By taking the measures below we are aiming to minimise the potential spread of Covid-19, both by following good hygiene and limiting the number of people everyone is in close contact with.
There are a lot of details we will need to go through to enable the club fence in the safest manner possible, so please read the following carefully.
Your co-operation and patience will be much appreciated as we get the club back fencing during Autumn 2020.
1. Pre-Booking is required for every fencing evening
This can be done through our simple online form, which takes you to PayPal: http://camfc.org.uk/clubnight_entry/. The nightly fee is £10 (concessions £8, please advise membership@camfc.org.uk)
As we are limited to 4 groups of 6 fencers training in the sports hall, we need to make sure to allocate groups as evenly as possible, primarily by weapon type. We will also use this booking to keep an accurate record of all fencers in each group for Track and Trace purposes (records will be held for 21 days).
Additional booking notes:
a) The booking form opens each week.
b) Please do not book a space if you are unsure whether you can make it – late enquiries can be emailed to membership@camfc.org.uk by 6 pm on the Thursday. We will do our best to accommodate late entries at no extra charge as long as we have space. Payment will have to be by cheque, BACS or cash (exact change) in that case.
c) Cancellation of slots: please notify us as early as possible by emailing membership@camfc.org.uk. We will allow for refunds if requests are reasonable but may not be able to do so for repeated bookings/cancellation requests.
d) Concessions are currently not an option in our booking system but we will continue to offer a reduced fee for under 18s, students and over 70s. Please use the booking system and PayPal to book your place but get in touch (membership@camfc.org.uk) and we can arrange a part refund.
e) Anyone who has continued paying monthly or paid for the year ending in August 2020, please get in touch with us (membership@camfc.org.uk) to sort out part refunds.
2. At the start of the Thursday session
The club will run from 7.00-9.30pm, due to the reduced opening hours of Netherhall Sports Centre. We therefore encourage everyone to try and come on time to make the most out of the evening.
Please come to the fencing evening dressed ready for work-out and fencing. Netherhall Sports Centre do not wish the changing facilities to be used for changing, though they are left open for the toilet facilities.
There will be a one-way system in place. Entry will be through the fire doors on the left before reception and exit will be at the rear of the hall. We will try not to use the narrow corridor by the reception as this is typically crowded.
When you arrive, check in first with the Covid-19 Officer, who will tick your name off on the register.
Please bring a bottle of water with you, there are no water fountains in operation.
3. Face masks to be used in the sports hall and during fencing
Face coverings have to be worn inside the hall as much as reasonably practicable, coverings MUST be worn when entering the hall and reporting to check-in with the Covid-19 officer on duty
We request an aerosols barrier inside the mask while fencing – this can be a Leon Paul mask liner, a simple face covering, clear plastic tape across the bottom of the mask or anything along those lines. We will have a limited amount of LP mask liners at the club to purchase at face value (3£ each, cash is accepted).
4. Using Club Kit
Anyone wishing to borrow kit MUST get in touch with Alex before the session so that we can coordinate the use of the kit cupboard (one person only at any time). Body wires and weapon handles must be cleaned with disinfectant (Isopropanol) spray before and after use.
Club clothing used during the night must be place in a laundry bag provided for washing (gloves, plastrons, breeches, jackets) and not put back into the cupboard. Used lames will be hung separately after use and effectively quarantined for a week.
Fencers should ideally bring their own fencing masks – if that is not possible, we can provide club kit but masks need to be cleaned with Isopropanol spray after use. They will then be quarantined for a week.
5. Group Fencing
Please maintain a distance of 2 m to other people as much as possible.
We will run a socially distanced group warm up & footwork session to start with, before splitting into your allocated groups for sparring.
The groups will be split as evenly as possible into single weapon groups up to a maximum of 6. Though the groups are split into single weapons, there is nothing to stop fencers within the group sparring with different weapons if they wish.
Each group will be allocated a badminton court and two scoring boxes which they can put out.
Fencers must use hand sanitisers before touching communal/shared equipment (e.g. spool connectors). A sanitiser containing 70% Ethanol will be provided but members may wish to bring their own.
Spool connectors and remote controls need to be disinfected after use, Isopropanol spray and wipes will be provided
6. Fencing on the Piste
We ask fencers to keep to the 1 metre + distance whilst fencing and refrain from fléches and close quarters / corps-a-corps actions as far as possible. Though we recognise some infringements will occur whilst fencing, please look to adopt a style of fencing that will limit their occurrence.
Fencers must not shake hands at the end of the bout. Instead, we ask fencers to be inventive and adopt some other formal ending of a bout maintaining a safe distance.
7. Coaching
Tony Perity will be providing coaching. He will be allocated to a group and will offer coaching to all the people within this group. We will try to rotate Tony around the different groups, to make sure everyone gets some coaching.
Unfortunately beginner coaching is currently not available.
8. At the end of the evening
Each group will need to pack up their kit and leave the storages boxes at the end of their badminton court as close as possible to the kit cupboard. The committee will put them away.
Please do not enter the kit cupboard if you don’t have to as the space is very limited.