Before the last heightened alert kicked in and gym capacity was capped at 50 people, ActiveSG gym slots were already a precious commodity, with most filled within the first 15 minutes of the portal opening for booking.

To compound matters, where before, users could cancel their bookings up to even half an hour after their gym session starts, now cancellations are accepted only if made at least two hours before the session. I don't understand the rationale for this.

The weather these days is capricious, with sudden thunderstorms occurring where barely half an hour earlier, all was sunny and balmy. How is it possible to cancel a booking when, as one is about to set out for the gym, the skies open up in a torrential downpour, but the last cancellation hour has long passed?

Besides, if one is suddenly indisposed an hour or less before the session starts, isn't it a shame that the precious slot cannot be given up to the next person in the online queue? What an inefficient but easily remediable use of resources.

Yes, all must be considerate and cancel reservations way in advance, if possible. But where exigencies happen, the new system is overly rigid.

Nearly all the times I have been inside ActiveSG gyms an hour into the 100-minute time slot, I have observed the vast expanse of gym space occupied by far fewer than the maximum of 30 users, but with the sports app still showing full capacity, denying others the chance of entry.

Yik Keng Yeong (Dr)