2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad - Update (November 2020)

Hi everyone,

please see below for some updates regarding the 2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad.

1. Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, we have decided to postpone the 2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad until February 2021. The Squad will come together monthly from February 2021 - June 2021 to build on the work being done in clubs, and to give under-15 additional opportunities to participate in fencing activities.

   More information can be found here - 2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad

2. We are offering 3 x FREE ONLINE SESSIONS for all under-15 athletes and their parents who may be interested in joining our 2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad. All under-15 (and below) athletes are invited and there is no obligation to sign up to the squad in February.

   These sessions will give Scottish Fencing the opportunity to share information about our Pathways programme, and for athletes and parents to meet the staff and enjoy some fun activities.

   More information, and sign up instructions, can be found here - FREE ONLINE SESSIONS

3. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Pathways programme, please contact blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

Take care and stay safe!

SF Guidance - Levels 0-4 Update 27 November

Following the legislation of travel restrictions we have received further clarification on specific points in relation to travel connected to sport and physical activity in Level 3 and 4 areas.

 Specific changes have been made the to travel sections (9 to 11) and Appendix 1 to reflect the legal text, in summary these are:

 1.       If you live in a Level 3 or Level 4 local government area you can take part in organised sport, activity or exercise in that area as detailed in the Levels Table in our guidance.

2.       You should however, not travel out of your local government area, if it is at Level 3 or 4, to undertake organised sport, activity or exercise (exception:  u18s in a level 3 area can travel into other areas for allowable organised sport, activity and exercise).

3.       At Level 3 and 4 you can travel to a place up to 5 miles outside your local government area to take part in informal exercise (household rules apply) as long as you start and finish at the same place. 

 This table below is a helpful guide and you can read the full guidance here.

---

We have now received further clarification from Scottish Government in a couple of areas and have updated the Guidance (16 November) as follows:

 1. Section 9: Travel

 Includes further clarity on travel for Level 4 (5 mile guidance) and there is an update to travel for Level 3 (5 mile guidance).

Under 18s can travel to and from Level 0, 1, 2 & 3 areas to take part in organised sport. However it is still strongly recommended they train locally where possible.

2. Section 40. 

Includes further clarity on allowable travel for coaches and officials. Note clubs need to mitigate and update risk assessments if this guidance is relevant to them.

 3. Section 46. 

 Wording updated to include those supporting disabled participants in their sporting activity.

 Full guidance is available here

Good evening everyone.

There has been a flurry of activity but the new guidance incorporating government levels 0-4 for local authorities is available here - whilst a lengthy document, the key table for your consideration is Table B which is the SF and sportscotland interpretation of the government guidance.

I understand there are frustrations regarding the length of time it has taken to produce the document but we are still in dialogue with government and sportscotland around some future changes particularly regarding adult fencing above Level 0 and I hope we can address this in the near future.

There are a number of key items to consider with this new guidance but it does of course depend on what local authority you live in. If you need to check the status of your local authority enter your postcode here

Key points are -

• All fencing (outdoor) for U18 (those aged 17 and under) including lessons and sparring can happen up to and including local authorities in Level 3

• All fencing (outdoor) for adults (those aged 18 and over) including lessons and sparring can happen up to and including local authorities in Level 2

• Fencing (indoor) for U18 can happen up to and including Level 3. This includes sparring and other forms of training done within the age groups although all adults are required to distance therefore no traditional lessons can happen but coaching from a distance is fine.

• Fencing (indoor) for adults is only permitted at Level 0. From Level 1 upwards all adults not in the same household must distance as per the usual requirements (2 metres)

The staff team are still around and we are happy to answer queries, please do reach out to the team using admin@scottish-fencing.com or check the contacts page for specific email addresses and phone number of the team.

There are still more questions than answers, I understand that and of course I understand frustration and disappointment related to restricted opportunities for fencing. There is more to come of course and thanks to everyone for their patience so far.

Vincent Bryson

CEO - Scottish Fencing

Scottish Fencing 2020 AGM - Awards

In what Scottish Fencing hopes to becomes a new annual tradition we are inviting you to make a nomination for each of the awards presented at the Scottish Fencing AGM. We would like you to make a nomination for each of the following:
 
Crosnier Quaich
Performance in competition. Harder this year due to the lack of competition however a good starting point for consideration could be the British rankings which you can find here.

You may also wish to consider our veteran fencers and you can find veteran rankings here
 
On the international front the Scottish Men’s Epee team won at the Senior Five Nations in Dublin for the first time in 20 years.

Crosnier Coaching Award
Services to coaching. This year you may also wish to consider how coaches have kept fencers engaged over lockdown.

Sword of merit
To recognise any individual, club or organisation who has made an outstanding and inspirational contribution to the sport of fencing in Scotland.
 
You may nominate an individual, a team, a club or an organisation.
 
Please send your nominations explaining the reasons for each (100 max each) to Ross Morrison
Director of Safeguarding and Welfare.
 
Nominations close on midnight the 31st October 2020. After which the three nominees with the most nominations in each of the categories will be made public.
 
A public vote will then take place to determine the recipients of the Crosnier Quaich and Crosnier Coaching Award while the 10 person board of Scottish Fencing will vote to determine the recipient of the Sword of Merit.  
 
We will announce the recipients at the forth coming Scottish Fencing AGM which will take place virtually.
 
I look forward to receiving your nominations.
 
Your sincerely
Ross Morrison
Director of Safeguarding and Welfare
On behalf of the board of Scottish Fencing.

Performance Coaching Series w/ Allistair McCaw

Scottish Fencing and Scottish Archery and delighted to announce the 2020 Performance Coaching Series with Allistair McCaw!

Like an athlete trying to realise their potential, Performance Coaching requires a career-long dedication to self-improvement. For coaches who want to be the best they can be, Scottish Fencing and Scottish Archery are proud to present a 2-part Coach Development series with Allistair McCaw.

Allistair McCaw is world-renowned expert in mindset, human performance, team culture and leadership. Since the late 1990's, he has worked with Olympians, Grand Slam Champions, NCAA Colleges, professional sports teams and Fortune 500 companies from across the World. He simply believes that "Excellence is an Attitude" and that by being intentional about our own growth we can all reach our potential and #BeChampionMinded.

An author of four best-selling books and a much sought-after keynote speaker, Allistair consults and partners with sports teams, organizations and corporations around the globe to optimise individual and group potential. His podcast, "Champion Minded" is available on iTunes and YouTube.

A former five-time world championship competitor in the sport of Duathlon, a 2x National 'fittest man' winner and a veteran of no less than 29 Marathons, Allistair currently resides in Delray Beach, Florida.

DETAILS

Session 1 - Monday 9th November, 7.30 - 8.45pm

Allistair will deliver a presentation and host a Q & A using his "7 Keys To Being a Great Coach" methodology, where coaches will gain insight into the world of High Performance sport.

Session 2: Monday 23rd November, 7.30 - 8.45pm

Having had the chance to reflect and put into practice some of the theory from Session 1, coaches will reconvene with Allistair to discuss some of the lessons and recognise future areas of development.

Both sessions will be online using Microsoft Teams. Participants will be sent joining instructions after sign up.

COST

A "Pay What You Can" model will be adopted for this 2-part series.

We suggest £20+.

SIGN UP

To sign up, please follow the link to JotForm – click here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow Allistair on social media:

Web: allistairmmcaw.com

Twitter: @allistairmccaw

Facebook: Allistair McCaw Page

Instagram: @BeChampionMinded

2021 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad - Update

Unfortunately, we have had to postpone Day 1 of the 2021 Pathways Squad because of the current COVID-19 situation. Due to the current “circuit breaker” all travel during the next two weeks or so is for essential reasons only.

We apologise for the false start, but however much we miss fencing, we unfortunately do not believe it constitutes “essential travel”.

We expect November 15th to be Day 1 of Pathways Squad. Sign ups are currently paused, and all who have signed up so far have been informed. We will hopefully re-open sign ups in a week or so.

Please contact blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com with any queries.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

 #ForgingTheFuture

LATEST GUIDANCE - Regional Impact

These restrictions are now extended to 2 November 2020. Once we know how the new tiered alert system will impact fencing activity and clubs we will publish this on this website and through our usual social media channels as soon as we can.

We know that everyone is keen to be back fencing but in the meantime please stay safe.

Hello everyone 

Yesterday the First Minister made a statement to Scottish Parliament outlining a series of temporary measures intended to stop the rise in coronavirus cases across the country. These measures are a mixed national and regional scope, and will be in place from 6pm on Friday 9 October 2020 for the hospitality changes and 1am Saturday 10 October for all other changes, and will remain in place until  Sunday 25 October inclusive.

The primary measures impacting on sport are regional in their reach, covering the following NHS Health Boards and local authorities;  

NHS Ayrshire & Arran (North, South and East Ayrshire local authority areas), 

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (Glasgow, East and West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde local authority areas), 

NHS Lanarkshire (North and South Lanarkshire local authority areas), 

NHS Forth Valley (Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Falkirk local authority areas) and 

NHS Lothian (Edinburgh, East, West and Mid-Lothian local authority areas).

The temporary measures being introduced in these areas are:

• Adult (18+) outdoor contact sport is not allowed, with an exemption for performance sport as defined in the Resumption of performance sport guidance. (Indoor adult contact sport continues to be prohibited across the country.) Currently there are no Fencing athletes or environments which meet the Resumption of Performance Sport guidance so no exemptions are granted. 

• Traditional 1-1 on-piste coaching delivery is not permitted. Adults must remain at a distance of 2 metres when present with anyone from outwith their household.

• Adult (18+) indoor group exercise activities are not allowed. (Adult group activity for the purposes of this guidance is activity, involving adults, from more than 2 households / 6 members of those households who take part in an activity on any one day.)  

• Travel: The Scottish Government is asking people to avoid public transport unless necessary (e.g. work or school). People are advised to avoid (but not prohibited from) travelling outside your health board area if you don’t need to. For those living outside this region, they are advised not to travel into the region if you don’t need to. However, this advice is not mandatory and people are not required to cancel half-term breaks they have planned.

Outdoor adult non-contact group exercise and indoor adult individual exercise can continue in line with current Scottish Fencing and facility operator guidance. 

There is no change to sport and physical activity guidance for under 18s.

Those who were in the shielding group have not been asked to return to shielding but are being advised to take extra care, especially in the central belt, following the rise in cases.

The official Scottish Fencing guidance document is drafted and will be approved by government and sportscotland on Friday October 9th and summarily available for download later that day. If there are any questions please contact our staff team on

Liz.Anderson@scottish-fencing.com

Blair.Cremin@scottish-fencing.com

I hope you stay safe and look after yourselves and your loved ones.

Vincent Bryson

Chief Executive

Scottish Fencing

Latest guidance for return of Fencing in Scotland 22 Sep 2020

Good evening

Following the First Minister’s announcement on 22 September 2020 there are no major changes to how people can take part in fencing activities:

·       Those aged 11 and under can fence indoors and out,

·       Those aged 12 and over can fence outdoors.

And although we don’t have an indicative date of when indoor fencing can return for all we can still fence outdoors for now.

Details on maximum numbers and more information about equipment and fencing protocols are all included in the guidance here.

We would like to highlight a couple of points. The further restrictions announced by the First Minister today are actions which aim to suppress the virus.

With that in mind and in the spirit of collaboration we ask clubs to focus on involving as few participants as possible, for the minimum amount of time, whilst still allowing your training sessions to run effectively.

Consider:

·       training in bubbles of 6 – 8  

·       limiting bouts to no more than 10 minutes (3 bouts to 3 minutes for example)

·       Avoiding close contact fencing

Please also ensure participants leave the training venue as soon as sessions finish and that there is no spectating.

We also ask clubs/COVID officer to note that there is a change in the guidance for anyone coaching indoors. Coaches are now required to wear face coverings indoors to minimise the risk of virus transmission as much as possible.

For any clubs offering indoor fitness and footwork sessions to members aged 12 and over please ensure footwork training is not to face to face. Participants aged 12 and over should avoid sharing air flow and follow 2m social distancing at all times.

We also ask COVID officers to read the guidance published today. There are updates mainly around areas of equality and how to assist those who may find it harder to meet some of the guidance which is in place. Just as an example previous versions of the guidance asked clubs to only accept on-line payments. There is now recognition that this is a barrier to those who don’t have bank accounts and if there are members who need to pay cash this is okay.

So please take the time to read and consider any changes your club may need to make.

As you revisit the guidance if you have any questions please get in touch we are happy to help. Whether it is relating to the guidance or facilities you can reach us at admin@scottish-fencing.com

Many thanks

SF continues to engage with other governing bodies around the future of sport

This week marks an important next step towards the return of sport in communities across the country with indoor sports courts and swimming pools now able to reopen in line with the latest Scottish Government public health guidance.

The Scottish Sports Governing Bodies Forum and Executive Group welcomes Monday’s communication from Stewart Harris, CEO, sportscotland announcing the release of a £1.5m COVID Support Fund to support Scotland’s sporting system (Sportscotland set up £1.5m Covid support fund for governing bodies). 

This timely statement recognises that whilst progress has been made with the re-opening of sports facilities across Scotland, this does not mean a full restart of sport as we know it and that many sports, particularly those reliant on accessing indoor sports facilities for Club training and competition, face a much slower return as local Trusts and leisure operators take a cautious and phased approach to the re-opening of their facilities.

We want to see more progress made in line with the latest public health guidance at all levels of sport, to ensure that clubs and local communities have access to facilities. The SGB Forum continues working with partners across the sporting system including sportscotland, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities and Local Trusts to bring about the safe return of sport, and is committed to ensuring that all of Scotland’s sports club members, volunteers and communities can access critical and much loved sporting and physical activity opportunities as soon as possible.

However, whilst there is a clear desire from all partners to reopen facilities and get our sports into these facilities as quickly as is safely possible, the ongoing difficulties presented by COVID-19, including facility staff on furlough, training requirements and venue remodelling to comply with social distancing measures, means that it is unlikely that all venues will be able to reopen fully for some time to come. 

In the meantime, as a sector, we need the support, understanding and backing of all our Clubs and Members now more than ever as we work to protect the rich sporting fabric of our nation and strive to bring sporting activity back to being at the heart of our Scottish communities once more.

 Vincent Bryson - Chief Executive Scottish Fencing & Interim Chair of The Scottish Governing Bodies Forum.

Latest guidance for return of Fencing in Scotland

Good evening everyone

It remains an uncertain time and we welcome the latest comments from the First Minister around easing of restrictions. We are pleased to confirm our latest guidance for Fencing in Scotland as we continue to emerge from lockdown.

The latest guidance takes into account the updates from the First Minister on Thursday August 20th with changes to group sizes and adult contact sport (outdoor) among the key changes. 

The changes within the guidance will be effective from Monday August 24th or Monday August 31st and this is iterated within the guidance document here.

Whilst we have been part of a mass collaborative, collective effort with partners and government to get the guidance turned round in time, please do reach out to admin@scottish-fencing.com with any questions around points of clarity or anything you find ambiguous within the guidance.  

In terms of the government route map, we remain in an evolving Phase 3 with the next round of legislative review due to happen in September.

Thank you again to our members for playing your part in protecting yourselves and each other. Please do share your stories on social media if your club can restart or increase its activity and once again please remember we are here and happy to answer any questions on lockdown or anything related to club and athlete development.

I wish you all a happy and safe weekend.

Vincent Bryson

CEO

Scottish Fencing 

Joint Statement regarding facility access from sports industry partners

In recent months a wide range of partners across the sporting system, including the Scottish Government, sportscotland, Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs), local authorities and leisure trusts, the third sector, as well as the further and higher education sector have been working together to progress plans for the safe return of sport, in line with the latest public health guidance.

Today’s announcement by the First Minister that indoor sport facilities and gyms can reopen from 31 August onwards, is the latest step forward in relation to the phased return of sport at all levels, as we continue to follow the Scottish Government’s route-map through and out of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The reopening of facilities, which will play a key role in Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic, will be widely welcomed by clubs, individuals and the wider public. However, it is important to recognise that several challenges including the current economic landscape still need to be overcome before the delivery of sport in local communities and at a club level will be considered in any way back towards anything like normal.

While the desire from all partners to reopen facilities is clear, the difficulties presented by COVID-19 means that it is unlikely that all venues will be able to do so on day one, or for some time to come. Reduced capacities due to the required physical distancing will have a direct impact on the operational capabilities of venue operators and the economic viability of some facilities.

We understand this will be frustrating for many people but while we all continue to work towards our shared goals and objectives, the continued support, patience and understanding of everyone involved, is more important than before.

As a sector we are committed to working together to address the challenges that still lie ahead. We want to see more progress made in line with the latest public health guidance at all levels of sport, to ensure that clubs and local communities have access to facilities, and that will remain our number one priority.