LSF Phase 4 Reopening Member Update FAQs
Dear LSF Members,

Farmers Market Reminder: Our Farmers Market, kids obstacle course, beer garden and donation opportunity for Englewood is happening tomorrow from 8am-12pm in our Lincoln Park north parking lot on Altgeld or under the drive aisle in the event of inclement weather. Please come out to support the Farmers and the Greater Englewood families during these turbulent times. Imagine Englewood If is a community organization committed to improving the holistic health of residents through programs that support healthier lifestyle choices and access to health resources which are imperative to addressing disparities in health outcomes for Englewood residents. They will accept household, personal hygiene and non-perishable food items as well as cash and gift cards. So, please come out to have some fun, get some great groceries and help out two wonderful groups! Click here to register.
Moving Into Phase 4 & Billing Information
We have a bunch of updates about moving into Phase 4 and reopening a bit more normally! We will transition to Phase 4 operations on July 1st! This means that for the next few days we are continuing to operate as we have over the past few weeks, except that we are allowing group lessons to move inside in the event of inclement weather.

On July 1st, we will send out an electronic form for anyone who needs to make changes to their memberships. We will need to have this form completed by July 8th so that all changes can be made before we bill for July and any charges from club usage in March and June. Please note, for anyone who prepaid for programming and those who prepay their annual dues, the Business Office will be going through each program and account, making the appropriate adjustments and contacting you with that information. Given the large amount of work, the short time to do all of this, and the limited staff, please do not email us with questions on these topics and instead review the process in future emails.
Safety Policies in Phase 4
In terms of operations during Phase 4, we will try to provide as normal of an experience as we can while still respecting and following the rules that are important for keeping us safe in Phase 4. Please remember that if the city’s numbers slip, our mayor has said that we will move back to Phase 3. Let’s all work diligently to avoid that!

We have worked very hard on a variety of solutions for sanitizing and physical distancing while we were closed – which have been covered in previous emails and in some of our videos. At the same point, we just learned what the rules for Phase 4 are on Monday of this week so we are reacting quickly to come up with additional solutions based on these guidelines to help keep you safe. We will be implementing these as fast as possible but everything may not be completed by the 1st and we apologize for that. 

That said, as things get finished, if you have suggestions on how we can further improve your safety, please do not hesitate to let us know by emailing Membership@LakeshoreSF.com. We also wanted to share with you the results of a recent study on gym usage and the transmission of COVID-19 from the University of Oslo which indicates that gyms pose no additional risk to catching COVID-19.

The following is new information on safety initiatives in the clubs:  

  • Official city policy requires facial coverings. We will require everyone entering the clubs to be wearing a mask and have masks available for purchase for those who forget them. Please maintain your face coverings as much as possible, and certainly when traversing the club. Please work with your children to make sure that they also comply with this as some are particularly concerned about being exposed to asymptomatic kids. As you leave the club, please make sure not to gather by the entrances without your masks which may make it uncomfortable for others to get into the club.   
  • We have spaced out cardio equipment to allow for 6 feet between pieces. We are working on creating dividers between the equipment to allow for every piece of cardio equipment to be used. These will be deployed as quickly as possible.
  • For group fitness, we will continue to offer most of our classes outside except in the event of inclement or hot weather, where an indoor backup option will be available. Indoors, the group fitness and yoga studios have been marked with 8-foot boxes so each person knows where they should workout. In addition, we are creating dividers which can be used to section off individual workout areas from others for your added safety. We will continue our policy of having our staff sanitize equipment after it has been used. 
  • As those of you who have visited the clubs know, we have a great group of team members who will be sanitizing, and there are wipes and hand sanitizer readily available.
  • At Lincoln Park, because of the complicated layout, we have created one-way traffic in hallways and staircases. For example, the east stairwell is meant to be used to go down only. We have also created a new exit door: please do not exit via the main entrance and use the exit door at the bottom of the east stairwell instead. These directions have been put in place to minimize crossing of traffic so that we can ensure proper physical distancing. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the new traffic patterns!
  • Space is the new safe! Given how big our facilities are, we do not anticipate any need to limit the number of members able to come into the club but should we be wrong, we will implement a system to require reservations for coming to the clubs. 

As a community of like-minded individuals focused on our health and enjoying all of the wonderful activities you can do at LSF, we appreciate your help in following the rules, maintaining your distance from others and reminding others to do the same. Not everyone is at the same level of comfort returning to the club: some of our members, particularly those who are younger, feel that some of these precautions are unnecessary. At the same point, many of our more at-risk members are very aware of the science of virus transmission and/or are very fearful for their personal wellness.

Please be courteous and respectful to each group and follow the rules outlined here. If you see someone who is not following the rules, please provide a gentle reminder. If you are reminded by someone, please be gracious. These are trying times for everyone but we know everyone wants to do the right thing and respect each other. Thanks for your cooperation!
COVID-19 Health Check & Waiver
If you have not completed it yet, we are requiring everyone to complete a COVID-19 health check and waiver. You can do this here or when you first come into the club. 

Very simply, by completing this form, you are acknowledging that you will do a self-check of your health each time you come to the club and will not come if you have symptoms or have been exposed to people with COVID-19. We also have reminders at the entrance. Because it is impossible to identify from where one would actually get COVID-19, you are also acknowledging that you will not sue LSF if you contract COVID-19. Finally, because our lawyers were concerned that some might try to argue that this form might supersede our standard liability waiver, this form includes language from that as well. Bottom line, we want everyone to do their part to help keep everyone else healthy.
Getting Comfortable Returning to Your Workout Routine
If you are particularly nervous about returning to the club, we have a few recommendations to help ease you back into your club usage.

  1. Club usage will be very slow during the first few weeks especially with the July 4th holiday – counter to what you might think, getting back to the club sooner will make you feel more comfortable because of how few people will be around.
  2. We recommend coming earlier in the day: generally, there is less traffic with more focused activity and less “hanging around.”
  3. We have created workout pods located on the 4th floor. It is very easy to access these by taking the elevator, minimizing the number of people with whom you come in contact. These pods contain a piece of cardio equipment and your selection of smallwares (dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, etc.). You are welcome to customize whatever workout you would like or follow one of the guided workouts that our fitness team outlines. Pods may be reserved on the MyLSF App (Apple, Android) and for the month of July have no charge!
  4. Finally, we truly believe that space is the new safe and at LSF we have plenty of it! You do not have to work out in a busy space and can instead choose a less popular area of the club including any unprogrammed fitness studio or take advantage of our outdoor areas to complete your workouts.
Club Offerings & Reservations
Most of the club and most programs will be available on July 1st, but a few programs and services will lag, and we will continue with slightly abbreviated hours as we get used to our new overnight sanitizing protocols and see what member usage is.

Interim Reopening Club Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 6am-9pm
Sunday 8am-7pm

Believe it or not, it is tough to get everything back up and running! Also, we know it will take a bit for everyone to return to their normal usage patterns. As a result, our casual food and smoothie services will not initially open. Other programming will gradually resume so stay tuned for future emails. Advance reservations will be needed for lap lanes, group fitness and mind-body classes, usage of the rooftop pool during non-open swim times, kids programs, and childcare.

In order to ensure that people aren't making reservations and then not using them, there will be a $15 per reservation no-show fee. We certainly hope to collect no money from this, but instead are doing this to make sure that all members are able to take advantage of all that we have to offer. Reservations for Harvest at Lincoln Park are currently available on the MyLSF app but will be transitioning to Tock in the near future. 

Because we want to make sure that our members are able to take advantage of our amenities, we are not allowing guests at the clubs at this point in time. It is very easy to join the clubs, we do not require long term contracts, and you get $10 off of your dues every month that your friends are dues-paying members, so this is a great time to get your friends to join so you can enjoy the club together! For more information about membership options, please contact Membership@LakeshoreSF.com.

Based on the new guidance received from the city on Monday, we are working hard to create more normalized programming for tennis, aquatics, Club 48 classes, and kids classes. Stay tuned for emails coming soon with more information about these programs. We have already reintroduced our summer camp and sports camp offerings. For more information about these programs, please contact LPCamp@LakeshoreSF.com. Through the month of July, members of our Lincoln Park club will have access to our Illinois Center facility. This is a great time to try out climbing or take advantage of the rooftop pool at our Illinois Center location especially because we have arranged for free 2-hour parking in the parking structure next door!
Summer's NOT Canceled!
And remember, summer is NOT Cancelled! All members will have access to our robust special summer programming at both clubs to help you have a great, safe summer! Join us for movie nights, bike parades, family pool days, picnic date night, Saturday play-dates, beer and bags tournaments and much more!


We hope that the above information is helpful in navigating your return to the club. We will continue to communicate information to you via email and on our website at lakeshoreSF.com/reopening as we learn more and further develop our phased reopening plan under the direction and guidance of our local officials.

In Good Health,

The Lakeshore Sport & Fitness Team