Good morning everyone
I hope you, your friends and family are safe and healthy as we move into the third month of the current restrictions.
We know it’s not easy.
Last week, the UK government announced some changes and easement on restrictions to movement. On 8thMay Scottish Fencing made clear our position on such restrictions which is to maintain guidance issued by the Scottish Governement. Link to this article is here and we’ve also made mention of our position several times on our social media channels.
CEO Vincent Bryson is part of the home nations group discussions in how to “return to fencing” and sport in general but the position in Scotland will remain “as is” although we understand the UK government has changed the restrictions in England.
Whilst it may be frustrating to see different guidance in England to the rest of the Home Nations our own position has always been to follow the Scottish Government guidance which is currently “no change” to the lockdown except for a change in the amount of time you may spend exercising outdoors.
Scottish Fencing are also part of a wider group with sportscotland and our other partners in Scotland discussing the collaborative approach as to how sport can return. This is a constantly changing landscape and we expect to publish a roadmap later this month on how fencing can return however the expectation is this will be very slowly and sadly not soon.
The need to introduce new processes on hygiene, kit sharing and storage alongside maintaining physical distancing is not yet fully borne out. With over 90% of our clubs in Scotland reliant on public sector and community venues such as schools we will likely see these venues return to their core use before they return to club or sport provision. This will take time.
Currently, there are still far more questions than answers and I understand it is a frustrating period as we are keen to get back to Fencing. When our position is updated in line with Scottish Government we will of course let you know ASAP but for the moment, please do stay safe and look after yourself and loved ones.
Our staff are still here and working remotely so please drop us a line if you have any queries.
Liz.Anderson@scottish-fencing.com
