Scottish Fencing Updated Guidance 9 August 2021

 On Tuesday 3 August the First Minister provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on pandemic-related restrictions. It was confirmed that the whole of Scotland will move beyond level 0 from Monday 9 August, although the First Minister stressed this did not mean a return to life exactly as it was pre-pandemic with a number of mitigating measures remaining.

 The key points from the statement were:

• Legal restrictions: Most legal restrictions will be lifted. This includes legal restrictions on physical distancing and the size of social gatherings. No businesses will legally have to remain closed. And while physical distancing is no longer a legal requirement Scottish Fencing recommends clubs maintain social distancing during sessions wherever possible such as when there is a break in activities.

• Mitigations: A number of mitigating measures will remain in place. These include:

• Face coverings: The current legal requirements to wear face coverings in some indoor settings will remain in place for some time to come. When not active coaches and participants unless U12 or exempt should wear a face covering.

• Test & Protect: The Test and Protect system will remain in place to support contact tracing. Clubs should keep maintaining good attendance records.

• Local outbreak management: Scottish Government will retain the option of putting in place local measures and travel restrictions to manage local outbreaks. Covid Officers will need to keep informed of what is in place in their area.

• Events: The process for approving large-scale events will remain in place, with approval required from local authorities for events of over 5,000 people outdoor or over 2,000 people indoors.

• Guidance: Businesses will be offered guidance on areas such as ventilation and hygiene to reduce the risk of transmission. The public are still being advised to keep a safe distance, especially indoors, from people in other households and avoid crowded places to minimise risk. Clubs should maintain good hygiene including following British Fencing’s equipment cleaning protocols which you can find here. 

Scottish Fencing guidance is available here

Scottish Fencing adaptive fencing guidance is here

In the coming days there are likely to be further changes to the Scottish Government website from Monday 9 August.   Once these changes are published sportscotland will review and update the following detailed guidance on their website covering:

• Getting Your Facilities Fit for Sport

• Competition & Events

• Getting Coaches Ready for Sport

• Resumption of Performance Sport

 So if these are relevant to your club please check these next week to see what changes will impact your club.

Beyond level 0 what is permitted, all U18 and adult fencing; maintain social distancing if possible wear face coverings when not engaged in activities; keep cleaning hands and equipment and keep records for sessions attendance

2021-22 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad

2021-22 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad

Applications will soon be opening to join the 2021-22 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad!

What is the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad?

The Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad brings together the most committed young fencers from across Scotland to practice together regularly through the 2021-22 season (September - May), as well as providing online educational opportunities for the athletes and their parents.

What is the purpose of the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad?

We support the fantastic work being done by fencing coaches and clubs across Scotland, by providing additional practice opportunities for the most committed young fencers.

The focus of the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad is on fun, learning through games / play, developing curiosity, and connecting with others. We believe this focus is vital to fostering a long-term, positive engagement with our sport.

Who is the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad for?

For U15 athletes (born in 2007 and after) who are committed to the sport and want to be competitive fencers.

Age categories:

• Under-15: born 2007–08

• Under-13: born 2009–10

• Under-11: born 2011 and after

Reasons to join the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad

• Additional opportunities to practice fencing, with other like-minded and committed athletes.

• Build on the great work already being done with your coach within your club.

• Improve your understanding of how best to prepare for the challenges of competition.

• Get to know and make new friends with other fencers from all around Scotland.

Training Information

12 x training sessions; 8 x in-person training days, 4 x virtual education evenings.

• Sunday 26th September (Salle Ossian - Perth)

• Sunday 31st October (Forth Valley FC - Stirling and West Fife FC - Dunfermline)

• Monday 1st November (Online Session)

• Sunday 28th November (Forth Valley FC - Stirling and West Fife FC - Dunfermline)

• Sunday 23rd January (Salle Ossian – Perth)

• Monday 24th January (Online Session)

• Sunday 20th February (Forth Valley FC - Stirling and West Fife FC - Dunfermline)

• Sunday 13th March (Salle Ossian – Perth)

• Monday 14th March (Online Session)

• Sunday 24th April(Forth Valley FC - Stirling and West Fife FC - Dunfermline)

• Sunday 29th May (Salle Ossian – Perth)

• Monday 30th May (Online Session)

Sessions at Salle Ossian – Perth will include all weapons.

Sessions at Forth Valley FC – Stirling and West Fife FC – Dunfermline will be split sessions, depending on numbers per weapon. We will let you know which weapons are at which venue before Sunday 26th September.

In-person training days will be 10am - 3pm (approx); Online sessions will be 7-8.30pm (approx).

Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad Staff

• Team Manager – Liz Anderson

• Lead Weapon Coach (Epee) – Rob Blackburne

• Lead Weapon Coach (Foil) – Stan Stoodley

• Lead Weapon Coach (Sabre) – Naomi Farmer

• Pathways Manager – Blair Cremin

Cost

£200 for the 2021–22 Pathways season.

Payment Methods:

a)      In full on sign up to squad, or

b)      9 x monthly instalments of £22.50 by Direct Debit.

COVID-19 Guidelines

We are committed to keeping our fencers and staff as safe as possible. We will adhere to the most up-to-date COVID-19 guidelines for sport and physical activity as set by SportScotland and the Scottish Government. This may require us to alter training schedules or stagger the training times for weapon groups and/or age groups. We will inform you of any changes as quickly as we can.   If a fencer or anyone in their household is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, please do not attend in-person training. Follow the guidelines from NHS Inform to keep yourself and others safe:   https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-general-advice.

Information Evening

We are running a free, online Information Evening to answer any questions or queries you may have regarding the Pathways programme.

Wednesday 18th August

6.30 – 7.30pm

To sign up, please follow this link – CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO INFO EVENING

SIGN UP FOR THE 2021 SCOTTISH FENCING PATHWAYS SQUAD

Sign up link will appear here between Monday 23rd August and Sunday 19th September.

We have maximum 30 spaces available due to COVID restrictions.

If you have any questions, contact Blair Cremin, Pathways Manager at blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

#TrySomethingNew

Hello everyone

All of us here at Scottish Fencing hope you are enjoying the opportunities to get back fencing indoor and connecting with friends and club-mates, old and new. It’s been great to see so many clubs getting back up and running, not to mention seeing some Olympic action on TV and other media. 

Over the month of August, we will  participate in a common theme with other governing bodies and sportscotland, encouraging people to #TrySomethingNew. We obviously want to encourage more people to come along to their local (and awesome) fencing club to get an introduction to this amazing sport. We are keen to hear or be tagged in to any and all activity you or your club may be doing to encourage existing members or new members to #TrySomethingNew.

It doesn’t need to be a large project designed to attract lots of new members or anything burdensome. It could even be existing members trying a different weapon – perhaps the regular Epeeist fancies becoming a new Sabreur or Foilist… and of course we would love to see any pictures you are willing to share with us.

If your club is keen to participate, please keep an eye on the SF social media channels and use the hashtag #TrySomethingNew. – We will share some updates of new and innovative things clubs and tournament organisers in the Scottish Fencing world are already up to, but we know there is more out there and we want to help showcase your hard work. 

We’d love to hear from you as you encourage members new and old to #TrySomethingNew.

Please get in touch with us on admin@scottish-fencing.com or check out the contacts page on the website www.scottish-fencing.com - if sharing a project or activity with us it would be great to understand the following -

Can you tell us the name of your #New activity?

Who is it targeted at?

What made you decide to offer this?

How long will it run for?

Can anyone join in?

How do fencers/potential fencers find out more?

Vincent Bryson

Chief Executive

Scottish Fencing

#sporthour

On the first Monday of every month, our friends at sportscotland run a Twitter chat called #SportHour. This chat allows organisations, clubs and individuals who are interested in sport in Scotland to come together to give their opinion and discuss important topics.

The theme changes every month. On Monday 2nd August, the theme will be “Celebrating Sport”. The questions start at 9pm. Here are this month’s questions in advance:

Celebrating Sport - #SportHour questions

The questions will be asked every 20 minutes starting at 9pm. Remember to include 'A1' in your answer for Q1 and so on for all three questions. Important: tag all your posts with #SportHour so that everyone can see your contribution.

An example is: 'A1 I recently joined the local hockey team, met some great friends, got fit & now I feel fantastic! #SportHour'

Look forward to seeing as many fencing clubs there as possible!

#ForgingTheFuture

UK Government - Community Ownership Fund

The UK Government has recently launched a £150m Community Ownership Fund, to support communities to take on the running of local facilities that have been closed or are at risk of shutting down.

This may be an opportunity for ambitious sports clubs to take on the running of their own facility.

If you have ever dreamed of having your own Salle, you can find more information here:

Community Ownership Fund

Please get in touch if this is something you wish to pursue.

#ForgingTheFuture

2022 Senior Junior and Cadet Selection Consultation - Survey

All of us at Scottish Fencing are delighted to see the recent changes to Level 0 meaning more athletes can access the piste again – but more importantly get back to your club environments and reconnect with friends and club mates, new and old.

Today, we are releasing a consultation in the form of a survey to ask the Scottish Fencing membership your opinions on some of the selection options we have ahead of a busy calendar of representative events in 2022.

 We are interested to hear your thoughts on the options detailed within, and of course there is an opportunity to offer direct feedback on the form as well. We also ask for a Scottish Fencing membership number both to validate the feedback as coming from a member and also allowing us to follow up with you directly if you consent to this.

It is possible we may need to either offer more context to our suggestions or ask you for more should you make one of your own. Any form of dialogue is welcome.

Once we have collected your feedback, our performance working group will of course analyse it and follow up with individuals (if required) before making a recommendation to the Scottish Fencing Board.

Thank you again for your interest, please click here to access the survey

Paul Vaughan – SF performance Director

Blair Cremin – SF Pathways Manager

ForgingTheFuture Programme - Start With Why - Recap (June 2021)

The #ForgingTheFuture programme is Scottish Fencing’s Changing Lives Through Sport development programme for clubs. Changing Lives is a different way to deliver sport, where fencing is used INTENTIONALLY to improve the lives of a person or community. A Changing Lives approach puts the participant at the centre of process, and delivers the sport in a way that prioritises positive social outcomes.

Session 2 - Start With Why

The first section of the session was spent recapping Session 1 (The Power of Sport), and the clubs shared current “Bricks & Bubbles” - that is, what is currently going well and what is a challenge for them. We believe it is important to connect with each other, and begin to build a Community of Practice built on trust.

The theme of the second session was “Start With Why”. After watching Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk (https://bit.ly/2WaOAjN) together, the clubs explored the difference between WHAT we do, and WHY we do it. Whereas WHAT we do as fencing clubs and coaches is similar, the reasons WHY we do things is often very different. Being able to articulate our WHY as a club allows us to make clear decisions on WHO we want to support and the role we want to play within the fencing community and our local community.

Some of the questions considered & discussed:

-          Why did you fall in love with fencing?  How old where you at the time?

-          What impact have you seen fencing make on people and communities?

-          What role should fencing play in people’s lives?

-          What’s the difference you want to make in the world?

Thank you to the members from Bellahouston, Dunedin, Elgin Duellists, Forth Valley, Glasgow West End, Livingston, Orkney, Shetland and West Fife for your insight and honesty. There is no doubt that investigating ways to use fencing to impact positive social change will allow these clubs to become more sustainable, as government priorities (and funding) change.

Adopting a Changing Lives approach is NOT about stopping the good work our fencing clubs are currently doing such as creating opportunities for people to fence and achieve their potential. It is about doing this as well as reaching out to others, who do not currently access the benefits of our wonderful sport, and using fencing to have a positive social impact.

If you are interested in developing your Changing Lives approach, please get in touch - blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

#ForgingTheFuture

sportscotland Mental Health & Wellbeing Resources

sportscotland is delighted to have collaborated with Hampden Sports Clinic, the Scottish FA and Scottish Rugby to produce a Mental Health and Wellbeing e-learning module, supported by SAMH and Scottish Sports Futures, that will provide players, coaches, parents and officials with the tools and techniques to effectively support participants. This e-learning can be accessed here.

In addition, Scottish Sports Futures have developed a complimentary Mental Health and Wellbeing ETC Workshop that is available for free until the end of March 2022 due to support and funding from Scottish Government. Initially, this offer will be delivered online and is designed specifically to support coaches in their role. Further information on the learning outcomes and the booking process can be found in the attached documents. Further details can be obtained by emailing etc@ssf.org.uk

Whilst both interventions can be completed independently, we’d recommend that the e-learning module is completed first in order to obtain a basic understanding and awareness, before following up with the ETC Workshop to compliment and support an individual’s learning.

If you attend either of these training opportunities, please let us know!

#ForgingTheFuture

Funding Scotland - July 2021

Hi All,

we receive a weekly update from Funding Scotland, which highlights a range of different funding streams available in Scotland. Some of these funding streams can be accessed by sports organisations. We have forwarded this on to the club secretaries, and will continue to do so as and when we receive the information from Funding Scotland.

If your club has not received it, please let us know at blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

Thank you!

#ForgingTheFuture

Scottish Fencing Updated Guidance 19 July 2021 - Note from the Board

On Wednesday, the Board discussed the evolving relationship between changes in COVID-19 Protection Level, related guidance from the Scottish Government and the ability to organise, or participate in, fencing activities.  Working with sportscotland, the staff team has produced detailed guidance; however, I ask that you bear in mind the following points: 

Level 0 

Level 0 is not “normal”.  This is still a protection level and everyone – whether organisers, participants or facility providers – must adhere to the guidelines.  Please ensure that your COVID Officer is trained and present at each session, that records are maintained and that everyone follows the guidance to support a safe, enjoyable and responsible return to sport. 

Sports Facilities 

The majority of fencing clubs in Scotland rely on access to facilities, often in public buildings.  Whilst guidance is available for operators of facilities, access to club venues may not be available immediately, either due to alternative use (for example as additional teaching space or vaccination centre) or because the operator has not yet prepared facilities for use by clubs.  Local Authorities will be managing change across several locations: please remain patient and maintain a dialogue with your facility provider to enable as smooth a transition as possible. 

Events  

Perhaps the most frequent questions that we receive relate to events. As the situation improves, holding competitions or pathway training events will become feasible. However, in relation to selection we remain focussed on ensuring that fencers should not be disadvantaged by virtue of their location (for exmaple if some were unable to travel, when others were), and this will inform when the Board feels it appropriate to hold events. 

Hopefully, we are on the way back to being able to enjoy our sport in a safe environment. Please remember, just because things can happen, that doesn’t mean that they will!

Updated Guidance

As detailed in the guidance on the 1 July 2021 the Scottish Government have updated FACTs and this is the only change to our guidance which you can find here.

Section 81 now reads:

Protecting all of us, takes all of us.  As restrictions are eased, it is vital that we don’t give in. We should continue to:

• maintain and promote good ventilation

• wear face coverings in certain settings

• physically distance in certain settings

• use good hand and respiratory hygiene and surface cleaning

• stay at home and book a test if you develop coronavirus symptoms

• work from home where possible and appropriate

British Fencing have also updated their equipment cleaning protocols which you can find here

Scottish Fencing’s Adaptive Fencing Guidance is here

And if you have any questions please get in touch email us at admin@scottish-fencing.com