind as long as we work together as a community. So we ask that you maintain as much as you are able to the privacy and confidentiality of the individual who had the elevated risk. Lastly, remember that contact tracing is just one of the many steps we’ve taken to be able to re-open our gyms. We all need to stay vigilant with complying with all of the other protocols Sender One has implemented, such as social distancing, wearing a face covering, and sanitizing.

WHAT MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR REOPENING:

I was initially timid about coming back to the gym; but I was overwhelmed by the preparedness of the team at Sender!

All good, you guys are handling it great- professional and courteous staff that enforced the rules without it feeling like a scolding. Excited to come back again.

Y’all!! I love everything about everything you did. The set up is flawless. Clearly VERY well thought through. Honestly thought I’d be anti liquid chalk. But is makes such a huge difference!! No dust at all (I never even noticed it until now that it’s gone) plus the holds don’t get dusty. Shoot. Make it the norm forever. I’m converted to pro liquid soap. Way to go. Love y’all.

The staff and the other climbers are wonderful. Respecting guidelines, smiling with eyes, and making the entire experience very smooth. Love the Sender community!

Keep up the good work. Love the new rules and happy to follow them to keep everyone as safe as possible.

This is going to sound exaggerated... but I mean it sincerely. Sender One (both SNA and LAX, btw) has felt like the cleanest place I've been during this whole pandemic. More so than the grocery store, workplace, or public spaces. Every is maintained to be so remarkably clean, and patronage is so considerately spaced. It's felt so safe. Thank you for making that experience possible. I can only imagine how much work it's taken.