Update on New Measures – 5th November (England)

BF issues advice on latest legislation and guidance and how it impacts fencing in England from 5th November.

Following on from the government announcement on 31st October, BF has been waiting for the legislation to be published and the government guidance to be updated before issuing our members with fencing specific guidance.

We have spent today reviewing legislation (here)  and various updated government guidance (general here , school specific here and higher education here)

We have also sought clarification from our sector partners.

We are mindful that the legislation comes into force tomorrow and there is still a lack of clarity across the sport sector in terms of what this legislation means for our sport. Therefore we are publishing our interpretation and advice, noting that it may be subject to change depending on if/when we receive further guidance from government and sector partners.

At this moment it is our understanding that from tomorrow:

• Sports clubs/facilities will be required to close to grass roots sport
• No indoor fencing activity in any setting for adults will be able to take place
• Fencing activity for juniors will only be able to take place as part of the school curriculum or part of registered childcare activities, i.e. during PE lessons, after school club where the primary purpose is childcare.
• 1:1 training/coaching outside in an outdoor public place is allowed. Please note that using metal swords in an outdoor public space is typically not permitted under previous (non Covid-19 related) legislation.  Permission must be granted by the landowner/landlord/local authority.
• Fencing competitions will not be able to take place.
• The only exemptions to the above will be for designated elite athletes –  in fencing, this exemption will only be used to prepare athletes for the Olympic Zonal competitions as part of a BF managed elite programme (in line with the government’s Elite Return to Training guidance)

We would like to take this opportunity to recognise the incredible effort by many club volunteers across the country to return to fencing. We believe that the efforts made by our affiliated clubs to successfully implement guidance and manage risk has not been fully recognised by the government and along with other sports we will continue to push for grassroots sport to be permitted across all age groups in these low risk environments.

Please note that there are still a number of unanswered questions and as soon as we have clarity we will share more detailed guidance.

If you have any queries regarding this and other announcements please contact us using this form. Please note that we may not be able to answer your questions until we have received further clarification (which we will in the first instance publish on our website).

Please note that this guidance applies in England – people in  Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must follow the specific rules in those parts of the UK.

As more information is released we will be updating our Covid-19 advice and guidance page over the next few days.

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