Group sizes of up to 15 for U18s in COVID Secure venues (England)

BF publishes updated advice covering U18 group sizes of up to 15 in venues that comply with government guidance on COVID.

For affiliated clubs and registered coaches delivering to groups of children (those people under the age of 18, on the day that the activity takes place), fencing activity in accordance with the BF guidelines can take place in groups of up to 15 in venues that comply with the relevant COVID-19 government guidance (eg community, leisure facilities).

Should one or more participant be aged 18 and over, activity is restricted to groups of a maximum of six people.

It may not be sensible or practical to deliver sessions to groups of children as large as 15. Decisions on group sizes for your setting should be based on:

• the current government guidance on social distancing
• BF guidance on coach ratios
• the ability of the children in attendance to maintain social distancing and practise hand hygiene
• the age of the children in attendance
• your session plan (expected movement, use of space, equipment)
• the size or layout of your premises

To reduce the risk of transmission within a setting, providers should aim to minimise the number of different people each child comes into contact with. Our recommendation is that groups of 15 are sub-divided for any activities (eg blade in hand fencing activity) where there is a possibility that 2m social distancing cannot be maintained. It is not typically necessary that one child will need to fence 14 other children in one session.

Coaches and clubs must continue to adhere to the specific published fencing adaptations designed to reduce risk including those regarding maximum sparring times/bouts.

More information and advice can be found here.

The updated BF Return to Fencing Guidance for England can be found here.

Please note that registered Coaches and Welfare Officers are not included in the 15.

If you have any queries regarding this and other announcements please contact us using this form. Many of the queries we receive are answered in our guidance and resources here so we strongly recommend reading this in advance of contacting us.

BF will continue to update our COVID-19 advice here.  You can also subscribe to our new weekly summary email featuring the previous week’s latest news and announcements. Sign up here.