Committee Meeting Update - June 19 2020
Since March, during the Covid-19 shutdown, we have held our committee meetings via Zoom; this format has been successful and allows more flexibility for committee members. We will continue with Zoom meetings until the end of the year.
Much of our efforts over the past 3-4 months have focused on providing PAA members and the broader Pilates community with up to date information on current Government restrictions at both Commonwealth and State level. Communications with each State are ongoing as restrictions are lifted and we are pleased that Pilates studios in all states are now back at work. Unfortunately, just days ago, 10 Melbourne “hot zone” postcodes were directed to return to Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions again.
To keep members up to date we increased the frequency of our newsletter and social media posting and emailed relevant announcements to members directly. Close to the beginning of COVID-19 the PAA Member Forum was formed to help share announcements for members and provide a safe place to discuss ideas and ask questions of peers. This is an exclusive group on Facebook for PAA members only, check it out if you haven’t already: PAA Members Forum
We also hosted a series of webinars and panel discussions to provide industry information and expertise, business advice plus to share member expertise and experiences. These webinars covered Covid-19 restrictions and implementation, health and cleaning protocols, business considerations, online teaching and class options.
We have had great member feedback on the webinars and topics with record registrations and strong attendance across the industry. Webinar recordings are available for 7 days after each event for registered participants and all PAA members (link is distributed via email).
We are planning more webinars and panel discussions so let us know what topics interest you.
Email sharan@pilates.org.au with suggested topics and/or presenters.
Education
During the shutdown, many members have been busy taking online classes and workshops, making the most of the down time to upskill or reinvigorate their personal Pilates practice. Many have chosen to study with international 2nd generation teachers that they may not normally have access to. The PAA approved Pilates Anytime workshops listed on the PAA PDP page are proving popular as is the FREE PAA workshop Reformering your Mat with Chris Lavelle. This is available exclusively to members for a limited time and will accrue 2 PDPs with completion of the assessment. You can find the workshop link in the Resources section of your membership login area.
Natural Therapies Review – general update
The Natural Therapies Review and the work of the NTREAP panel has been on hold for the past few months as other health issues have taken precedence within the Department of Health.
In the meantime, the PAA Research sub committee have been quietly working in the background on
- collation of research on current treatments for chronic health conditions. Many treatments have limited evidence & our intention in compiling this data is to make sure that we are not held to a higher standard than other modalities.
- updating the lists of outcomes for the chronic health conditions. Initially, eight outcome measures were proposed for research studies across all conditions, however following NTREAP input it has been tentatively agreed that the outcomes need to be specific for the condition. This part of the project is to try to narrow outcome measures down to eight for each condition.
- collation of sample flyers for Parkinson’s & Ankylosing spondylitis summarising the research that supports the use of Pilates for these conditions.
The Covid-19 member support package
The COVID-19 support package has been well received by members. Memberships have been extended, giving 3 months free to everyone (memberships expiring later in the year are still being updated). All BMS insurance holders also received a free 3 month extension added to their policy and will have received a copy of their updated policy from BMS. Please contact them directly if you have not received this yet.
It has been uplifting to see new members continue joining the PAA throughout the crisis, and membership renewals are now also beginning to flow in again as we return to work after the shutdown period.
PAA Committee
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