Help Save Courtice CrossFit

Hey everyone!

This has already been an incredibly tough year for many and I wish I didn’t have to write this but Courtice CrossFit couldn’t survive the 14 months of shutdown. The landlords didn’t even give them a chance to finally re open this Friday and attempt to make money to start paying them again. They didn’t want to wait for government assistance which was applied for but like everything with the government, it was taking forever. As of today they locked the doors and changed the locks as many of you know from Jays update today.

I want to save Courtice CrossFit as I’m sure many of you want to as well. Jay has had Courtice CrossFit in business for 11 years!!! He has always been the most positive guy during the hardest times and always been there for so many years supporting and pushing others.

Fortunately, Jay saw this coming and started a backup plan! He tends to stretch himself thin to make sure others are happy and there is no difference here! Jay purchased a large property just south of Courtice arena very close to the gym and it has a shop on the property with ample room for parking.

Jays plan:

Completely renovate the shop and have the coolest CrossFit gym in Durham and GTA! I say this with confidence not because of its size but the things that can be done on this property will be unmatched. The gym will be about 1500 square feet (old gym was about 1900) with 2 existing large bay doors. There will be a large covered outdoor workout area with a full rig and lifting areas allowing for outdoor classes in the warmer months. There will be a mezzanine added inside of the shop to give more space for viewing, warmup areas, and lots more. This property has potential for awesome trail runs plus simple road runs programmed into the wods. The coolest part of this property is the massive pond (practically a lake) for Jay to program stand up paddle board races, swimming (fresh spring fed water) and so much more. This will be the gym that has the coolest competitions with the most creative events to bring people in from all over. The best part for our regular members is that they have access to all of this at all times! To be honest... this will end up being much better than the old location. It will be the start of a NEW existing great CrossFit Box!

Luckily Jay will have all the CrossFit equipment once we can get back into the gym when Lawyers permit. This will allow us for quick turnaround time minus the construction to get the new place ready. However, the construction and Jays idea to have the best set up for his members is going to cost a hefty amount.... On just CERB supporting a large family with the gym being closed I am starting this GO FUND ME because I truly believe Jay, just like many others got completely screwed by this pandemic. Between setting up this go fund me page and my time I hope all of you can join me in helping to get jay back on his feet and keep Courtice CrossFit alive! By doing this, we can get Jay coaching again and keeping Durham Region (Courtice) fit again like he always has!

If you don’t have extra money lying around during these hard times, that is completely understandable! Private message me and maybe you prefer to offer some time in helping to clean this place up and get it ready!

To further help during the pandemic we want to hire a local company to do all the work along with our help to support two business’s at once! Courtice CrossFit and whoever we choose to do the work! We're open to suggestions of course so if you know someone that can help with any of the following needs below, reach out and let me know.

As always Jay would never ask for help and he would just say "this is life and I don’t want to take from other to help save me" BUT... this gym is more than just for him! This gym created a community and an outlet for many! This gym has created lasting memories and so much more that Jay has put his blood and tears into. I think if we can help him out and help with these large upfront costs to get set up Jay would be forever grateful and continue to serve as the small “gym” business that keeps saying "piss off" to the rich globo gyms that don’t even care about you!!

What will need to be done and added to the existing shop are as follows:

• Tear down current insulation and drywall (will do this ourselves to save costs)

• Put up new insulation and drywall (will do this ourselves to save costs)

• Paint (will do this ourselves to save costs)

• Install a system to heat the place

• Large fan installed overhead

• Build covered outdoor workout area

• Poured concrete for the outdoor workout area

• Overhead mezzanine for more space

• Property clean up to ensure cars can easily park in an orderly fashion (this can be the additional labor help vs donating money option:)

I can only assume there will not be money left over but if there is, we will use the extra money to offer free membership time to the less fortunate that cannot afford to be a part of a community such as a CrossFit gym. Suggestions for this if there is money leftover is also welcomed:)